Packing Lisa for shipment

[Autoformer]

Shipping 2 Lisa II 2/10s from US to U.K. (DHL air freight on pallet). Regarding the widget drives, is it better to leave them installed in the unit (or removed and bubble packed separately)? I've heard different views on how fragile these drives are. Lisas' themselves would be double boxed. If I remember correctly, some early Seagate drives had a "park" utility, but I don't know if that's on these widgets.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[stepleton]

I did almost exactly this (one Lisa was not a 2/10) and spared little expense. Pallet air shipping is a method of choice and it's good that it's available to you.

Widgets: extracted and placed in a foam-padded Pelican case, traveled with me in the main cabin in carry-on. Most Lisa OSs will move the heads to the landing track prior to shutdown; if you want to move them there yourself to be certain, you can use the PARK HEADS function my NeoWidEx utility. Once the drive is turned off, the brake will keep the heads fixed in place.

Lisas: wrapped entirely in multiple layers of small-cell anti-static pink bubble wrap until it completely filled the interior of a double-walled cardboard "inner" carton (about 1 to 1.5 inches on all sides). This carton went into a sturdy, larger cardboard "outer" carton, big enough for three inches of gap on all sides, all of which was filled with packing peanuts. I cut shielded (no access to inside) handholds into the sides of the outer cartons to encourage shippers to lift the box in the way I preferred. Moving one of these boxes was a two-person job. Double-carton technique is inspired by the way glassblowers ship large art pieces.

ProFiles: same bubble-wrap treatment, then stacked in a larger box with thick foam padding between and all around.

The boxed Lisas and Profiles were crated by the shipping service in a single large chipboard crate fitted with stick-on tilt and shock indicators on the inside, secured with screws and one (monster) wraparound metal band.

It might have been overkill but everything arrived safely! The only hitch was UPS Air Freight, which was more or less awful for reasons that hopefully won't apply to you. In my case, I also basically had to be ready to receive a large, heavy crate, which I wasn't for longer than I had anticipated, and so I ultimately had to have the crate dropped off at a self-storage place until I was ready to deal with it. On the bright side, self-storage places tend to have enormous lock-breaking bolt cutters, which can be useful if you find yourself confronted by an unexpected (monster) metal band.

Moving to London or elsewhere? If elsewhere, presumably onward shipping may be a factor; it wasn't for me.

 

[Autoformer]

Stepleton,

Thanks for the detailed info on packing the Lisas'. I'm actually shipping 3 Lisas' (two 2/10's, one 2/5, 4 keyboards, mice, profile, SW, etc..) and the packing suggestions will hopefully mitigate some concerns I had on how best to approach this.

Thanks again,

Jeff

 

[aplmak]

The only thing that I have experienced with Widgets is the little glass plate that lines up the heads where they should be on the platter. I have had a few fall off internally that were glued in place. There are others that I have opened up and inspected that were not glued but had a bracket holding it in place. So this is something to consider. Many people are nervous to open up the can where the platters are. These old drives are more forgiving than hard drives we have today. I do it very carefully and in a very clean environment and only open them up for a short amount of time. I've done this for many old hard drives with no issues. I am not recommending you do this by any means unless you are experienced at doing this. I am just simply telling you my past experiences.

I would stay way away from FedEx at all costs. And I have had a Lisa 2 shipped to me that was damaged by UPS. Personally I believe it was the person who sent it to me who didn't pack it well enough. You definitely want pack well enough and no question about double boxing it. I use the expanding foam that you can purchase on-line. I forget the name of the product. I hope everything arrives safely. I personally have used my local Mailbox shipping person who has packed my Macs for me. I have never had a damaged shipment sent out by him. I have sent a Lisa 2 maybe five years ago to Italy I think it was and it did arrive safely as far as I know.

I learned a long time ago if you think it could take falling down a flight of stairs and have no damage, you should be fine. Again I don't recommend actually doing this... just keep it in mind as a benchmark.

 

[aplmak]

Instapak is the expanding foam I use personally. It's not cheap but I love it!!!

 

[Autoformer]

Thanks for your suggestions. I have a buyer for these in the U.K. and was wondering if anyone used the Seller Protection program offered by PayPal? I don't want to be on the hook for shipping costs, rejected delivery by buyer, return shipping costs etc.. Was curious if anyone used these services as something that would verify funds and mediate dispute resolution.

Jeff

 

[Byrd]

If you’re wary of all that in the buyer, don’t send it. Surely you have been paid up front for the units + shipping + extra for packing materials. PayPal protection almost always sides with the buyer not seller so don’t presume it adds a layer of protection.

I’d personally drop the items off at a high end shipping store (that can do the injection foam and other tricks) with the onus on them for insurance if you’re not sure. Make sure you get pictures of the packing job and give the final OK before it is sent.

 

[aplmak]

I totally concur with Byrd!!! He’s 100% right! That’s what I would do! Pre photos definitely a good choice to do too!!