packing materials

[Seth=L]

What would some of my fellow audioholics recommend in terms of packing foam (straight boards or sections) for large speakers. I have a small piece of black polyethylene foam that would be the perfect kind of foam to use for packing and shipping electronics and speakers, but that kind of foam is extremely expensive. I'm looking for foam pieces about 1" thick and large enough to fit in the sides of a box for shipping purposes. I'm good at packing, but I have limited experience in terms of ascertaining the proper materials to get the job done.

I was looking at this mattress that walmart sells here

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10055840

I am wondering if I could cut that to fit my needs or would I really need something more rigid?

Thank you in advance.

 

[JerryLove]

Not a complete answer: but one thing I did with my last speaker mail was put stiff cardboard across the faceplate to protect the drivers. *Then* started wrapping.

The matress pad is a neat idea.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Pack it with styrafoam bubbles. They actually work pretty good and they keep the packing weight down.

How heavy of a speaker?

 

[Seth=L]

Well I was considering selling a pair of Vandersteen 2CEs, but I think I'd rather keep them for the time being for at least two reasons, size, and how much I like them.

Packing peanuts are great for filling spaces, unfortunately they don't do well on corners. I put cardboard around each side of the cabinets to avoid damage to any part of the cabinet. I've actually be quite proud of myself with just cardboard and newspaper, it's just a lot of work and it's messy. Some foam that has some shape retention (or recoil) whatever you wish to call it, would help reduce the mess and it would be fair superior to this average stuff I've been using. I want to feel extremely confident as my packages leave that they arrive exactly as I have packaged them.

Thanks for the help so far gentlemen.

 

[highfigh]

What would some of my fellow audioholics recommend in terms of packing foam (straight boards or sections) for large speakers. I have a small piece of black polyethylene foam that would be the perfect kind of foam to use for packing and shipping electronics and speakers, but that kind of foam is extremely expensive. I'm looking for foam pieces about 1" thick and large enough to fit in the sides of a box for shipping purposes. I'm good at packing, but I have limited experience in terms of ascertaining the proper materials to get the job done.

I was looking at this mattress that walmart sells here

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10055840

I am wondering if I could cut that to fit my needs or would I really need something more rigid?

Thank you in advance.

Tape cardboard over the face (two layers is best) and get some 1"-2" styrofoam sheets at Home Depot or someplace like that and cut it to fit the boxes. One piece for each face- if these are the large ones, maybe a piece of 1/4" plywood between two layers of foam for the side with the drivers would work best. It's a lot heavier than what most speaker companies use and as long as the box isn't dropped on a corner, it won't be a problem. If it is dropped on a corner, it's the shipper's responsibility, anyway.