Building cases?

[Tim Toberer]

Is anyone building their own cases? I found some pictures of Brand X cases and I like the idea of light, but I am not sure what kind of fiber these are built out of. I am gonna try building one out of pine and thin plywood.

[Steven Black]

Hello Tim, Jimmy Hudson is building cases, check them out on the forum.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Forum member Steve Hinson is the man building Brand X cases. Yes, they are fibreboard, but they're very tough and will handle all the toting, shipping etc. you need to do with them.

I used a pair of fibre board split cases for a Mullen D10 for several years. I strapped the main case permanently to a lightweight dolly. Made it possible for me to move the thing around. Otherwise, I was out.

I once looked into building one myself, but there are certain tools etc involved with the sizing, padding, bending and riveting that it would not be cost effective for a user to just build one case for their own use. Also sourcing and acquiring the material has certain limitations.

Trust me, if that's what you want, just pony up the bucks and have Steve build it.

I've built a couple of conventional cases for smaller instruments also, but I gotta tell you that's not for the ill equipped or inexperienced either.

[Tim Toberer]

Trust me, if that's what you want, just pony up the bucks and have Steve build it.

I've built a couple of conventional cases for smaller instruments, but I gotta tell you that's not for the ill equipped or unexperienced either.

Ill equipped and unexperienced is my middle name! I also have a strict policy about taking good advice

In all seriousness this is something I am committed to and considering this is for my homemade instruments, it hardly makes sense to buy them. I had enough skill to build the instruments, so I should be able to build a case I am not looking for beauty either, just functionality, same philosophy as my instruments. I now have 3 pedal steels, 2 lap steels and various gourd fiddles, banjos and bagpipes, but they all need cases. I really like the Brand X designs. Not looking to copy directly. I do like the idea of rivets and fibreboard vs wood and nails and screws and straps vs hinges and latches, BUT I can't seem to find a suitable materiel though. If anyone has any ideas about a suitable fiber board I would be interested. These won't be traveling the world, mostly just for sitting on a shelf or going to a friend's house. I would probably limit all the metal corners. A simple plywood box would be fine for smaller instruments, but for a pedal steel fiber seems to be the way to go. I may try a mock up out of cardboard.

Hello Tim, Jimmy Hudson is building cases, check them out on the forum.

I did see those! I am a huge fan of Jimmie and no surprise he builds some lovely cases.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Good luck with your venture Tim.

[Steven Black]

Tim there is on this page builders corner, a guy showing you how to build them yourself with the measurements a materials you need, might want to copy it.

[Bill Alexander]

Jimmie Hudson case, beautiful

[Walter Killam]

Mostly for amp cases and my wife's sewing machines but I think if you doubled or tripled the sheets then it should be durable enough for instruments. I use Chicago screws and 3M double sided auto tape for construction, and nylon locking straps for handles and to keep the cases closed.

The nice thing about Plasticore is that it's available at the local home depot, and doesn't require power tools to manipulate.

YMMV

Good Luck with your project.

Walter

[Tim Toberer]

Tim there is on this page builders corner, a guy showing you how to build them yourself with the measurements a materials you need, might want to copy it.

Can you add a link? I can't seem to find that.

To Jerry's insight this may not be a project everyone would want to tackle. It is probably going to be more time consuming and expensive than I would like, but if you are building your own instruments it makes a lot of sense to make your own cases. I really need to integrate this into every instrument I build. I have been avoiding it because the second I finish one instrument I want to start another. At this point I need to think about sending them out in the world so they need a case.

I have spent a good amount of time looking at cases on reverb and general image searches and I think I can really get into this. A case could be as beautiful or fun to build as an instrument itself. Here is one of my favorite designs.
https://www.vintageguitar.com/22254/an- ... -eh-150-2/ I have done a few tweed coverings on amplifiers and it would be fun to build a matching set! No time for that now though.

