Shipping a piano from Overseas

[Overs Pianos]

Kuang,

>I'm shipping my Boesendorfer from Vienna to the states.  Has any of you
>shipped a grand from overseas?  If so, I would appreciate some advise.
>
>So far I've contacted 2 shipping companies and they're gonna get back to me
>on the cost (air and sea).  One of them may "pack" the piano so I don't even
>need to be there in Vienna.

Even if you ship the piano by air, I would advise you to have the 
piano completely sealed, with a desiccant material included within 
the sealed package. It may also be advisable to have the sealed 
material vacuum pumped to reduce the volume at low altitude (this 
would allow the bag to contract around the back beams, reducing its 
volume at ground level). When the package is de-pressurised at 
altitude there may be a tendency for it to expand and push out 
against the walls of the crate if it is not volume reduced at ground 
level.

When we air freighted a new grand piano to the US last July, the 
packing company did not place the piano in a fully sealed 'bag' 
inside the crate. Our piano suffered some moisture damage during 
transit. In particular, the key capstans, which had a nicely polished 
surface prior to leaving Australia, were nicely tarnished by the time 
the piano reached the US. This went un-noticed during the exhibit of 
the piano, causing the action to have extra friction (since we had 
completed the piano only a few days before it left Australia for the 
US, I hadn't expected the capstans to be corroded - we live an 
learn). The conditions in an aircraft hold are very cold and 
de-pressurised. Hence the need for careful packing to avoid 
un-necessary deterioration of the instrument.

Furthermore, when the piano is placed into the crate, be sure that 
the packers use a wooden bass to support the piano within the crate. 
Our piano was damage because the piano was supported in the crate 
using hard foam. Hard foam would be fine provided that the piano is 
not dropped, but if it is dropped with a foam support to keep the lid 
from contacting the base of the crate, it will be unable to withstand 
the G force. Our piano sustained damage to the outer rim as it ripped 
the hinges away (it repaired very well but we were lucky). Mind you, 
the piano experienced a very large  G force event, since it was 
sufficient to bend the centre-pins in the damper levers. I had to 
completely re-centre the damper lever flanges.

As an added precaution against careless handlers, there is a device 
which you can purchase which allows for monitoring of handling during 
transit. Called 'Shockwatch', these small glass viols can be attached 
to the outside of the crate before the journey commences. The viols 
will break if a certain specified G force event is exceeded, spilling 
a colored dye into a visable inspection 'eye'. The Shockwatch device 
allows for each handler along the way to know that the piano is being 
passed from the previous carrier in good condition. You can arrange 
for each handler to sign off at each point of transfer, accepting 
that the goods have not experienced a significant G force event thus 
far. When the next handler takes over the piano, if the viol is 
broken, he/she will know that a G force event occurred with the 
previous carrier. This will allow you, the owner of the piano, to 
keep track of who had the responsibility of the piano when it was 
dropped. I suspect that these inexpensive little devices will ensure 
that many more pianos get to their destination undamaged. If they are 
damaged, you will know who to hold responsible for the repair or 
replacement.

I have learnt this lesson since our piano returned from Reno, when it 
was dropped. I know that it was dropped on the leg from Reno to LA, 
since it was in good condition when it was re-packed in Reno but 
damaged after the leg from Reno to LA (the damage was discovered when 
we uncrated the piano in LA for a demonstration). But since I had not 
used a device like Shockwatch to prove it, a denial on the part of 
the carrier meant that we had to claim the damages through our own 
marine transit insurance policy.

I have since discussed this matter with our insurance brokers. They 
were very interested in the Shockwatch system, and have suggested 
that we may be able to get more favourable premiums with the 
Shockwatch system installed. The manufacturers of Shockwatch have 
suggested that two monitors, one at each end of a grand piano crate, 
might be necessary to protect the piano from all possible events. The 
viols are under $10 each to purchase. Its very cheap protection 
against careless handlers.

Check out;

http://www.switchedon.com.au/shockwatch_label.html

Sorry about only having a url for the Australian representatives. But 
for those who are interested, you can email the Australian agents for 
a referral to a local agent in your region.

Happy travelling,

Ron Overs
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Website:  http://www.overspianos.com.au
Email:        mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au
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