Packing and shipping rods

Originally written by me and some friends 2002-04 for the Virtual Fly Shop, Flyfisherman Magazine Online. The Cracker Barrel has been published in book form with the limited first edition hard cover sold out and a paperback version will be available early 2011.

Moderators: Ken M 44, fishnbanjo

Locked
User avatar
fishnbanjo
The Canefather
Posts: 4282
Joined: 03/21/04 19:00

Packing and shipping rods

#1

Post by fishnbanjo »

Welcome to the Cracker Barrel. Last week we brought you Collecting tackle and things that go bump in the night which was about a fire I had in my sports room and the damage sustained to an historical Thomas Mahogany Fairy rod I'd purchased. For those that remember there were 13 Cracker Barrels written by myself and several Bobs (members of the Brothers of Bamboo) on the old VFS Board.
These can be found from this link http://www.flyfisherman.com/wa....html which is available on my website http://mysite.verizon.net/vze2....html unfortunately the Cracker Barrel Links do not include the discussions that occurred after the initial posting which often ended up being as informative as the Cracker Barrel post since much discussion followed. The Cracker Barrel was originally formed from ideas posted on the old VFS Board in 2002 and one of those suggestions was for articles about bamboo rods, their makers, history and tapers be presented in such a manner as to be informative and educational.
It would also allow for questions about the postings content to be discussed and as I said often ended up segueing into the next segment or becoming an offshoot of the post. This segment will be a continuation of that only it won't be specifically about the Fairy which has been inspected by the carrier and had my statements and pictures of it and its packaging documented for the claim process and I am awaiting the outcome. What this will be about is packaging and shipping a rod and hopefully protecting it so you won't have to experience what I did. Well I've got the signal from the coffee pot things are ready, I've downed a cup and stoked the small fire I got in the pot belly (can't be too careful these days) and we'll continue with the Cracker Barrel. Packing and shipping rods. I've been buying and selling bamboo rods now since 1987 when the bug hit me and I first heard the siren song and sniffed my first rod tube. In all that time I'd never had a rod damaged either from being shipped to me or one that I've shipped to another person. During this time I have seen packaging of all types, some minimal and some so well packed you'd think it was done by one of the MIT students who compete in the annual egg packaging contest and much in between. I can recall the first bamboo rod I purchased, it was from dealer Martin Keane, it arrived in a thin schedule PVC case with soft compressible foam at each end of the tube which essentially held the rod tube and prevented movement. I still have that tube and kept it as a viable method of packing and shipping rods over the years. As time went on I found myself purchasing more rods and some of rather substantial value which arrived in different style packaging. Some arrived in a dense fiber tube, like the Fairy, come in packing boxes filled with Styrofoam, or baking soda derivative, peanuts others wrapped in bubble wrap, some small bubbles and other the larger type. Other methods included the extremely heavy dense schedule PVC tubes with PVC caps on each end and also the triangular boxes available from the various carriers. So many different ways to ship and each had their positive and negative side. The choices were staggering, to say the least. During last weeks segment there were many comments and I'd like to take a moment and thank all of those who read the Cracker Barrel and took the time to comment; either by posting, sending an IM or a private email as each of them meant a great deal to me. Of special note were the folks who commented on packaging, choice of carrier and insurance. It's those comments which prompted me to continue with this segment. I also received several emails about packing ideas and one included drawings on a special PVC tubing container. I appreciated all those and over the years I've designed a container that I personally use for shipping rods and will discuss that as we continue. Of the many tube varieties of shipping containers I've received over the years they all had one thing in common and that was the person who packaged it always took great pains to add additional support and cushioning in the form of packing material at the bottom of the shipping tube and at the top to prevent movement and shock to the rod tube and the rod in the tube. Many, but not all, added additional packing inside the rod tube, to take up the slack of the space from the rod sections, and bag, to the top of the cap, but not all. As I received rods I noted that some of the past owners had added a cushion of either cork, heavy felt, leather or wool pile inside the cap and I thought this a really nice idea.
Of all the different materials I like the heavy wool pile the best, this is generally the underlayment one finds under wall to wall carpeting or the insulating foot inserts in Sorel type boots and I add them to my own tube caps. The different packing materials used have been the peanuts I spoke of earlier, the several types of bubble wraps available, newspaper, dense fiber cloth and soft foam.