For this project I am focused on designing a case that is fairly easy and cheap to make, but still looks decent and functional. At work last night I cut some cardboard boxes apart in different ways trying to find an easy pattern to cut which could be folded into a box. I came up with an L shape leaving tabs that could be riveted together. Finding a suitable materiel seems to be challenging, I have to go look around. The sheets need to be pretty large at least 24" wide. I am really curious what the Brand X cases are made out of. The closest thing I have found is Ramboard or possibly a different brand of floor protection board. I am not sure it would be stiff enough, but it seems pretty tough. It is water, oil and impact resistant. Wish it was black... Plasticore looks interesting.
Just found this stuff! https://www.amazon.com/V-PRO-Protection ... LHDRT&th=1

[Tim Toberer]

Back from the hardware store and I can't seem to find a suitable materiel. Ramboard is close, but it tears too easily and doesn't seem that moisture resistant. Looking at those pictures of Brand X cases again, it almost looks like roofing felt. I can't imagine using that, might look at some synthetics, but this may be a lost cause. Back to the drawing board...

[Joseph Carlson]

I believe the material they use for drum cases is vulcanized fiber

[Tim Toberer]

I believe the material they use for drum cases is vulcanized fiber

I am sure vulcanized fiber would work, but it is cost prohibitive. 3/32 - 39" x48" $266.56 before shipping!!! Why is it so expensive???? https://www.mcmaster.com/products/vulcanized-fiber/

[Tim Toberer]

I see you ran into the same problem Jerry. viewtopic.php?t=238780&highlight=vulcanized+fiber

[Tim Toberer]

It seems the Brand X cases are made of vulcanized fiber viewtopic.php?t=396450&highlight=vulcanized+fiber
It doesn't seem to be a secret, but if there is a secret, it is the source of affordable material. For now I will try something else. I started experimenting with this stuff yesterday. https://www.surfaceshields.com/floor-pr ... rotection/
One advantage this stuff may have over vulcanized fiber is it glues very well with wood glue. Another is price, so it is good for experimenting. It also cuts really easily with a utility knife.

I have a box going that is starting to look pretty good! Instead of all the metal corners and rivets, I am laminating a few layers. For the handle mount I think I will glue on a thin sheet of plywood and rivet it on. Styrofoam glued on the inside for padding and rigidity. Possibly thin landscaping felt for an internal cover (Have a roll) and black paint with added PVA for the outside.. They have some cheap 1.5" nylon straps with buckles and adjuster on amazon think this will be fine for light duty use. Time is a big investment, but I am having fun so I don't mind!

[Tim Toberer]

I finished these up yesterday. It was a frustrating project and about halfway through I realized I don't want to build cases like this again. The most frustrating part was the styrofoam lining, and it looks pretty shoddy. I found out the hard way that polyurethane foam will actually find its way through 1/2 styrofoam, and things got ugly for a bit I was determined to finish and they turned out okay.

I think with some refinement this material could make airline durable cases. I don't think I would be sending these off on an airline, but they would work fine for toting around town. They are incredibly light and pretty strong once all strapped together. Everything is at least 2 layers thick and the long sides are 3 layers. The handles are screwed into threaded inserts imbedded in 1/4" plywood, which is glued to the inner wall. I switched to white glue cause it works better for cardboard. The corners are cheap plastic shipping corners. The handles were really cheap, but they look like the ones used by Brand X and they seem pretty well made. Not sure how much I have in these, not much, but they took a lot of time to build. I would say whatever the Brand X cases cost, they are worth it.

[Jim Pitman]

Fifteen years ago many builders built their own cases as follows.
Use 7- 10" wide 3/4" thick pine boards to form the four sides making a rectangle. Cover top and bottom with 1/4" Luan. Glue and screw everything together.
Cut the entire rectangle in half lengthwise at a ratio of 1 to 4, or 1 to 3. Cover with indoor/outdoor carpet and attach hardware. Use open cell egg crate foam inside and maybe pine shelves to suspend the guitar off its' strings.
This makes a lightweight but strong, and relatively inexpensive case that is easy to assemble since latches and hinges can be screwed in place with wood screws into the 3/4" pine.
This will get you to the finish line quickest IMO.

[Luke Morell]

I'm looking for one of them cases with wheels on one end and a handle on the other.