Homeade shipping box

[Stan671]

I wanted to bring my HT to Segway Fest in Chicago and was flying, so I decided to make my own wooden box to house & protect my HT as checked baggage. It needed to be less than 62 linear inches (L + W + H) and weight less than 70 pounds to only incur the $25 extra fee (which, BTW, I was only charged for at one airport).

I used plywood (I forget the thinkness) for the 6 sides, brass handles, hinges and latches, 1"x1"'s lining all of the joints along with glue and brass screws all over the place. And the whole thing was smooth and sprayed with a polyurethane coating.

As you can see from the pictures, I removed the batteries, fenders and control shaft from the platform, wrapped it in plastic and secured it to the bottom of the box with padding and rope. The ropes are secured to four large screw eyes attached to the bottom of the box and wrapped all around the platform. There is also wood attached to the bottom of the box under the platform to hold the platform from shifting. When completely packaged, the whole thing weights about 68 pounds.

The strong box and the secured platform made if very safe to check the box as baggage. I did not lock the box so that the inspecters could look it over. I also put documentation in the box with the technical details of the platform and the whole Segway HT so that they would know what it was used for. The rest of the parts of the HT fit into two other regular suitcases along with my clothes and other stuff. I put Segway documentation in all of those suitcases also.

I had no trouble at either Newark or Chicago airports. If I fly to Florida in October, I will certainly use the box.

http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box1.jpg

http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box2.jpg

http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box3.jpg

Stan Dobrowski

[gotseg]

Looks nice Stan, I was wondering if someone would make a custom shipping box before fest this year. Leaving the 'strip ties' (what are they called?) taped to the top of the box is a great idea. Also looks like the box could be flipped hundreds of times and the seg base wouldn't move an inch.

Awsome Job.

http://www.giguphosting.com/gotseg/gotseg.gif
segless and looking

[Stan671]

Detail of the a typical corner. I used 1x1's to line all the joints between plywood sheets. They are glued and screwed. Around the opening in the bottom section and the lid, I used 2x2's.
http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box4.jpg

The bottom of the box without the HT in it. The two long blocks fit into the area in the platform where the batteries go. This holds the base from moving around. You can also see the four screw eyes that are used with the ropes. There is weather stripping foam along the top edge of the bottom section of the box to make a firm, dirt-proof seal with the lid.
http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box5.jpg

The box closed. There are two latches on the front and one on each side. There is a handle on each side. I even put decorative brass corners on the lid.
http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box6.jpg

Three hinges hold the lid. You can see the foam compressed by the closed lid to make a good seal.
http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box7.jpg

Detail of one outside corner on the bottom. There are 158 countersunk brass screws and lots of glue holding all the wood together. And another 54 brass screws holding on the brass hardware. You can even see some of the damage done by one round trip on planes from Newark to Chicago and back.
http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box8.jpg

With the lid open, you can see the foam on the 2x2's that make up the frame around the openings.
http://www.sdobrowski.net/images/box9.jpg


Stan Dobrowski

[segwayowner]

Is it in someway watersealed?
I love the design!! It's great, and i think it will work well.
You should also put "Fragile" all over the exterior.

DES

DES: Segway owner....
it has a nice ring to it

A human has 60,000 miles of blood vessels in their body.
Alaska was bought from Russia for about 2 cents an acre
A quarter has 119 grooves on its edge; a dime has one less groove
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open

[Stan671]

It is not intended to be watersealed, but with all of the glue, maybe it is. <grin> I wanted a good seal on the lid to keep dust out.

I thought about putting fragile stickers on it, but I figured that would make the baggage handlers want to play football with it.

Actually, I wanted to make the box strong enough to handle any baggage situation they would put it through. It is cerainly stronger than any suitcase. I worked very hard to protect that platform and I was not worried about it. I will admit, though, that when I saw it come down the baggage claim chute for the first time intact, I was relieved.

Stan Dobrowski

[Stan671]

Stan