DIY guitar case

[disto]

hey,

i havent build a pedal or even posted in a while, my latest project is not a pedal but a guitar case.

i posted some info on my site http://distouk.tripod.com and the page can be found here

the idea isnt too well explained so feel free to ask questions.

[Harry]

Dalmation???!!!

I'll definately be interested to see this progress.

[bancika]

Once I made guitar case out of wood for frame and plywood for sides and covered all with tolex. But it's damn heavy, luckily I only play at home

[disto]

harry - yep dalmation!  i though im making my own case so lets make it a bit different and add some dalmation fur liner no one has a case like that right?!


bancika - i was worried about ohw heavy it would turn out, but the polystyrene is very very light and the flexi-ply is also light the base will weight the most. was your case a basic rectangle shape? im begining to think that would have been a good idea, i spent hours and hours trying to make the lining fit. i spent hours stiching it into place, i may make the pattern easier! oh nice site by the way! its putting mine to shame!

[bancika]

Thanks for site
Yes, mine is rectangular. Making custom shape might be harder but it looks cool. Keep up with good work!

[rockgardenlove]

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=311000
Check that out, really amazing case build.  You could probably steal a few ideas.

And how is that Tele?  I've was playing one at my guitar shop and I really liked it.

[disto]

uh wow thats a good looking guitar!

the case looks promising, it will be nice to see it finished!
im pleased with my tele's i have two both squiers a telecaster custom seen in the case pic and a turquoise tele. the turquoise had a major problem with feedback so i put in a different pickup but i had problems with that so really thats just sat around waiting to be fixed. its nice to play though the custom is a bit sharp along the frets but im wearing it in. i havent played a real tele so i cant compare but hell squiers get used by bands people like 65 days of static i noticed in kerrang and ive seen people like mclusky, hondo maclean play them

[R.G.]

In building airplanes, the trick is to get the outside the right shape and the frame strong enough. Everything else has to fit inside wherever and however it can. So things like the shape of the fuel tanks are left to last, and they have to be built to fit. That makes for some odd shapes.

They make a lot of them by the lost-styrofoam process. That is, they take a big block or glued up shape of styrofoam and carve/sand/cut it to the funny shape they need. Then they use fiberglass mat and cloth over it and saturate that in epoxy. When it sets, they have a fiberglass shell of the right shape with some styrofoam inside. Gasoline and many other solvents dissolve styrofoam, so they cut a hole, pour in gasoline or other solvent, slosh it around, and pour out the gook. Now they have a fuel tank.

I think one could make a lightweight and strong guitar case this way too - inside out. I would do the interior foam padding first out of dense urethane foam, cut to the guitar's shape, and once that all fit well, I'd use maybe 1" thick styrofoam to construct a box the right size, gluing the styroboards in place. A bit of shaping to round the edges gives you a nice shape. Then glass mat, paint on epoxy, glass fiber, paint on epoxy, etc. until you get a few layers. When it's set, sand off the lumpy whiskers, then cut the thing in half the skinny way on a table saw. Now it can be covered, and have edges, hinges and handles fitted.

If you wanted even stronger, you could reinforce it internally by epoxying in 1/4" plywood baffles and such internally once the exterior was made.

Boating stores sell glass mat, cloth, and epoxy kits for this kind of thing.

[disto]

thanks RG my initial idea was to use fibre glass in a similar way that you described!
create two guitar half shape shells (that would fit around the guitar creating the case shape) then cover the outside with fibre glass! i wouldn't need to dissolve the foam as this would provide the padding for the guitar once lined with fur.

however someone told me that fibre glassing is tricky messy and that fibre glassing from the outside gives a rough finish. as i have never done fibre glassing and the wood was supplied free! Ive decided to use wood. maybe when i need a lighter case i may use fibre glass

[disto]

finally managed to find the time to start this project, so in the next week or two it should be finished!

i uploaded a new post with some pictures of plans, templates and polystyrene cutting!

check it out http://distouk.tripod.com/case/case1.html let me know what you think

[disto]

second update within the hour! images of cut poly shell and makeshift ban saw


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