Hi There,
I want to send my son my LP12 and I need advice on what to do to so I can pack it up and to ship it. I plan on double boxing it!
Thanks for your help,
"nikkofan"

Where from and to? Pony express seems like a wise option.

There is a lot of info here on AK on on the web for this. I googled turntable shipping instructions and found at least a dozen good pages including this link.

http://www.theturntablefactory.com/packing.html

Things I would add if you don't have the original box:

1. Remove the arm and send it in a separate, well packed, box. Of course you take the cartridge off and pack it separately, too.

2. Remove outer platter, wrap it securely, pack it separately in main box, I usually put this near the bottom...usually I'll have an inch or so of rigid styrofoam, a layer of single corrugated cardboard, the platter (which I usually wrap in that off-white wrapping paper then a couple of layers of small bubble wrap, and then a wrap of the larger bubble wrap), another layer of single corrugated cardboard (I make these to fit the dimensions of the box so they act like layers of demarcation and can not shift horizontally at all) then the chassis.

3. Remove inner platter, wrap it up, too, and find a small box that allows it to fit snugly inside after it's been wrapped/padded...stick the belt into a small plastic baggie and keep it with the inner platter...find a vinyl cap that will fit over the main bearing and seal it from contamination and oil loss....

4. On a Sondek, or other suspended TT, I will usually take off the bottom and cut about a 4" square piece of polyethylene foam that once the bottom is reinstalled will apply sight pressure to the sprung chassis and keep it from bouncing around.

I also wrap the chassis (after the internal foam block is inserted) in wrapping paper and then wrap that in several layers of the small bubble wrap...unlike the instructions on the TT Factory's site, I do make the individual "modules" a sealed up bubble wrap pillow...I want that thing immobile, but well padded....movement is death...I also want the box to give me at least 2" between it and the chassis underneath the wrapping....

Put that into the inner box, making sure it's snug and will not move, then put another layer of single corrugated cardboard, and put the tonearm and center platter box, toward the center, on top of this, use foam or rolls of bubble wrap to make sure these guys are kept snugly in place and will not shift at all...then another layer of the corrugated cardboard, then close up the box....

Then stick it into the outer box that has at least 2" of padding between it and the inner box...

My main aim in packing electronics is to make sure that there is no way that the different packed pieces can move or shift, at all!

It's the inertia of things moving around that cause most of the damage that occurs during shipping...even in well packed things I have seen transformers sheared off of their mounts just from their inertia...not a single external clue that something has happened, until you unwrap them and feel something moving inside the unit that definitely should not be moving!!!

There should also be enough packing that if the unit is dropped on a corner that there will be nothing anywhere near the corner...which is why I like the platter on the bottom and the arm and center platter on top, they are smaller than the chassis and can be kept farther away from the corners...

This is one way I have done to tables, like the Linn, but the best way is to find a foam supplier in your area and buy a big chunk of "ethifoam" or polyethylene foam, and cut form fitting layers that take the platter, the deck, and the boxes of tonearm and center platter...it costs more, but it looks professional, protects exceptionally well, and is reusable with a minimum of hassle...in these cases I still use the white wrapping paper (it's a lot like newspaper without any printing and seems to do a good job of preventing any kind of material from scratching, mottling (which I have seen happen with plastic wrap against plastic, wood, or painted surfaces), or sticking to what it covers...then wrap that with a plastic bag....

You can probably pick up a huge sheet of 2" thick foam for around $40.00 locally...believe me, it's worth that much as one of the best forms of insurance against shipping damages...now, this foam is not the styrofoam stuff, like those cheap ice chests, nor is it the latex foam like mattresses or pillows are made from..no, it's a lot more rigid, yet "springy" and does not deteriorate from impact, the plastic material is very similar to a foamed version of what is used to make "zip-lock" type food storage bags...the last stuff we bought was black and it was made of 4 layers of 1/2" thick foam bonded together to make the 2" thickness...this is the best stuff we have found for packing things...we just used a sheet of it as auxiliary packing material in a set of crates for some Wilson Maxx's that are going to be traveling to their new owner by ship freight....it was easy to cut form-fitting shapes that really made the packing of these monsters go quite well! For cutting this stuff try using an electric carving knife...although the typical "box cutter" does an admirable job, too...

And for the plastic dust covers....I prefer packing them separately in their own well padded double box with nothing else...