I've purchased a handful of Lisas over the last few years, and with the exception of one, have been utterly disappointed with what passes for "expertly packaged" in the minds of the seller. On one occasion, the Lisa arrived with nothing more than the box around it, a warped chassis, and broken a pedestal. Another had a thin layer of bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts, but hardly enough to protect it under normal shipping circumstances. Insurance is helpful, sure, but the shipper needs to do their due diligence to ensure the packaging is adequate. After all, a Lisa is heavy as-is; what's another few pounds of packing materials?
As another PCS looms in the not-so-distant future, I thought I'd pack a Lisa away in preparation of that move and take some photos along the way. If the previous move taught me anything, it's that no one cares more about your goods than you do.
The goal: Pack the Lisa and assorted accessories (sans ProFile) to survive a cross-county shipping experience.
Materials:
(1) 24x24x24 shipping box
(1) 22x22x22 shipping box
(1) 20x20x4 shipping box
(Eight) styrofoam corner pieces
(1) 4'x8'x1" foam insulation board
~9'x24" large bubble wrap
~4'x24" small bubble wrap
Thick packing paper
Some excess cardboard material
I know this sounds like overkill, and the price adds up if you go retail on the materials, but Apple doesn't make Lisa's anymore and hasn't for about 35 years. To me, it's worth the effort to pack her up safely.
With the materials ready to go, seal the bottom of the largest box (24^3) in an H pattern, using a few strips of tape in the center and a strip on each side, to seal the bottom of the box. Insert (4) of the corner pieces inside:
Next, seal the 22^3 box in the same way and insert it between the corner pieces, as seen here:
Cut out a 21.5"x21.5" piece of foam board and insert it at the bottom of the box:
To help protect the pedestal during transit, I made some shoes for the feet by wrapping some cardboard around them and taping them up. Who knows if it'll work, but hopefully the cardboard will take some of the impact:
I then took apart an Amazon box and wrapped it under the pedestal, over the feet and screen, and over the top of the Lisa to help create a "box" around the Lisa. She's a little front-heavy, and the feet take the brunt of that weight if you flip her over:
I then proceeded to wrap the large bubble wrap around the front and back of the Lisa a few times then sealed it up:
Insert the Lisa into the box and center:
Next, cut out two 21.5"x18" pieces of foam board and insert them parallel to the the front and back of the Lisa. Then, cut out two 20"x18" pieces of foam board and insert them along the sides of the Lisa. This method will hold all foam pieces along the outside of the box. Stuff some thick packing paper in the void:
Assemble the smallest 20x20x4 box using the same methods as described earlier. Wrap the keyboard with the small bubble wrap, and insert into the box along with other accessories like the mouse, power cable, etc. Use some packing paper to fill the void:
Seal the smallest box, and insert it between the foam pieces:
Seal the middle box:
Insert the remaining corner pieces and seal up the outer box:
Hopefully this effort will ensure the Lisa makes it wherever it needs to go without sustaining damage along the way. Any tips or suggestions are welcome.