Bullet Proof Crate

[Dominic Carpenter]

If only all manufacturers shipped their machinery like this. Hammer sent my J/P in this bullet proof crate. I had to really work to get through the 2x4 cage that enclosed this machine. WELL DONE!!! As a customer, I truely appreciate the protection they provided my investment while also reducing their damaged freight costs.

[keith micinski]

Lucky dog.

[Pat Barry]

Sorry, but that looks like it was put together by high school students. I can't believe they shipped it like that

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I'm thinking sarcasm...

[Troy Turner]

Those pallet planks look like they would make a good first customer :)

[Pat Barry]

I'm thinking sarcasm...

Doh! Its been a long day.

Dom, I sure hope the machine is intact and functional.

[John Coloccia]

"Do Not Stack"

ROFLMAO

That's nearly as good as the one mitered corner and the other...uhm...not so mitered corner.

[Myk Rian]

My Steel City TS came in a tube steel cage.

[Mark Ashmeade]

Stealth gloat on the Hammer? :)

[Victor Robinson]

surprising...

[Mike Heidrick]

It has the cross 1Xs so its all good.

[Andrew Kertesz]

My Craftsman zip code TS also came in a steel cage. Almost required a certified mechanic to get it out.:D

[Paul Grant]

It almost looks like someone did it after the fact...like at the shipping yard with home depot 2x4's. I would doubt they would use stamped/graded 2x4 material in Europe. Maybe it's an improvement over what was originally there...

[John Coloccia]

Believe it or not, that's actually a little nicer than the crate my Grizzly bandsaw came in. That one literally flopped over and fell apart when I removed the plastic wrap. My Jet jointer/planer came in a real, honest to God, crate, though. I'm talking an Indiana Jones, priceless artifacts crate.

[Dominic Carpenter]

I was surprised by this because my K3 was only covered in shrink wrap and a cardboard box. Diddly on the Grizzly post above. My 513 came in a crate that the wind could blow over and the machine arrived with severe damage to the upper wheel cover. This framing was solid!

[Jim Matthews]

I'm talking an Indiana Jones, priceless artifacts crate.

You still have the hat from when you opened it, on the island?

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[Dominic Carpenter]

I like the idea of the steel cage but what you do with it after you unpacking machine?

[Dan Hintz]

I think THIS is the kind of crate they should all be shipped in (My Trotec Speedy 300 Laser came in it):
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[Ruhi Arslan]

That's interesting. It is definitely not the original crate. I went to pick mine up. It was on 1 1/2" ply resting on two C-channels within a complete enclosure. I had mine left on the base but moved towards one end to have the weight to shift forward of the rear axle of my truck.

[Brian Tymchak]

Definitely way below what I would expect from Hammer. I think I'd be inclined to send that photo off to them with a comment. I wonder if it's been "repackaged" somewhere along the line.

[John Coloccia]

I think you're right, Brian. Like I said, the only piece of machinery that ever came like that was my Grizzly bandsaw. Everything else I've ever gotten that should have been in a crate WAS in a real crate. I'm sure Hammer does it right.

They're out of Germany, yes? Let me tell you a story. One day we were aligning a piece of equipment from Germany, and had a rep on site. We wanted to know which surface was the proper surface to align from, assuming that they carefully machined one surface very flat. The rep looked at me, very dead pan, and said, "They're ALL the proper surface." A friend I worked with in the industry had a very similar story. I'm sure that crate was right when it left. :)

[mreza Salav]

Doesn't seem that protective. I made a crate for my J/P that looked like the one Dan posted. The shippers tilted the crate 45 degree in front of my eyes when loading it and nothing happened:
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[Rich Riddle]

The upper and lower half of that "crate" look entirely different. I picked up a Hammer sliding table saw in Delaware last year and noticed that their equipment arrived on pallets, not in crates, from Austria. The pallets are top-notch strong. It looks as though someone fabricated the top half of that crate in the USA for shipment. For what they charge for shipping, they should be embarrassed it shipped like that. If damage had occurred, you know the shipper would have refused to pay because of the poor crating job.

