If you’ve chosen to build a shipping crate, it’s because the item you’re transporting is fragile and valuable. For that reason, you want to make sure to protect it with a strong wooden case, which means using the best materials. Ideally, you want to design a box frame that will make you and your customers happy.

The type of wood is important. Grade 2 Douglas fir and marine grade plywood are good choices. However, the strength and stability of a crate depends mostly on the integrity of the fasteners. The nails or screws you use are extremely important.

The following are some common types of fasteners used for shipping crates:  

Sheetrock screws: These are inexpensive, but are not the most recommended for crating. They can corrode quickly in the elements and lose their strength.

Ringshank or twist nails: Both ring shank and twist nails are similar in that they turn or twist as they drive into the wood, forming their own tread in the wood fibers – similar to wood screws

Scrail fasteners: The Scrail brand of fasteners combines speed with holding strength. It’s half nail, half screw. They’re rapidly driven into wood using common nail guns.

Make sure to choose the right size. You might think the safest way to protect what’s inside the crate is to use shorter nails that won’t pass through the wood and damage your shipment, but that actually lessens the integrity of your crate by making it less stable. Longer nails can be driven through two wooden panels to clinch the joints together. The point of the nail protruding inside the packaging can be hammered down to flatten and keep it from hurting the item being shipped or the hands that unpack the shipment.

BlackHawk Industrial is proud to offer top of the line products like nails and other shipping materials.  Packaging materials through Pack Inc can be purchased right here on the BlackHawk site.

For any questions about Pack Inc packaging materials or any other products sold by BlackHawk, give us a call. We’re happy to help. Our mission is to provide innovative, value-added services and products that reduce our customer’s total cost. Feel free to contact us for more information.

BlackHawk Industrial

1501 SW Expressway Drive

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012

[email protected]

Call Toll Free: 855-610-1001