shipping ukuleles in hot weather

dirtiestkidever

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Hi all,

I had a solid wood uke shipped to me this week. It has been travelling from the east coast to California for the past 7 days in pretty extreme temperatures (heat wave in the US). I have never shipped or received an instrument before.

Should I be concerned about the extreme weather? Should I leave it in the case for awhile in my house before opening it? Should I leave it it the box and the case? How long should I wait (a better question is how long can I wait)? Should I wait a few days before putting a humidifier in the case?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
What kind of case is it in? If it's in a hard or rigid foam case I'd pull it out of the box, then let it sit in the closed case overnight. If it's a gig bag I'd let the box sit over night then unpack it. You can put a humidifier in the day you open it.
 
Yes hot weather for 7 days is bad news( in transit)...I don't see why you would let it "sit" for a few days...
if it was frozen I understand but when it is hot I don't see any problems...unless your house is super cold...

send express mail next time..1 day service..
 
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THe biggest danger with a really sudden shift from very hot to quite cool is to the finish - usually to old vintage nitro finishes. You hear horror stories about the guy who brings the old _fill in the blank_ guitar out of his freezing trunk and opens it in a hot store and the finish crazes.

Whenever I get a very hot or very cold package I always give it few hours before opening it so the contents won't be terribly far off from room temperature when I tear into it. Is it necessary? Can't really say, but it gives me piece of mind and if I waited days for the contents another three or four hours isn't going to kill me.

If it's been cooking for seven days I think the first thing I would do is put a humidifier in with it (if it wasn't shipped with one) and let it sit for at least a day or two before handling it much. I made the mistake of receiving a solid wood uke from Boston in December. When I got it I immediately (that evening) went to rubbing a good coat of wax into the body - the back cracked right under my fingers - I actually heard it pop. It hadn't occurred to me that it looked like it had been stored in a closet without a humidifier most of the winter. If I'd let it hydrate for a few days before rubbing wax into the back it probably wouldn't have cracked...

John
 
THe biggest danger with a really sudden shift from very hot to quite cool is to the finish - usually to old vintage nitro finishes. You hear horror stories about the guy who brings the old _fill in the blank_ guitar out of his freezing trunk and opens it in a hot store and the finish crazes.

Whenever I get a very hot or very cold package I always give it few hours before opening it so the contents won't be terribly far off from room temperature when I tear into it. Is it necessary? Can't really say, but it gives me piece of mind and if I waited days for the contents another three or four hours isn't going to kill me.

If it's been cooking for seven days I think the first thing I would do is put a humidifier in with it (if it wasn't shipped with one) and let it sit for at least a day or two before handling it much. I made the mistake of receiving a solid wood uke from Boston in December. When I got it I immediately (that evening) went to rubbing a good coat of wax into the body - the back cracked right under my fingers - I actually heard it pop. It hadn't occurred to me that it looked like it had been stored in a closet without a humidifier most of the winter. If I'd let it hydrate for a few days before rubbing wax into the back it probably wouldn't have cracked...

John


Truthfully it had never been a problem of Hot weather delivery of ukes that cause problems. This is after over 100,000 shipments domestically. The usual humidity and problems usually occur when shipping doing very cold winter time.
 
That is very reassuring (especially coming from you). Thanks everybody for the input.
 
I'd be much more worried shipping an uke in cold weather than hot. You need to realize that the package isn't sitting on a hot sidewalk for 7 days. It's likely to be in an air conditioned environment most of the time whether it's in a truck, a warehouse, etc. I can almost guarantee you you'll be fine.
 
Have it shipped 2 day air if your worried about it. Will cost you 20 dollars or so more, but will ease your mind. I know it does mine. The longer in transit, the bigger risk of damage. Usually because some dolt stacks a 100 lb box on top of your small 3 lb package, then it bounces along the highway for 2000 miles in the back of a tractor trailer reaching 150 degrees inside.
 
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