Here’s how I pack a bluegrass resonator and case.
First, I mark the position of the bridge just for a
reference point. For a newcomer to the
bloodsport of bluegrass, I will place an arrow on a visible part of a bridge
foot aiming toward the peghead to indicate the orientation of the bridge, which
I will remove once I’ve slackened the strings and place in an envelop (marked
“BRIDGE”) in the accessories compartment.
Second, I stuff the accessories compartment with some
packing material so the items stored there – sometimes a set of pics, extra
strings, etc – won’t clack around when I shake the packed box in order to
determine whether the banjo is packed so that there is no movement in the box;
I don’t want the sound from the compartment to suggest that the instrument
itself is banging around and therefore needs to be repackaged.
Third, I swath the banjo in bubble wrap paying close
attention to providing sufficient cushioning for the fifth string peg and the
peg head by mummifying both in layers of wrap.
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The main difference between packing a BG banjo
in a hard shell case and packing an open back banjo or any banjo without a
case, and any banjo in a soft shell case is this: in the hard shell case one needs to be careful
that the swathing is not thick enough to make it harder to close and secure the
top of the case.
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The bubble wrap needs to fit comfortable between
the top of the accessories compartment and the top of the closed case. If it is too tight, it could be adding extra
pressure on the neck that would add to the G-forces on the instrument once
boxed and put in the system, where it is probably going to be jostled
around. In short, the top of the case
needs to close easily over the neck once the neck is wrapped for protection.
Fourth, I lay down a field of peanuts – or other packing
material – so that the peghead is comfortably resting on a soft pillow, which
minimizes instrument movement in the case.
Ø
The key here is to eliminate the possibility of
neck whiplash in the event the packed banjo is bounced around in the delivery
process.
Ø
Once again, the case needs to close easily over
the top of the peanuts. The peanuts
should not make it harder to shut the case, because that, too, would be
subjecting the banjo to stress. We want
stress free banjos as much as we want stress free banjo players (though I don’t
recommend bubble wrapping bluegrass banjo players in any transshipment
arrangement).
Fifth, I select a cardboard box that I can reinforce in the
interior. I make certain that there is
about two inches fore and aft between the top of the box and the top of the
case, and between the bottom of the box and the bottom of the case, for extra
cushioning. I tend to assemble my boxes
from large furniture packing boxes. They
tend to be of stout material, and are often already double layered. I use packing peanuts for cushioning. Crumbled newspapers is another way to go, but
they tend to make for a heavier box. And
in these days of internet news, its harder to find neighbors who have
subscriptions to newspapers that they’ll stockpile for your packing
requirements. The electrons that compose
internet newspapers just do not provide the necessary protection to anything
other than a virtual banjo.
Sixth, I mix in the peanuts, making sure that they fill the
sides and top/bottom in a way that will immobilize the box once the top is
secured in place with tape. Depending on
the box, and the volume of peanuts, I will lay down a layer of loose cardboard
to keep the peanuts in place, over which I will fit the top to the box. I fashion those tops of two pieces of
cardboard, with the smaller one glued to the larger one for more of that
“double boxing” effect.
Seventh, I tape the top of the box in place with scotch tape
type packing tape, and pick the thing up, shake it, and listen for movement in
the box. If the peanuts shift and the
case seems to have space enough to move around, I remove the tape and fix the
mix of peanuts necessary to hold the case firmly before re-taping the top. Depending on the box, I might elect to use
some reinforced gummed water activated brown paper packing tape over the scotch
tape. This might be overkill, but I tend
to that side of the equation in packing banjos.
I aim for the bullet proof packing.
Eighth, I address the interior of the box before I put the
brown paper wrap on the thing as an added level of insurance that, should the
label be compromised, lost or rendered unreadable in transit, there’s still a
fail safe way of making certain the box’s destination is clear to the delivery
service (beyond their documents and shipment manifests). Again, I know that is overkill. Indulge me.
Packing banjos is one part technique and method, and two parts
superstition. (To drive home that point
I will say that I glue the address labels into place, then put some clear
packing tape over them, more overkill/comfort level.)
Ninth, I swath the box in brown wrapping paper, securing the
top and bottom, and seams of the wrapping, with reinforced gummed water
activated brown paper packing tape. I
place FRAGILE stickers on every surface of the box – top, bottom, sides – so
they can be seen however the banjo is stacked for shipment. I insure for replacement value, and request
tracking/delivery confirmation documentation.
No boxing job is ever the same. Like snowflakes or fingerprints they are all
unique. Everybody has their own
preferred methods/techniques/superstitions governing the job of packing and
mailing a banjo.
There are dividends that spring from the laborious job of
carefully packing a banjo and hauling it to the Post Office. After taking box after box of banjos to our
local USPO for mailing, filling out the insurance forms, and answering the questions
from the postal clerks about contents and fragility, I had one clerk ask
whether I repair these old instruments because his Mom in West Virginia had
uncovered an old banjo in the attic that belonged to a great grandfather and
was looking to have it restored for pride of place in the family home. Made a friend, and got a new client for
Little Bear Banjo Hospital.
Play hard,
Lew
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