Stickmangumby Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 I'm thinking about building a guitar case for a lap steel that I bought. I'm not able to buy a solid case for it, I would have to get one custom made, which is apparently about $400AU to get done. At the moment it is in a soft case, but I'm a bit paranoid about it because it cost me an arm and a leg. I don't think that making a solid case for a solid body electric would be very hard. I imagine it would just involve some MDF boards, hinges, nails & glue, latches, handle, internal padding, and some tweed to make it pretty. Is that about right? The problem is that the guitar is hollowbody, with a hollow neck, and is kinda arch-topped. Would I make a rectangular case, and heavily pad the top of it around the guitar so that it wasn't going to rattle around in there? Has anyone done this before? Is it harder than I am imagining it to be? Thanks for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 I cant see why this is a paticually hard project In the end i ordered a custom hard case for my KKV (black fluffyness ) and its not far from what you said... MDF, hinges etc... And yes padding is essential, On my case the padding is all arround the body to stop it moving and also some at the side of the neck and some underneath the headstock/neck joint... Just some ideas ~~ Slain Angel ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 My experience, is its cheaper in the long run to just buy something simular to what you ultimately want, and modify it, because good quality case parts, tweed, etc etc etc etc will most likely end up costing you the same amount as buying something already made... If you want a flight case shell, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Sorry to hijack here BUT.... If you dont want it Stick'... Id be interested... PM me rhoads if Stick doesnt want it Thanks ~~ Slain Angel ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToneMonkey Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Found this a while ago, hope it helps. http://members.optusnet.com.au/~g0nette/case/case1.htm Kaj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Sorry to hijack here BUT.... If you dont want it Stick'... Id be interested... PM me rhoads if Stick doesnt want it Thanks ~~ Slain Angel ~~ ← would cost more for postage, than it would for just the case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickmangumby Posted July 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Just out of interest, how much do you charge for custom cases Perry? The guitar has very non-standard dimensions... without measuring it, I can tell you the neck is quite short, and also thick and hollow, the body is wider than usual, and the guitar on the whole is probably 50% thicker than a usual solid body electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 I dont make custom cases, but i can get you a proper flight case shell for like $200-260 Aussie depending on if you want all alloy or not. Then you just fit it out to your specifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Does anyone know where to get fabric like the fabric used in an SKB case? It looks like it's a lot more forgiving on contours because the backing is very thin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickmangumby Posted July 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2005 Ok, thanks for the info Perry I will keep that in mind, as that is quite a good price! Also, thanks a lot for the link ToneMonkey, that is just the kind of thing I am after. After googling I didn't seem to find very much, but that is perfect. If I end up making a case I will probably put together a tutorial as well, the more the merrier I say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted July 26, 2005 Report Share Posted July 26, 2005 Making a case should be a snap! Here's what I threw together for my microphones, in about a day, using a combination of plywood (tops and bottoms) and regular old pine: Depending on budget, you could use nice woods and finish, and fewer "plain old wood screws". I think it turned out well for a few hours' work! I have to admit, it's pretty heavy, though. A 'hardshell' plastic case would certainly be much much lighter Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickmangumby Posted July 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 Ok, so I've put some more thought into it, and asked some questions on a dedicated woodwork forum (post found here). Today I'm off to the hardware store to get the wood for the outside. I'll worry about the internal fittings another day, if the outside works out! Basically the case will be a pine frame, screwed and glued, with a plywood top and bottom screwed and glued to the frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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