How To Pack Your Drums
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What you’ll need
- Packing tape – we recommend using packing/ moving tape, as regular duct tape, or any other tapes tend to let go of the box during shipping.
- Scrap Cardboard or Foam – Save those scraps! Scrap pieces of cardboard or foam can be used to insulate drum shells from each other, or the sides of the box.
- Bubble Wrap – Insulates shells and hardware from each other and any other potential hazards.
- Utility knife – To cut things.
- Drum key – To take apart the drums for easy shipping
- (Optional) Drum head box – For storing the Bass Drum head, makes things a bit easier, but not entirely necessary.
Strip the hardware
A good place to start is usually removing any loose pieces of hardware, anything that could get bent, or scratch a shell should be taken off and wrapped separately. Storing all extra screws, claws, in a bag together is preferred. It’s also a good idea to take off the hoops, wrap these in bubble wrap, and secure them. This will also make the next steps, which also involve the drums being disassembled, much easier.
It’s all in the box, now what?
It’s good to have plenty of padding on every side, there’s never too much padding in the box. A good metric is having at least 2 inches between the outside of the shells and the inside of the outermost box, so that in case something happens during shipping (which we unfortunately see far too often) there’s enough padding around the outside of the drums. A good way to tell if you have enough padding on everything is by giving it the “shake test”. Pick up the box, (which should also be light enough to lift comfortably, or you may incur extra shipping charges) and give it a good shake. If you can safely do so without any knocks or scrapes, you’re probably good to ship.
Packaging your drums
A good way of saving space, and shipping cost, is nesting your drums together, by taking the hoops off of the larger drums, the smaller drums can usually fit inside of them. This will not only save you boxes, but shipping costs as well. One thing to keep in mind, however, is the weight. If it’s too heavy for you to comfortably lift, the shipping company will probably think so too. Make sure to have packing material on ALL SIDES of the drums. Before you put anything at all in the box, add a layer of material underneath your drums, and more on top when you’re finished.
Have something else you want to ship? Click below for an Expert Guide on how to pack your gear!
