Making a box for shipping your rolling ball sculpture.

Getting your sculpture in a box and ready to ship doesn't seem like a
problem until you actually have to do it. Don't be afraid though, it's not
that hard to do. With some basic tools, your box will ship worry free!

If you are packing a small sculpture - something without a proper frame,
then get a cardboard box that is just bigger than the size of your sculpture. Wrap the
sculpture in bubble wrap, and pack all around it either newspaper, or
packing bubbles or whatever you have handy to fill the space. If it cannot
move, then it won't get hit into the side of the box, and should ship just fine.
It's easy to just buy the cardboard box you will need.



If you need to make a wooden box, like the one shown here in the pictures then
just follow these easy steps.

 Measure and build one side of the frame of the box. If your rolling ball sculpture
hangs on the wall, then make the side that it will be firmly attached to first. If it stands
on the floor or table, then make the bottom of the box first. Firmly attach the bottom
of the sculpture to the base of the box and then make the rest of the box frame. Once
the frame is made, stretch wood across inside from frame to frame and make sure
the rest of the sculpture cannot move, at all. Once it cannot move, then just cover. 

For a wall hanging rolling ball sculpture attach the sculpture in the box as if it were on
the wall. If the outside framing of the box is too wide to be under the frame of your sculpture
then add a cross piece under your sculpture's frame for support and to attach to if possible.
Lay everything on its back, then measure and add all of the rest of the supports. The sculpture
cannot move because it is secured to the box itself, this way you do not have to worry about filling it with
some kind of packing material to keep the sculpture from moving around. It can't move. 
The frame at this point may not seem very strong, but once you screw on all
of the panels, it is rock solid and ready for shipping.
 



 
This picture shows the cardboard box that holds all of the marbles.
Paul, the buyer bought 5 different sets of marbles to go with his
rolling ball sculpture. He wanted different colors to use. Once the
sculpture is in the box, I secure it into a corner so it cannot move.
Other times I just secure the bag of marbles to a stud, and the
does the trick.



 
The box looks like it is many layers of wood. It looks like
this because I cut up the ends of a sheet of plywood to
get the straight, thin pieces I need to make the frame of the box.
I use these strips in place of 2x2's on smaller boxes.
I cut the end of the sheet about 2" wide. If you stack a few
pieces of plywood on top of each other before you cut, then
one cut gets you more than one piece. I take these pieces and
screw two of them together to make the "studs"
I need for the frame. Two of these strips
screwed together works just fine, but three gives you more
 wood to work with, and the screws do not poke out
the other side. (1-1/4" sheet rock screws - sold by the pound)
 I only have to do this if I am shipping to an
international destination that does not allow anything but
manufactured wood. All countries are different.



If you don't have to use cut up pieces of plywood, for domestic shipping,
or a country that doesn't require it,  then I recommend
that you cut 2x4's in half, longways. These make great studs for framing.
I also recommend that you only use screws. They hold better than nails,
and if you need to remove any of them it's pretty easy.
The receiver will have to remove whatever you use.

Here is #72 getting ready to ship. Click on photo for bigger picture.

Shipping #73 wall hanging rolling ball sculpture.
(below)

Step one is to make the side of the box you will be attaching your sculpture to. I cut the sheets to size, added wood strips around the edge for support and strength, and so the siding I will add later will have something to screw into.

My box was just a little too small, and I had to add to the closest edge to extend the box just 3 inches. Here you can see the ring secured and the frame also secured to the OSB under it. If your sculpture is secured to the box, it cannot move. If it cannot move, then you will not need to fill it with any extra packing materials.

Next add the uprights. They don't need to be secured, they just need to stand up on their own. When you add the sheets to the outside, they will hold everything together.

Two sides on.

4 sides on.

If your box is big, then you will want to use a support to keep the sheets from pushing in, and potentially damaging your art.

Finally, add arrows to show how it should ship, and the ever needed fragile...Now your box is ready to ship!

I used 1 1/4" drywall screws, some 3" gold deck screws, 7 sheets of osb, tape meaure, pencil, chalk line, and a skil saw. To get the strips I need for the frame I take a sheet of osb and cut it into 3 equal parts of 32" each. Lay the three pieces on top of each other and then cut 2" strips off, getting three strips per cut.


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