I also noted Ron Shanaver posted that he suggests a wrap of newspaper extended 1/2 " or so beyond the rod sections with a wooden dowel taped to it for extra protection. All of these different packing methods will work but you are at the mercy of how it's handled regardless of how well protected you rod is.
About 5 years ago I purchased my first really valuable rod, a Dickerson 7613, which was being shipped to me from Texas. To say I was nervous while it was in transit would have been an understatement. I always purchase the necessary insurance on my items since it's rather cheap and will give you a peace of mind but never experiencing any damage to my rods also gives one a sense that the items aren't treated too badly. The 7613 arrived in fine shape and is one of my favorite rods but since it was a 1 tip rod I'd always been a bit nervous when fishing it knowing accidents can happen and there's no such thing as fly rod Blue Cross and Blue Shield. With that in mind I contacted Jim Schaaf who currently owns the Dickerson Rod Shop and all of Lyles tooling and stocks of cane and materials. I found Jim to be a most gracious gentleman and he said he'd be delighted to make an additional tip section for me that I could fish without reservation and maintain the historical significance of my 7613 for years to come. Then Jim dropped the bomb, he discussed the packaging and shipment methods he requires for a rod of this significance. Jim said I needed to put as many peanuts as I could inside the rod tube to ensure cushioning, I was to then get a dense wall PVC 1 1/2 " pipe and cut it so that I could put 2" of packing above and below the rod tube and cap both ends and mark the top as TOP, I was to get a dense 4" or larger fiber tube and package the PVC tube in it using newspaper crumpled to prevent the PVC tube from shifting within the dense fiber tube and keep several inches of space that will be filled above and below the PVC tube. Mark the tube FRAGILE and send it Overnight, signature required, guaranteed FedEx Insured.
This made my 3 ¾ oz rod with it's original tube that usually weighs less than 8 ozs total almost 5 lbs and it cost me a whopping $179.85 to ship it one way! Personally I considered this to be extreme but I had a lot of money tied up in this rod. Jim notified me the next day that it had arrived in great shape and I'd done a good job of following his directions, indeed, I should have been able to place a glass tube in this package and have it arrive safely! That experience told me Jim had some bad experiences over the 50 plus years he'd been shipping rods and that his statement that he'd only use FedEx really surprised me as I'd had no really bad experiences with any of the carriers. This got me to planning out my own method of shipping. I generally feel that tubes and square boxes have the same thing in common in that they can have other items, some far more heavier, placed on top of them in transit which could easily damage the item. I also feel that PVC can be compromised if this happens as it will bend which can bend the tube inside it causing damage and dense fiber tubes would crush before they bend very far which can also cause damage, square boxes are the flimsiest to me, so what are the alternatives? I really like the triangular boxes I spoke about earlier and here's why. I take a box, or two for longer rod tubes, and place them on a table where I mark the inside at 1/3 of the length of the tube down and 1/3 the length of the tube up for 3 pc rods up to 9 ½'. If the rods are 2 pc and up to 9' I make three marks and then using a dense cardboard I cut out triangles slightly larger than the interior of the triangle container so I can make a tab on each edge which I fold over and hot glue in place. I also cut a hole in the center of the triangle which is slightly larger than the rod tube and I slip the rod tube in the holes and using either duct tape strips or fiberglass reinforced tape, next I tape the tube to the triangle on the front and back side in an X pattern which keeps the rod from moving. I hot glue hard foam strips to add reinforcement to the triangles and the package and crumpled newspaper on each end of the outside of the rod tube and the center of the package. Since my tube caps always have a cushion of either dense wool or dense felt I simply fill the cavity with peanuts. I have a reasonably light very well protected package. I also mark the package and FRAGILE and always insure regardless of what the buyer wants since it's still my rod until they keep it. I also make sure they have to sign for the package and that I can determine it has arrived via the website of the carrier or by telephone. I've had none of the packages I've sent in this manner damaged and some have gone as far as Japan.
Well the old coffee pot is empty, as Bob Corsetti always says at the end of his catalog, and I'm packing one of my pipes; as always I await your comments. Thanks once again for asking for the return of the Cracker Barrel and I hope you'll join us next week. As I stated the last few weeks be sure to stay tuned because I have it on pretty good authority that one of the forums writers is braving the elements on snowshoes. I have heard rumors he's been holed up in a shanty in the UP where he'd been found OD'ing on rod fumes and mumbling "Visions, visions I've been to Mecca and have seen the Monkey Girls", while enroute to visit a maker who has worked with a past master and worked with bamboo for almost 50 years…. Spring's ever so close………….

Locked

Return to “The Cracker Barrel”