[A shipping box for The Political Beekeeper’s Library. Photo: Erik Sjödin.]

This shipping box is made to fit the books in The Political Beekeeper’s Library snuggly when they are packed in sealed air envelopes, leaving just a little space in the top for one or two potential new additions to the library. By coincidence the box’s height also makes it convenient to sit on.

When making the box I have studied how shipping boxes and shipping crates are usually made and aimed for stability, low material cost, and fast assembly. Which would be the rational for a shipping box. The box is intended for being transported using a trolley and lugged on trains and in car trunks etc. To keep the weight reasonable while still being sturdy the box is made of 12mm thick plywood. Larger boxes intended to be moved by trucks and loaded as cargo are made of up to 20mm thick plywood. The box is made of plywood only, which also makes it usable for international shipping by boat or plane. In order to not spread pests plywood or ISPM-15 certified wood is often required for international shipping.

The reinforcements on the side of the box secures the bottom and the sides further, but the reinforcements at the top are also intended to function as handles for lifting the box. Larger boxes and crates may also have reinforcements along the middle of the box or crate. However these would then be vertical and not horisontal, so they don’t function as handles and thus won’t come loose when the box is carried and cause the box or its content to brake. Boxes made of very thick plywood usually don’t need any reinforcements.

All sides of the box are glued and nailed, since screwing in the sides of thin plywood might cause it to crack. The walls rest on top of the bottom plywood sheet, which prevents the bottom from popping off when the crate is lifted by a trolley. The reinforcements on the bottom creates a gap between the box and the floor, which makes it easier to pick up the box with a trolley. The lid is possible to fasten with screws if the box is transported unsupervised.