Here's how I make my own shipping cartons for 60" recurve bows. I found this years ago on another archery site and modified it for my use. Change the measurements to fit your bow. Step 1: Gather materials. Here's what I use. Heavy Duty Large carton from Home depot-$3.49.

And....

The large ruler is 6', the smaller is 3'.

I marked my yard stick like this. Modify yours to fit your bow.

Cut the carton at the seam..

Trim off that little extra to make it even. It will haunt you later if you don't.

Cut the flaps off both sides. Be neat. Put your hand where the knife has been, not where it's going.

Good work!

Use the marks on your yard stick to mark both ends of the carton.

OOPPSS!! I messed up. The above photo shows me measuring and marking the length of the carton. It's the length of your bow PLUS 6-1/2 or 7". Sorry!

Cut off the excess.

NOW use your yard stick to mark the box panels. Mark both ends of the carton.

Notice that I turned the carton over so the Home Depot logo is on the inside of the box. Clamp a straightedge and the carton to a bench and cut off the excess. Your carton will now be sized.

Make a wooden tool with a tapered, but blunt point. You will want to score the cardboard without tearing it too much. I use a rounded-over dowel.

Clamp a straight edge to the cardboard and score the lines you marked with the yard stick. This will allow the cardboard to bend easier.

These line run the LENGTH of the carton.

Now we'll mark the end flaps of the carton. Measure in 3" and mark as shown.

Now we have to cut 1/4" slots to allow the ends to close properly. Just eye ball the lines and cut carefully.

Now THIS is cool! Hope there's more?

You'll cut off the entire square off one end. Be sure to cut off the square FROM THE SAME SIDE on the other end!

Here's what is should look like so far.

The folds in the carton are weak spots and must be reinforced. Use the flaps you cut off at the beginning and spray adhesive to do the job. READ THE DIRECTIONS on the spray adhesive!!

I measure the areas to be reinforced and mark the cardboard..

You'll need 6 pieces. Cut them to fit with your knife, or use a bandsaw. It's much easier...

Spray adhesive on the panels......

And on the carton where you marked out the areas. Follow directions on the spray can.

When they are ready (according to directions) place them over the areas to be reinforced and push them down. I use a Formica roller.

When the adhesive has cured, start folding the carton along the scored seams. Go slow, be careful.

Continue folding....

When you get here, spray adhesive on the edges to seal the box. Think before you spray!!

If you have an appliance store near you, you can ask them for some refrigerator, or washer/dryer boxes. They usually just junk them anyway and will give them to you. A couple of those will make you a lot of shipping boxes.

Press everything together tightly. I tape the folds for extra strength and to hold the box tightly till the glue dries.

Trim the end pieces to fit when they are folded....

Spray adhesive on one end of the carton only, otherwise, you won't be able to slide your bow in! S means spray here.

I add tape for strength.

Only tape the other end closed.(after the bow is in) Mark the carton.

Bubble wrap the bow and use scrap cardboard to reinforce the bow tips. INSURE THE CARTON AND DOCUMENT THE SALE OF THE BOW!!Good Luck! Richard

I have done this too. The trick is the straight edge so you get even folds.

Go to the local furniture companies and ask for boxes, they usually have refrigerator or couch boxes that really long.

The refrigerator boxes I run through the table saw to get clean straight edges

Thanks for taking the time to provide this thread. Great work and I just added it to favorites!

Nice job on that, thanks for sharing!

A 1 knife too. Hard to beat that Leak.

Thanks for taking the time to post this carton making tutorial. I’ve made my own cartons, but I just eyed it, now they’ll look much better. Floral shipping cartons can be grafted together with very good results too.

Yes, just added to favorites!

Nice Lesson and photos! Thanks for sharing. TLM

Thanks for the time and the photo's, I do mine the same except I don't score the card board I have an eight foot steel ruler I just lay on the cardboard and bend it there.

They make strong boxes and i use the Home Depot ones also.

Cool Richard I was wondering how or where you got your strong Bow boxes. Very sturdy :-) JF

Well done ! Home made works! Thanks for taking the time to photo and share. Ken

Great design Thanks for sharing.

Great job got it saved to favorites. John

It looks wonderful but you sure do like work. How long did it take you start to finished wondering.

Another tip... Save all the boxes from the bows you buy. When you decide to sell, you'll have a box!

Great box! I just shipped my first bow, a 60" recurve. I made a really good box, as I didn't want anything to happen to the Bow of Bows. Mine was a simple design. I took two 3 foot Priority Mail boxes, one 6.5" wide and the other just a hair narrower. I cut the narrower box to 2/3rds length and slid it into the wider box, after opening up the end of the wider box. I used the green packaging bubble you used and used a firm foam around the tips to protect them. My box ended up being 60" long. I made it so it was hard to tell it wasn't just one box. The bow is in transit to be delivered today.

Joe

Glenn, it takes me 20 to 30 minutes to make this bow carton. Having all the measurements clearly marked on the yard sticks makes the job easier. I can take the extra time because I'm retired and I only make bows for the pure enjoyment of bow building. It's not a business with me, just a hobby, and I take pride in the bows, so why not have a little pride in the carton? I have even decorated a few of the boxes with bow hunting scenes, just for the enjoyment of immersing myself in traditional archery. Good shooting! Richard

Oh, I forgot! I once shipped a bow to Texas in a well- used carton, covered with torn shipping labels and frayed shipping tape. It really was sturdy, but a mess. When the bow arrived, the riser was nearly broken in half, held together by the fiberglass on the back of the bow. It could not be repaired. It took nearly 3 months for the USPS to honor the insurance claim, stating that the carton was defective, I had no proof of value, it was damaged before it was shipped, I didn't file the claim soon enough, it was packaged poorly, they didn't have the damaged bow and broken carton in their possession, etc., etc. What a mess! So now I take a little extra time to protect the bow in a strong and proper shipping carton, document proof of value and sale, and anything else the USPS may ask for. I just feel better sending off a new bow in a new, sturdy carton. RKK

Great shipping boxes. I've seen them. I thought you had them professionally made :-) JF

Jeff, They are professionally made, by Nemah.....Ha!Ha!

I've sold three re-curves and one longbow shipped way out west using the same technique and they arrived unscathed, I just sent a large recurve up north, I tried the triangle approach because I think it could be a little stronger, it arrived undamaged, it wasn't the same quality as the square boxes, I used the standard cardboard box, not strong enough. I was quoted 50.00 to make a carton to ship a bow that is when I decided to get my cardboard from home depot and make my own just like Nemah did.

Thanks again Nemah for the tutorial.

Great job! Thanks for sharing.

TTT for ehorstick

Nice sturdy carton. Something I do if I remember is to put an additional shipping label inside. The local USPS told me if the outside label is destroyed, it would end up in a lost package warehouse and be hard to claim.

U-line sells a telescoping box that is perfect for most recurves in width and telescope the box to the proper length and tape. Good tips in this thread. The best for me was the use of a rounded ball to score the folds.

Good thread and thanks Nemah! You are a treasure!

Excellent post, thank you.

Refreshed for anyone else that needed it.

-Bones

Excellent. Thanks for your time & know how. >>>>-----> Ken

Ttt

I've built a few of those. I suggest NOT using HD box stock. They are not nearly as strong as the box stock sold at Lowe's.

Free larger boxes at your local bicycle shop.

Never thought of the bike shops. I'm surrounded by bike shops and bicycling culture so I'll keep it in mind.

longcruise. Lot of uses for those bicycle boxes. I make triangle boxes for sending off arrows and cut out animal targets to shoot at.

Pizza cutter works very well to score the cardboard before folding.

Don't forget the body shops. Quarter panels and roof skins come in some big thick boxes. Now that I'm out of body shop environment. I have to stop by and pick some up now and then. Just get them before the maintenance guy cuts them up to throw them in the cardboard dumpster. Or tell somebody ahead that you're looking for some so they'll save them for you. JF

Lots of good ideas, thanks to all.

Jon, for arrows these boxes are free from USPS.

https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping- supplies/dual-use-priority-mailpriority-mail- express-medium-tube-1098-P_O_1098M

Beautifully done Nemah, thank you for sharing. Happy New Year!

Excellent directions. Thanks.

-Bones

TTT

Your box might be as nice as your bows LOL.Just kidding ofcourse!I thought I made nice boxes till I saw your method.

Good thread

Very nice.

"I take pride in the bows, so why not have a little pride in the carton? I have even decorated a few of the boxes with bow hunting scenes, just for the enjoyment of immersing myself in traditional archery. Good shooting! Richard"

RKK, gentleman all around.

Ttt

TTT for a new guy

Very nice thank you for sharing.

Wow, impressive engineering, design, skills, dedication, and completion of the project! I commend you! Now when I ship bows the boxes will need to look better - the bows have been well protected.

This should somehow be archived in a handy location. I would like to somehow copy it and save it as a document tutorial. Maybe someone will explain how to do that.

Our two Siamese kittens have been reading along with me. They just told me that I need to get busy and use some of your methods with cardboard boxes to build them a jungle gym, playhouse, and a climbing tree.

We are planning a house build so I will finally have room to do projects in the house, basement or garage. No basement and a small house has been challenging.

Thanks again and best wishes!

Very very well done and useful

Richard - The recipients of bows from you must be delighted at their condition and the custom shipping box. Again, thank you for sharing your methods

You may appreciate my experience receiving something packed and shipped in your style:

Recently I received a very nice vintage rifle that had been shipped from about 10 states away. It was a Christmas gift from wifey so it is extra special. The condition is pristine and it is unfired and in the original box with the original paperwork. The seller may have seen your tutorial and became inspired. The rifle was wrapped in bubble wrap and taped, then padded, packed, and stabilized inside the original box. Then the original box was wrapped in bubble wrap and taped then padded with white sheet foam and taped, and then sheets of cardboard were placed and taped on the sides - with no tape touching the original box. Finally, this was wrapped in bubble wrap and taped and then put into a larger box. In both ends the seller had put a cardboard I- beam for strength and to protect against drops. Then he wrapped the entire box in a layer of 2” clear shipping tape. Being very careful and deliberate it took me approximately 45 minutes to unpack the rifle. The packing was masterful! Now I am eager to get it to the range to gently break in the barrel and enjoy shooting it.

When I received a new '59 Bear Kodiak from the factory, it was in a clear plastic bag flopping around in a regular shipping carton. No padding. Glad you folks liked the tutorial....I'm making two more cartons this afternoon. RKK

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