Rodney, I think it will help if I have a picture of the machine in the box, wrapped up but unsealed. It will add some confidence to see that it's not sitting on a few bunches of newspaper.

I can (and am willing to) ship a box of good foam to anyone in the US for the shipping costs($10 or less) should be cheaper than buying materials....

Now here is were terminology can get it the way - I didn't think there was any Styrofoam in any of the boxes. We've used Styrofoam for some insulation products, but don't consider the pink stuff the same thing. Maybe technically it's the same, I don't know, just never considered it to be.

BTW - I would not use what I consider "Styrofoam" for packing. Though it's probably the most common thing used to hold things stable inside boxes.

Now that I know this, I would not use it shipping something else to you LOL!!

hehe, sokey. As long as you pack them as well as you did on the Politype, I'dd deal with the little white bits from hell....

The pink stuff is fine....

I've often wondered is you could use that styrofoam stuff in a can that expands to close up holes to stabilize machines when shipping. It dries solid.

I sent a sewing machine to my sister 2 years ago. We used foam that we had, I had some batting she'd sent me that I knew I wasn't going to use, so that went into it. We packed it up nice and tight. Then we put a bigger box around it, packed it super tight and shipped it UPS.

It got there just fine. Double boxing is something my DH does when he ships an antique radio or 45 record player to an enthusiast. It works very well.

However, if the UPS guy tosses it over a fence because you're not home and he doesn't want to return the next day, there is still breakage. So insuring your machine is a must!

Try using plastic grocery bags. Wad them up nice and tight (many in one bag, tied shut when full) and stuff them in as tight as you can. They always 'relax' some, which makes them kind of like bubble packaging. And you can fit them into odd shaped places, too.

I can't imagine running out of those darn plastic grocery bags.

Very generous. Thank You.

Jon

just paying it forward as it were. I feel that am frequently the beneficiary of more than my share of good fortune, and I try to respond to the universe in kind, where I can. I cannot afford for example, to offer to do it without charging the cost of the shipping(often...)

I can attest that the foam he uses is REALLY nice for shipping machines. He shipped me 2 treadles using it and those things arrived safe and secure...even if it did take me the better part of an hour to UNpack them :D