[Milsurplus] Packing material for shipping ?

[Nick England]

I have had very good results when people have sent me some heavy things
packed by FedEx using their expandable foam bags. Several 50lb teletypes
and a 70 lb exciter.

I hate receiving gear that has been packed in that crumbly white foam
insulation. Takes forever to get rid of the static balls even when the gear
has been wrapped up in a garbage bag.

The best stuff for heavy gear may be the somewhat flexible,
whitish-translucent, slick-feeling, non-crumbly foam often found making up
corner pieces for computers or heavier consumer electronics. Obviously I
can’t remember it’s name but it has excellent strength/elasticity.
Expensive though. Probably easiest to cut thick slabs with a hot knife, but
one or two passes with a box cutter will do it too.

I like the blue or pink non-crumbly insulation foam boards from SLowe’s or
Home Despot. Cuts easily with a box cutter knife. Sold in 4x8 sheets so
take along a box cutter to make it more manageable when hauling it across a
windy parking lot. It is harder so I use bubble wrap or dense sponge rubber
(underlayment is good) around the equipment and blue foam as the box liner.
YMMV. No warranty, etc.
Nick K4NYW

On Wed, Jan 13, 2021 at 12:07 AM Hubert Miller <Kargo_cult at msn.com> wrote:

> Has anyone used the 'polystyrene sheet hot knife' for cutting the sheets
> for packing?
> I am doing a fair bunch of Ebay selling and scrounging packing materials
> is becoming
>
> a challenge. Uline has 'plank foam' which I think is great stuff but is
> rather pricey. The
>
> good old staticky white poly sheet is a little more affordable, 24 x 48 x
> 2 inches works
>
> out to $2+ each sheet. I hate to work with that stuff tho. When I get a
> parcel packed
>
> with that, I need to have the vacuum cleaner right there or it's like an
> experience of
>
> staticky snow. Same with packing up parcels, if you cut the poly sheet or
> score it and
>
> break. The hot cutting knife costs $290 each, ouch! My brother says use
> carpet
>
> underlayment scrap for packing. Alternatives? The Uline foam-in-place
> seems to be
>
> intended for smallish objects, not BC-654 or BC-312 size and weight
> anchors.
>
> thanks-
>
> Hue Miller
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-- 
Nick England K4NYW
www.navy-radio.com
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