How to ship a Zenith Tube Radio?

skunark · « **on:** 18 Jan 2011, 02:30 am »

Any suggestions on how to ship a 1938ish Zenith Console Radio? I'm assuming I need to separate the chassis from the electronics and even carefully pack the tubes before shipping. My biggest concern is that wooden chassis as i'm not sure how to even box that up.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Jan 2011, 02:38 am »

Is it a floorstander? I agree that removing the tube amp is a best practice. When I used to ship motorcycle parts, I used to build crates for engines or frames, and use hard foam insulation between the crate, and the parts inside I wanted protected.

You will want to ensure that the items inside absolutely cannot shift during shipping, that is what damages goods.

skunark · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Jan 2011, 02:57 am »

It's a floor stander, I think it is close to this model: http://www.tuberadioland.com/zenith12-s-267_main.html

Been reading that greyhound is the safest and least expensive method to ship the chassis.

thunderbrick · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 Jan 2011, 04:03 am »

Remove the amp and crate the cabinet properly. Maybe even on a pallet if it is not too big.

Wayner · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Jan 2011, 01:26 pm »

I think I would double box the radio. I like your idea of removing tubes, as long as they are labeled well so that the recipient of the radio knows what tube goes where. Find a box (or size it) to fit the radio snugly. Then find (or size) another box that will leave 3 inches of gap all around the inside box. This area you fill with Styrofoam peanuts. Hopefully it will not exceed the 130" perimeter of UPS. That perimeter measurement is measured all around the longest length of the box. Make sure the glass dial plate is secure to the radio as well.

Good luck.

Wayner

goldlizsts · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Jan 2011, 01:40 pm »

PACKAGE CAREFULLY; CUSHION THEM AS MUCH AS YOU CAN; REMOVING THE DELICATE PARTS WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT IDEA; AND, INSURE H-E-A-V-Y (but, you must be able to prove the value/cost though, can't just swear by that they're worth $1 million; ain't gonna fly if and when it comes to any claim)! Write lots of warnings on the outside of packaging. You can't do enough with these UPS, FX handlers. They "OFTEN" just throw the boxes from inside the truck to the rear of the truck so they can put them on their hand trucks, to be rolled up to you.

Don't mean to scare ya. I've seen them volleying them OFTEN, and I've had turntables... ruined.......

Goosepond · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Jan 2011, 05:03 pm »

I've got a house full of those old beauties. I actually had a different Zenith 1938 model with the wire antenna running out the window hanging up in a nearby pine tree. I tuned it to WWL in New Orleans and plugged it into one of those automatic timers so that it came on in the morning. A 100 lb alarm clock!

Anyway, when I bought that same radio on eBay, the seller did exactly what is being recommended here. He removed the chassis and boxed it separately. Guess what. The cabinet got here safely but the chassis took a hit and it took a while to get everything operating correctly. Thank goodness for the replacement parts market that was alive and well.

As long as everything is packed well, you got no worries. But when you think about it, that big ole cabinet is a great packing box, ain't it? You just have to be sure it is screwed down tight. And I would definitely recommend removing the tubes and packing them individually.

I bought a beautiful Atwater Kent console on eBay and the seller assured me he was a "packing ninja". I found out he didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. He left the chassis (extremely heavy) in the cabinet and proceeded to fill the cabinet with peanuts and wrapped pieces of cardboard around it and called that packing. In transit, the chassis ripped the screws right out of the wood shelf and pulled apart the wooden cabinet. Needless to say the tubes got smashed. And the dual speakers, which were just hanging from hooks in the bottom of the cabinet, came loose and knocked around. Not good for 60 year old paper cones!

My third part of this story is I found an avid collector in the state of Washington that was selling several empty console cabinets. I bought all 3 and he used an established packer (expensive) that built up a wooden pallet and isolated the cabinets from the packing with sheets of Styrofoam. It was worth the cost when I opened them up and found them looking just like were when they were packed.

You can't be too careful. It's not like you can go to the store and just get another one.

Gene

skunark · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Jan 2011, 10:16 pm »

Thanks for the replies!

I am essentially shipping this to myself, as it's a birthday gift from my Mother. She was going to take it to UPS and have them pack and ship it, but I asked her to hold up and let me research this a bit.

For those that have crated an item to ship did you use a service?

My thought now would be to ship the tubes in a small package, electronics in a second, probably use UPS for that and then crate the cabinet and ship that DHL.

Any one know how heavy the tube radio is without the cabinet? Is it light enough where bubble wrap will protect it or do i need something a little firmer?

I'm doing this from afar, so i will most likely have to higher someone or rope a relative into packing it.