Turning Tools Transportation

[Ellen Benkin]

I apologize if this has been asked and answered but I can't find the answer. I have a friend who travels between California and Maine taking turning classes. As a result, she spends many dollars shipping her tools from coast to coast via UPS. UPS has been very reliable but the packing is extremely costly. I wondered if there was a container of some sort she could use to pack her turning tools for shipping and not have to pay UPS for packing each time. I could make something out of wood, but the weight would increase the cost of shipping. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Dwight Rutherford]

Hard rifle cases can be locked so something like this might work out. http://www.midwayusa.com/find?sortby=1&itemsperpage=24&newcategorydimensionid=10801

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

David Ellsworth uses a piece of PVC pipe with threaded caps on each end and a loop of rope for a handle.

[Thom Sturgill]

Most of my tools now have hollow metal handles that allow me to reverse the blade in the handle and bury most of the blade. This makes the entire tool only 16-18" long and would allow a standard shipping box to work. If you want to be able to reuse the same box (or another one the same size) then foam packing would be a good option.

My hollowing yools are an exception to this - I would need DE's pipe case for them since I use his tools and handle design.

[Wayne Lovell]

Pelican makes a bunch of different boxes for guns, camera cases etc. These boxes have foam inside and can be customized for anything that will fit into them. They are pretty much bullet proof, recently some kayakers on the Devil's river were caught in a flash flood and lost all of their equipment including a Pelican case with several thousand dollars worth of camera equipment. Two or three months later (and about 100 miles away) a fisherman on Lake Falcon found the case floating in the lake and returned it, the equipment in the case was not damaged. You would probably need to find one that would hold the tools and also fit in a standard shipping box to be most economical.

[Ellen Benkin]

Thanks for the suggestion Dwight. I thought of gun cases but I need to measure the tools and cases and also find out if UPS can ship them without repacking.

[Steve Paxman]

I'm actually a little curious about traveling across the country for turning classes. No local turning club or classes a few states closer?

I don't know anything about shipping the lathe tools, though.

[Ellen Benkin]

Steve --
My friend takes classes at the Center For Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport Maine. She also enjoys a couple of months in Maine -- which beats being in Los Angeles in the Summer.

[Harry Robinette]

If she gets them in a gun case she should be able to put them in baggage on the plane. She might have to unlock and show them to the security but so what.

[John Beaver]

I just put mine in a tool roll and put them in my luggage. TSA usually opens the luggage and looks, but I've never had a problem.

The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine is a fantastic place. Worth the trip back east. You can usually schedule back-to-back week long workshops with some great teachers.