Hi Everyone, I have made a couple of cases for lutes out of Sintra, which is PVC sheeting normally used for things like outdoor signage. It can be heat-formed using a hot air gun of the sort used for stripping paint. The process is similar to what Larry Brown does for his cases, except he uses plywood. You make a form out of plywood, cut a strip of Sintra and wrap it around the form to become the side of the case. You then cut two pieces of Sintra to form the top and bottom of the case and glue them to the side using superglue. You cut it apart to get it off the mold and form the top and bottom halves of the case -- sort of like making a hatbox. Then you pop-rivet on the hinges, catches, and handle (all available from Stewart-Macdonald for a very small amount). I have pictures of the process on my personal web site:
http://members.accesstoledo.com/tamotz/Case_Building.html The case on that page was made out of 1/8 inch (about 3 mm.) thick Sintra that was recycled from exhibition signage at the museum where I work. That case had a fair amount of flex in the top and bottom panels and had to be reinforced with pieces on the inside. Since those photos were taken I have made a second case from 1/4 inch Sintra that was much more satisfactory. I also sprayed Zolatone, a textured paint that is normally used for truck beds, on the exterior to give it a pebbled finish. For the second case I used waffle-cut foam for the padding (which has worked very well). I had this case at the LSA conference, and one of the other lutenists said it was the best shop-built case he had seen. I'll try to get a photo on the web page soon. It is a sizable project to built one of these cases (perhaps a couple of days work, not counting building the mold), but the total materials cost is about $50 per case (less if you use recycled plywood for the mold and can find recycled Sintra. I'm constantly dumpster-diving for reusable materials where I work). If you have an instrument of unusual size or shape and are handy with tools, you can save a lot of money by building your own case. Plus, personally I don't think the standard lute cases protect the instruments as well as my design does. Tim On Friday, July 30, 2004, at 10:37 PM, Jon Murphy wrote: > May I second Ken's suggestion of Colorado Case. He is correct that they > aren't cheap, but they are good. In fact I just spoke with one of the > principals at the Somerset Harp Festival, where I had my little > flat-back > lute and he offered to make a case (as I had it in a small harp gig > bag). > They will do case design from tracings and dimensions. Their work is > good. > > Best, Jon > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ken Brodkey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 10:01 AM > Subject: RE: internet source for gig bag? > > >> You can get a custom "soft" case from Colorado Case - >> http://www.coloradocase.com/ . They're not cheap but I believe the >> case > will >> offer a whole lot more protection than a standard gig bag. >> >> Ken Brodkey >> Luthier >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Timi T [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 8:40 PM >> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subject: internet source for gig bag? >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> Does anyone have an internet source for a gig bag for a large-ish >> lute (68 >> cm)? >> >> Thanks in advance, >> Timi Townsend >> >> (see me with Jacob Heringman and said large-ish Hiro Watanabe E lute >> at > the >> Lute Society of America's 2004 Lutefest in Cleveland, second picture >> down, >> at >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/old/Cleveland2004/>> LuteSongsClass.html >> and other pictures of that week as well. The classes were great, and >> the >> concerts were amazing!) >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > > >
