Shipping radio and dial glass

 Hello, I recently received my radio I had bought from Italy. 1939 1+1 Philips. Unfortunately when it arrived the dial glass had become slightly cracked on one side. It could have been worse so I should be happy about that. 

My question, what is the best way to secure a dial glass for shipping? Should I put tape across the glass to reduce vibrations? Take out glass and ship seperately? What do you reccomend? 

Many thanks,

Brandon

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

Hello Brandon,     The same happened to me with a radio made in Israel that I bought recently. In my case, the dial glass was fastened to the wood cabinet with screws and tabs. Since the wood had dried out, the glass came loose from the shipping process. Also the speaker came loose and it struck the glass. My heart sank when I picked up the box it was in. So, my suggestion is to contact the seller before they ship the radio and insist that they fill the inside of the radio with bubble wrap or rolled up paper. Do not use foam peanuts.  Depending on the design, it would be useful to remove the tubes also and wrap them individualy. If the inside of the radio is cushioned in this way it will survive more reliably. Although my dial glass was cracked, I was able to sandwich and glue it to another piece of glass. Otherwise it was not replaceable. How many radios made in Israel have you seen? It's still a cool radio.        Good luck,  Garrett  

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

I took the glass out, put it to a (flat) piece of (ply)wood, one paper sheet in between, then wrapped in (small) bubble wrap and stowed close to a flat surface at the radio.

I went even further by reinforcing the shipping carton with thin plywood (4 mm). The radio covered with 2 layers of (large) bubble wrap. Then the empty space filled with styrofoam sheets (not chips). That prevents from deep dents caused by other parcels being dropped upon mine.

More than 100 times it worked from Germany to USA. It means extra costs and effort, but it pays !  

By the way: Bakelite cases always empty! Chassis and speaker in separate box. Double boxing! 

Good luck!

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

 Thanks for the suggestions. I need to know for in the future. My heart sank too when I picked the radio up out of the box and a tiny piece of glass fell at my feet. Luckily it is chipped out of view, behind the wood. but the little crack, well, what can you do.. I guess I could make a scan of the glass and go that route if I wanted. As long as it dosn't get any worse, it is ok. 

 I never thought of packing the inside of the radio! Good idea. In the future I will suggest that to the shipper. as well as wrapping tubes.

 No, I have never seen a radio made in Israel that I can recall. Rare indeed! 

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

 I will take your advice and save some thin plywood sheets from work. Your right, it is worth the extra money. A heartache to wait for a radio in the mail and it arrives broken. 

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

For shipping a recently reproduced dial glass for a Siemens 37WLK from Italy to Germany, my colleague Roberto Guidorzi used a box which in the photo is inspected by his pet.

In this way, the dial glass arrived absolute savely.

The pattern for the scan used for the reproduction was dial glass wich the famous radio historian Günter Abele sent to me. He also used a metallic box for shipping, and in this case it had been an empty old radio chassis.

Regards,

Dietmar

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.

 Now that is a professional job! Should be easy to make too. Thank you. 

To thank the Author because you find the post helpful or well done.