Shipping a crank for nitriding

One of the steps in converting a Corvair engine for aviation use is crankshaft nitriding. William Wynne identified Moldex as a good vendor for doing the work to aircraft spec. WW mentioned building a plywood box for shipping the crank there to protect it. Below are a number of suggestions to protect the crank during shipping there and back including packing and box structure.

• A section of PVC pipe. Cap one end permanently and tape the other end on. Pack the crank in bubble wrap and carpet. Ron Milan advises against using just PVC piping due to a negative experience he had with UPS. He used ch. 40 6" PVC to be exact, with a glued cap on one end and a female adapter on the other with a screw in plug---with the crank inserted in a plastic bag then wrapped in carpet with each end heavily padded with many layers of carpet and the aforementioned inserted in a double layered cardboard box. UPS managed to put a large hole in the side of the PVC tube. In cold weather, the PVC may become brittle. He strongly advises making the box as bullet proof as possible into which you put the PVC pipe container.
• Maybe 6" ID pipe with heavy bubble-wrap inside
• A plywood box. Other list members have mentioned UPS' success in destroying plywood boxes.
• The best container mentioned is a large heavy duty cardboard tube with 3/4 plywood ends. The crank is wrapped with old carpet until it is a snug fit in the tube. These tubes are used for concrete pillar forms and are available at Home Depot.

-- NormanSmit - 21 Dec 2009