I just about did!.... I raised he** on everyone I could at UPS. Doesn't do any good... I keep threatening to cancel my account and go with Fed-Ex, and they don't seem to care.

Calvin, I have a set of 10ga. barrels in the shop that are just like your's. I am looking forward to getting them finished up...

I agree with Francis, the culprit here is schedule 40 PVC, it is not impact resistant. The condition of the barrels is a testament to the internal packaging. I suggest using schedule 80, much, much stronger. Tubes are a great way to ship barrels.
I am not trying to make apologies for UPS or anyother carrier, we use them all. Two factors are critical to safe shipping, proper packaging and ample insurance. You must assume the package will be kicked around or dropped, because, it will. We ship and recieve 30 to 40 packages a month, Guns and Barrels, knock on wood, over the years we have seen only a handfull of shipping damage cases. In each case insurance covered the gun or needed repairs.
Anybody that has ever shipped anything has at least one horror story, its kind of like a piece of clay target hitting your new buttstock.

Brad

I guess i'm just an idiot for thinking a barrel in pvc pipe with a fragile sticker would be safe. schedule 40 pvc is pretty darn tough. ch obviously hindsight is 20 20.

For us non-plummers out here, how do you determine if it's schedule 40 or 80 and where can you buy the schedule 80 at your local hardware store?

Chuck,

Go to the electrical department of any Home Depot or Lowes. It is grey and will say shedule 80 on the side in black letters. It is about twice as thick as schedule 40.

Harry

Let me help you here Chuck
 

You don't need to be either a "Plummer" aka- Christopher, or a "Plumber" which comes not from Plumb, Level and in Square- but from Pb or Plumbe- the Latin word for lead- as were the original feed and possibly drain pipes for older houses- we all know Lead is a "No-No' for paint, and unfortunately, also for hunting dem ol' webfeets-

Pipe schedule is a numerical scale, just as are the gauges of our beloved shotty-guns-, but in reverse- Schedule 80 has a greater wall thickness than Schedule 40-- 20 is a higher number than 12, but we all know which number represents the larger bore dia. in a scattergun-

I use nothing but PVC schedule 80 pipe with appropriate sized caps for shipping barrels, or any other tubular object and wrap the item(s) with bubble wrap, and pad both ends. Lowe's, Home Depot or any quality builder's suppy outfit should have schedule 80 PVC- or they can get it for you- usually comes in 10 ft. lengths- according to my ASTM sheet, Code D-1785- a 3" I.D. schedule 40 PVC pipe will have a nom. wall thickness of 1/4"- so the O.D. is then 3 & 1/2"- and then the Cap I.D. would be the same- BUT schedule 80 has a nom. wall thickness of 3/8" so the O.D. is then 3 & 3/4"- I can also check the crush strength ratings in PSI for both 40 and 80 if you'd like-

Calvin- you were lucky that the barrels weren't damaged- under normal conditions your packaging process would have been A-OK- but with the "Fragile" tag- sorta like a red flag in front of a angry bull-

Harry and Francis, thanks for your reply to a non-plumber and Christopher Plummer is a fine actor.

One last question, can I get the pipe in damascus PVC or do I have to stick with fluid PVC?:rolleyes:

Chuck,

I have bent a lot of PVC. You put it in a long rectangular box with heating elements and turn it until you think it is flexable enough to get the bend you want. I've had some come out looking like it was Damascus and or twist.

Harry

[QUOTE=Chuck Bishop;25795]Harry and Francis, thanks for your reply to a non-plumber and Christopher Plummer is a fine actor.QUOTE]

Well and good, but the question remains..... Who is Joseph Plummer??? :whistle:

Joseph Plummer- related to actor Christopher?
 

Or perhaps the Mid-Western rust belt Stater - Joe The Plumber- election year 2008-- his "Warhol-ian 15 minutes of Fame"?? Amazing isn't it what the change of one letter can do- change the second "m" into a "b" and you have a skilled tradesman who maybe makes as much as the fabled Philadelphia lawyer- and has to put his hands into the same messy goo (clogged drains or a bitter divorce perhaps?) in the course of a day's work.

When I was welding schedule pipe in the power plant, the fitters were akin to Master Plumbers- and it takes years of practice to joint and prepare pipe correctly- just as few rookie welders on API can run the "Arkansas bellhole" first shot out of the box--

Now as for Damascus PVC- no matter the schedule- if Lowe's or Home Deport or Handy Andy Plumbing Supply opens a branch in Syria, there's where I'd place my order for such a "special item"-- But I concur, just as the old saying "A good gun deserves a good case"- it would only be fit and proper to ship those fine Bernard barrels from your 12 ga. CH(E) in a Damascus PVC tube--:cool::cool: