How to safely pack and ship used McIntosh

[ron-c]

Many buy and sell used McIntosh components with the famous glass face plates. Unfortunatly most of these will be damaged in transit due to improper packing.
The proper way to ship these units is to use the original packing with all of the original feet installed on the unit. The packing must keep any and all pressure off of the glass face plate. Original packing is available from McIntosh and is $50.00 for a small box and $75.00 for the large boxes.
Corncurls, bubble wrap, air bag pack, styrafoam, etc will not work. Please be aware that many of the older models have exhausted the supply of the faceplate trim pieces. Once these units are freight damaged they are basically junk. The freight companies will also not pay a damage claim if non original factory packing is used, unless you are lucky.
Lets keep the old units running and damage free.

Thanks,
ron-c

[grumpy]

Ron

You must have been reading my mind. I have been meaning to call McIntosh to see how much these boxes are. My 2205 and C32 will be visiting their long lost kin at the factory very soon for a bit of work. Thanks !


Grumpy

[Don C]

I noticed that Terry's pages specifically warn against shipping McIntosh components in their wood cases. What happens if you do that?

[grumpy]

My Guess is on some of the larger components like amps the pin of the panlocs can give out and then the potential of the amp sliding in the case is increased which in turn has more potential for damaging the glass faceplate ad trim.

[ron-c]

Men,

The panlocks are designed to keep the unit in the wood case while on your shelf only. Shipping in the cases will result in very ugly unit damage and a trashed wooden case. If any of you are ever by Binghamton, please stop by. You can visit our sevice department and you will see dozens of units that have been trashed in shipment. We had a MC602 come in that was opened by US Customs. They took it out of the box and then just threw it back in. It is hard to believe that 1/2 glass can be broken into so many pieces. Yikes!

Ron-C

[dewickt]

Got a MC2205 in for repair, gave the customer the usual about wood box and packing - he sent it in the box anyway, destroyed the wood case but the amp survived.
Sent it back with 4" of heavy duty bubble pack on all sides, UPS dropped it hard enough to bend the chassis up in all 4 corners, shatter the meters and glass, and leave an impression of the power transformer in the bottom cover, it's going back tripple boxed mounted like original on plywood with a large cutout to protect the glass, thank god for Insurance, UPS paid me for the mess that they made.

Terry

www.mcintoshaudio.com

[Don C]

I'd like to get a better idea of what McIntosh uses so that I can get an idea of how to do it here, I have plywood and saws, and I hate to spend money on something that I can make myself. Got any pictures of the packing mataerials? It sounds like you need a piece of plywood drilled to fasten to the bottom of the component, with a slot cut to clear the faceplate. I can make that. Anything else?

[dewickt]

First steps are right, I use the feet as locators for clearence holes that they go into, mark the 3 screw holes that will screw the plywood to the bottom, make sure the rectangular hole is large enough to completeley clear the front panel, use wood thick enough so that the panel clears the bottom packing material. I then put a layer of bubble in the box, then the amp with plywood base, then some non scratching pad, a layar of bubble, and layers of cardboard to ensure a snug fit when I tape the box shut. The outer box can be about an inch to 2 inches larger, fill the void with any good material handy - foam sheet, bubble or more card board as a spacer.

[bigmacc]

Want to avoid problems in shipping? Follow my three step program.


1. Buy from guys on this site.
2. Store at Grumpys for free no limit on time.:eek:
3. Go down and visit the Grumpster and pick up.

Works for me.:D

[ron-c]

Guys, the key is that the unit needs to be in an inner box which prevents any pressure from being applied to the faceplate. This inner box should be placed in a very strong outer box with reinforced corners. Bubble pack is a no no in the inner box as it will transmit pressure to the face plate.

Thanks again,
Ron-C

[rhinofly]

When I shipped my amp off to Terry for some work, I was going to cut out a piece of plywood and mound it to the bottom with some extra feet I have lying around. The problem I encountered was that I found it hard to mount in such a way that the screws were not dangerously close to some internal electrical component. I was afraid that if dropped the screws would be shoved into the transformer or some cap or something. There was not alot of clearance there.

I think I will call up Mcintosh and get the original shipping stuff to be safe when I sell it...if I sell it:)

[Brian]

Yeah got the right idea. Mc spent years making a carton that would withstand almost anything since it could not afford damaged goods in shipping. Just make sure you tell the guy you are shipping it to to make sure he ships it back in the same carton. I had a bloke do it one time on me and when I telephoned him after getting the unit back undamaged in a generic shipping crate, I made him pony up the cost of a new carton from Mc and sending him the receipt showing I had actually spent money getting it and it was my property.

[GordonW]

... One packing method, that's been foolproof for me (ie, it'll survive anything but the shipping company dropping it out of the airplane or a truck backing over it), is to use a box big enough to get at least 2-1/2 to 3 inches clearance all the way around the unit, and use Owens-Corning STYROFOAM board insulation from a hardware store (ie, the 1/2" or 3/4" thick solid styrofoam sheet insulation, cut out and layered in panels on all sides of the unit. I've taken this stuff, and with a hot knife or utility blade, cut out recesses to stress-relief knobs, faceplates, terminal strips, dustcovers and the like... just cut recesses into it so there's nothing being stressed, that shouldn't be contacted. If you use good sense, and pack it TIGHT in this stuff, there's really no disadvantage to using this over most factory packing. Basically, if you use as many solid sheets as possible, it's the next best thing to armor-plating I've found. :D

I've shipped vintage JBL speakers, vintage Marantz electronics, and more this way, and never had a damage report... it'll definitely pass the "4 foot drop" test, if you do it thick and tight enough!

Regards,
Gordon.