Options for shipping wood

[Tim Boger]

I'm in communication with a fellow wood guy on a different forum, he has 6-8 pieces of spalted material that appear to be 12"-16" wide by 2'-3' long by 1" to 1.5" thick that he'll ship to me.

My question is, besides using "Flat Rate Boxes" and cutting the material to fit within ..... couldn't he just use a bunch of the clear packing tape and bundle up 3-4 pieces together and ship via UPS ?

Thank you for any suggestions,
Tim

[Lee Schierer]

I believe UPS will ship wood. A number of years ago a friend from Canada shipped some wood via UPS to may house and then he came down from Canada to pick it up.

[Bonnie Campbell]

I've had boards shipped to me through UPS. The seller usually just wrapped cardboard around the boards and then taped it up really good. The cardboard helps keep it (somewhat) from getting all dinged up in transit.

[Tim Boger]

I believe UPS will ship wood. A number of years ago a friend from Canada shipped some wood via UPS to may house and then he came down from Canada to pick it up.

Hi Lee ... thank you for your feedback, I suspected that UPS would do this.

Appreciate it,
Tim Boger

[Tim Boger]

Greetings Bonnie,

I felt kind of foolish asking this question but just wanted some current thoughts on the subject.

Thank you for your feedback,
Tim Boger
I've had boards shipped to me through UPS. The seller usually just wrapped cardboard around the boards and then taped it up really good. The cardboard helps keep it (somewhat) from getting all dinged up in transit.

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on Bonnie's suggestion above.

I shipped some large Apple boards with nothing on them
but a label and they were handled without incident.

So long as you stay under the maximum size limitations
(Combined LxWxH < 166 inches)
they'll accept it.

How well they'll handle something that large
that's prone to fracture is another matter.

I would reinforce with 1/8" ply and a cap of some kind for the ends.

If you're a little more adventurous, try UShip.
I've had good results that way.

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/ship/packaging/dim_weight.html

[Kent A Bathurst]

FedEx ships also. Dunno the exact rules re: size. I get high-end curly maple from PA shipped that way, but if I buy over-length I have to tell them how to cut it. Again - I forget the dim limits....sorry.

[Rich Enders]

A few years ago I ordered some WRC for outdoor benches and chairs. Part of the shipment came common carrier LTL, and a small balance came later UPS. Both shipments were just bundled with PP strapping, and as rough sawn it was hard to tell if there was any damage.

[mike mcilroy]

Just wondered if anyone from Canada has had any live edge slabs shipped to Canada from a US supplier. If so any pros or cons.

[Tim Boger]

Thanks Jim, great info.

Tim


+1 on Bonnie's suggestion above.

I shipped some large Apple boards with nothing on them
but a label and they were handled without incident.

So long as you stay under the maximum size limitations
(Combined LxWxH < 166 inches)
they'll accept it.

How well they'll handle something that large
that's prone to fracture is another matter.

I would reinforce with 1/8" ply and a cap of some kind for the ends.

If you're a little more adventurous, try UShip.
I've had good results that way.

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/ship/packaging/dim_weight.html

[Danny Hamsley]

To ground ship via UPS, I believe that the weight has to be less than 80 pounds. If you ship without a cardboard box, i.e. just tape the boards together, there is an additional charge. Last time I shipped this way the extra charge was $9. Unless you have a UPS business account, wood will cost you a bit over $1 per pound to ship from my experience.

[John C Bush]

Hi Tim ,
I didn't think of using UPS/FED-EX for the wood I sent. I just assumed it would be more than USPS flat rate. Would have been interesting to check cost difference. John.

[Scott DelPorte]

I recently had two boards shipped to me from Ohio (I'm in NH). Each board was about 8' X 2" X 9" and total shipping cost via UPS was $55. They wrapped them in cardboard with double layers on the ends and taped it up pretty well. It arrived without incident.

[fRED mCnEILL]

If you want it well protected buy some 1/8" doors skin. Its nice and light and protects better than cardboard.