I don't doubt that groundglass (or any glass plate) can be shipped securely, given some thought to the packaging. I believe, perhaps erroneously, that I could do it myself. However, it does require that thought. A "Speed Graphic" is a pretty durable instrument and, if you whack one in just the wrong way, the GG is likely to be the thing that gives way!

I forgot to answer your question about corner clip sizes. If your camera is an Anniversary model or earlier, the focus panel is routed out in such a manner as to require a 3/8 to 1/2 inch clip on all four corners. If you have a Pacemaker Speed or Crown, the panel does not require clipped corners. I prefer to clip at least a small amount off at least one corner, however, if there is no Ektalite screen behind the GG.

Wow, this turned out to be quite a discussion!

I never thought I would like clipped corners and saw no reason for them. But I have recently come to the opinion that clipped corners are a nice thing...

My 8x10 came with rather large clips. I didn't like it at all. But it was obvious that this camera needed an air outlet and I could see (literally) the benefits of those clear corner holes. When I had Dave make the new glass for me, I asked for 1/4 inch clips. The back has a lip of about 1/8 that the glass rests on. The 1/4 clip gave me a just perfect 'tiny' clear hole to see through when needed, large enough to let out the air, but not so big to be distracting. With this new glass and smaller clip, I now like clipped corners...

Yes, I would still recommend you get a new GG. A crack or missing piece would eventually drive me nuts. And I recommend you measure the corners to come up with that 'perfect' clip!

And I thought that naming a camera might be a bit odd? So I asked "Eddy", my 8x10 Century Universal. He doesn't see anything wrong with it! (his name is a story too long to relate here)...

One last thing. Does anyone know where the air does go on the Graphics???

My guess is that the clipped corners are more of an issue on an 8x10 than on a 4x5. If you scaled up a "Speed Graphic" to 8x10, the back (area) would be squared, but the bellows volume would be cubed! That't a lot of air. I suspect that a design that can handle the volume of air in a 4x5 camera with rather short bellows -- it vents out around the edges of the back and the lensboad -- might not be able to handle the volume in an 8x10 camera with a rather long bellows.