[Dominic Carpenter]

I want to be clear, I was happy with the protection offered by the 2x4 cage. This arrived on a heavy duty pallet and very strong 2x4 walls(understand enclosing in plywood would add additional protection) . The machine was tightly secured to the pallet. My surprising reaction is based on my previous experiences with shipping protection which was minimal at best, especially the Grizzly Bandsaw. And was surprised by the lack of protection the K3 was shipped with 2 years ago. So this was a big improvement.

[John Coloccia]

Ha ha....we all thought you were being sarcastic and joking about it :) It must be a lot sturdier than it looks.

One of my suppliers has taken shipping to a whole other level. They take small items, and put them in plastic ziplock bags (very heavy duty ones) that are then folded over and sealed with several layers of packing tape. These are then put into USPS shipping boxes. Then several of the shipping boxes are put in another shipping box filled with shredded newspaper. I giggle every time I get a package from them, but at the same time it's incredibly annoying. It takes quite a bit of time to actually get to the thing I ordered.

[Chris Fournier]

I've seen better and I've seen worse! I work at a shop where we sell three brands of motorcycles, two European and one American. The Victory bikes are shipped in reusable crates that are robust. The Ducati crates are steel with a steel cage and cardboard. The KTM crates are a softwood with a barely fortified cardboard cover that is stackable. Most all bikes make it unscathed but when stuff goes south it is usually the KTMs that have suffered. I understand that shipping across the sea has implications and packaging adds to unit cost but safe arrival is the goal.

My MM equipment has all come in strand board crates.

[Myk Rian]

I like the idea of the steel cage but what you do with it after you unpacking machine?
I gave it back to the store that sold it to me. He said he could use it.

[Myk Rian]

One trick I learned/heard of, is when you make a crate, put a good slant to the top.
That way nothing will get stacked on top of it.

[Dan Hintz]

One trick I learned/heard of, is when you make a crate, put a good slant to the top.
That way nothing will get stacked on top of it.

Until they flip a similar crate upside down and nest them ;)

[Mike Heidrick]

Until they flip a similar crate upside down and nest them ;)

LOL!! Awesome!

[Erik Loza]

Dominic, just curious: Was that a showroom/demo unit you bought? That would explain the "warehouse crate", LOL.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Mike Wilkins]

That is much more sturdy than the paper thin wrapping that my Woodtek 25" drum sander was wrapped in. While it was bolted to the bottom, which was stack-laminated inexpensive plywood, the rest of the packing was a joke. Luckily there was no damage to the machine. Still not much protection from a goon on a forklift. Congrats on the new iron.

[John Coloccia]

Until they flip a similar crate upside down and nest them ;)

Sounds like you worked for the moving company that moved our offices one time. We nicknamed them "Whoopsie Daisy Movers". They not only broke the stuff they were supposed to move, they piled hundred of lbs of stuff on our cantilevered cubicle desks and broke some of those too. In desperation, we started loaded millions of dollars worth of equipment into the back of my Durango, and I just moved what I could myself. I'm pretty sure my insurance wouldn't have covered that...

[Dominic Carpenter]

Ordered it in Dec. so, I'm guessing this came in fom Europe a few weeks go. No disrespect to Felder/Hammer. I have been treated very well by all in Delaware- top notch people will not hesitate to work with them again.

[Jim Neeley]

Until they flip a similar crate upside down and nest them ;)

The secret there would be to give it a pitched roof, eh?
(Imagining a dog house shape!) <g>

Then envisioning it being put to use as sleeping quarters when SWMBO found out how much (the collective HE) spent!

Crooning... "I'm in the dog house now...." :D


Jim

[Pat Barry]

Ordered it in Dec. so, I'm guessing this came in fom Europe a few weeks go. No disrespect to Felder/Hammer. I have been treated very well by all in Delaware- top notch people will not hesitate to work with them again.

Might be a new packaging strategy wherein you make everything very visible so that the loaders and movers are very aware of the cargo and subliminally encouraged to take extra care of it for you, thereby ensuring safe passage to you. Brilliant!