Figured since I just finished shipping a crankshaft, I might as well make some suggestions if anyone else ever has to ship one.
First of all, the package weighed 54lbs. The crank was most likely 50lbs of that. I also shipped an oil pump, and then the "packaging" weigh probably made up the other 4lbs. When I started this idea, I really didn't have any idea of a good way to ship this. I knew I wanted to keep all the journals protected, and with the weight of the crank, wrapping it up (even really good) wouldn't be safe enough in a cardboard box. So I knew I wanted some wood in the design. At first, I was just going to have wood on the ends, but after thinking some more, I wasn't sure if the cardboard box would hold up that well in the corners with the weight of the crank isolated to the wood in the corners. In the end, here is what I came up with...
The box is ~12"x12"x26". It has a piece of 3/8" plywood on the bottom. It then has 3/8" plywood stapled to the ends for rigidity. I then cut out 2 more pieces of 3/8" plywood slightly shorter than the box. In one, I cut a 1.75" hole for the dampener shaft to set it. I screwed 6 screwed into this board to space it away from the end of the box. In the other, I drilled 2 holes to put 10mmx1.00 bolts through to screw into the flexplate end of the crank. This was then set into the box. This left an ~5" space at the end of the box. I cut 2-2x4s to the appropriate length and stapled them to the top edge of the box. This kept the crank from moving around inside the box. I then cut a 3/8" piece to go on the top.
This setup left about 3" of space completely around the crank. It also gave the small "extra" storage area at the end of the box, in which I put the oil pump this time. But it could be used for just about anything. The box is VERY solid, and makes the crank easy to remove. And it is also shipping company freindly.
Just figured I'd share. I'm not sure how many people around here ship cranks, but if it ever comes up, now you have an idea of how to do it. Once the buyer gets it, I'll let everyone know how it survived the trip via FedEx.
First of all, the package weighed 54lbs. The crank was most likely 50lbs of that. I also shipped an oil pump, and then the "packaging" weigh probably made up the other 4lbs. When I started this idea, I really didn't have any idea of a good way to ship this. I knew I wanted to keep all the journals protected, and with the weight of the crank, wrapping it up (even really good) wouldn't be safe enough in a cardboard box. So I knew I wanted some wood in the design. At first, I was just going to have wood on the ends, but after thinking some more, I wasn't sure if the cardboard box would hold up that well in the corners with the weight of the crank isolated to the wood in the corners. In the end, here is what I came up with...
The box is ~12"x12"x26". It has a piece of 3/8" plywood on the bottom. It then has 3/8" plywood stapled to the ends for rigidity. I then cut out 2 more pieces of 3/8" plywood slightly shorter than the box. In one, I cut a 1.75" hole for the dampener shaft to set it. I screwed 6 screwed into this board to space it away from the end of the box. In the other, I drilled 2 holes to put 10mmx1.00 bolts through to screw into the flexplate end of the crank. This was then set into the box. This left an ~5" space at the end of the box. I cut 2-2x4s to the appropriate length and stapled them to the top edge of the box. This kept the crank from moving around inside the box. I then cut a 3/8" piece to go on the top.
This setup left about 3" of space completely around the crank. It also gave the small "extra" storage area at the end of the box, in which I put the oil pump this time. But it could be used for just about anything. The box is VERY solid, and makes the crank easy to remove. And it is also shipping company freindly.
Just figured I'd share. I'm not sure how many people around here ship cranks, but if it ever comes up, now you have an idea of how to do it. Once the buyer gets it, I'll let everyone know how it survived the trip via FedEx.
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