One big thing done

[catsittingstill]

So I've done the taxes.  I thought that would take longer, but I cleaned up the office in 2 hours yesterday and had nothing left to do today but sort through the tax files, rack my brains over whether there was any form I needed that I didn't have, and go to the IRS website to start downloading forms.

And on the IRS front page it talked about freefile, and I thought about filing electronically last year but didn't because I ran out of time, and I figured this year I had time, so why not check out this freefile thing?  And it turns out that we do qualify for free e-filing through various companies that let you fill out your taxes as online forms.

Then I started going through the forms, one by one, figuring I'd stop when I got to something I couldn't do.  But I never got to anything I couldn't do.  And since all the adding and stuff is done by the engine behind the form page, when I got to the end everything was calculated and ready to go.   It seemed much quicker than working my way through the various worksheets like I had to do last year.

We're going to get a chunk of money back, but not all of it, so we're Federal Income Tax payers again.  I hope this is good news for the feds :-)

In other news I got a great idea for a musical instrument box.  A rolling box--like a rolling suitcase--to hold the octave mandolin cradled in bunches of foam with cutouts for the  octave mando stand and music stand, and a box enclosure under the neck of the octave mando for strings and capos and such.  Maybe if I can make the box sturdy enough, and cushiony enough and also not so big or heavy as to trigger extra airline charges (I think I could make it 38 x 16 x 8 inches--but that wouldn't count a handle or wheels), I can actually ship my octave mandolin by air that way.

I can test it by bashing it with a crowbar to see if it's tough enough and then putting a carton of eggs in a plastic bag and wedging it into the inside, then latching the box and tossing it down the stairs (I'll have to find some stairs nobody loves too much but I'm pretty sure I can do that) to see if it's cushion-y enough.  If the crowbar can't get in and the eggs are unbroken I will call it good.

On the top side of the box I can put attachment points for the regular mandolin case, so I can put it on top instead of having to carry it in my other hand.  And if I go with the large (oversized) version, I can have attachment points for the music satchel too.  I was originally thinking of this as a way to schlep my musical instruments around a con; running around Marcon with two instruments and a bag full of music stand, instrument stands and music books was a bit of a trial.  The backer-board I used last year worked, but was the wrong size, which made it awkward, and hurt my hand, so I'm still trying to come up with something good.

Alas, on the down side, I have discovered that my regular mandolin is technically not carry-on.  Meaning if I take any stringed instrument on a plane I will have to count on checking at least one item.  I could make the octave mandolin box big enough to take both but I'm pretty sure that will require increasing its size beyond 62 inches.

At some point I am going to have to work out what to do about that.  At some point not too far from now, if "what to do" includes building another musical instrument box before February of next year.

And of course, I do still plan a regular case for the octave mandolin.  Which I will get back to one of these days.

But tomorrow is going to be dealing with the health insurance sign-up (must be done by tomorrow afternoon) and making our IRA deposits, and getting info from some people to get to another person for a report he is writing.  And only *then* can I get down to serious designing, darn it.

Comments

[mdlbear]

I have a music stand desk that's designed to attach to a microphone stand (made by Stagg) -- it attaches to the handle of my rolling carry-on. You could probably do something similar.

Canvas or some other fabric on the outside would make it kinder to vulnerable surfaces, and protect it from dings. Actually, terrycloth might provide a bit of additional cushioning.

I've thought about doing something similar for my guitar; in black, like the obelisk in 2001.

[catsittingstill]

Wouldn't that kind of require that you know you will have a microphone stand handy? I'm not always sure that will be the case.

I figured I would round the edges of the box with a router or a plane and sand everything and stain it and maybe varnish it. Eventually I'd like to make a really nice box, but the proof-of-concept edition might as well be plain.

The problem is I don't want to do anything to increase the weight much. If the weight goes over 49 pounds the airlines also charge extra. And the plywood alone will be about thirty, I think.

With a really nice box I could carve it and paint it and put in LEDs and things to fancy it up. But that is down the road a bit.

[mdlbear]

Well, it attaches to anything in the right range of diameters; I use the handle of my rolling carry-on, which also carries my netbook and filk books.

You're probably right about the proof-of-concept box. You could probably get away with thinner plywood if you laminate it with, say, aluminum or fiberglass.

[catsittingstill]

Oh, I thought you meant for travel when you were talking about your carry-on--like you can do this while rolling through the airport or the convention halls. I didn't realize you were talking filk circles and the like. Now I see.

I thought a little about laminations and reinforcements of various sorts but the reinforcement has to weigh less than the material it's replacing. I don't have a list of weight-versus strength for various things so I'm going seat-of-the-pants type intuition here.

I certainly have the technique down to reinforce with a layer of fiberglass on each side, but that works best with a curved surface, which plywood doesn't provide (and which would be considerably more of an engineering challenge to design and build in a short time.) Also, epoxy is spendy compared to plywood, and in my opinion is best used over a surface nice enough to make it worth your while. (Though I did just have the most amazing idea for an electropunked canoe...)

My constraints here are sturdiness, dimensions, weight, money and time, in roughly that order... If I abandon the notion of checked baggage and think of it as a "travel to and in cons thing" the sturdiness, dimension and weight constraints slacken somewhat... Still have to get it into a car, of course, and it still should survive being stepped on or dropped.

[mdlbear]

My small suitcase does double duty as an airplane carry-on -- it fits under a seat -- and filk bag. I think the idea of using it as checked baggage is still a good one.

I suspect you can still get both instruments in if you put the octave mando along the diagonal, and especially if you don't need to make room for a music stand base.

I believe airlines are now required to let you take an instrument as a carry-on as long as it fits in the overhead bin, even if it doesn't quite fit the size criteria. I see people traveling with full-sized guitars in gig bags, and in fact have done it myself on occasion. Gig bags are great for that, since they're light and easy to carry.

[catsittingstill]

I dunno--I'd want a guarantee in writing from the airline that I would be allowed to do that on both flights of the trip, and both ways.

Because stuff they usually allow they sometimes all of a sudden *don't* allow because someone is new and afraid to make an exception or because some manager is feeling pissy and wants to spread the misery around. Ask Mary Crowell about that sometime.

And there you are a thousand miles from home with no other way to transport your instrument. So you have to pay whatever crazy extra amount they demand and take whatever crazy chances with its safety in the cargo hold, or throw it in the trash--your choice. Because at Air America (or whatever) we're all about giving our passengers more choices!

I just... want to have something that I can know will work so I don't have to spend the whole trip worrying about it. If that something is taking only the small mandolin, and packing it in checked luggage padded out with clothing, that's what I'll do. If that something is checking a bag with the small mando and clothes and a box with the big mando, that's what I'll do (provided that is an affordable option.) We'll see.

[mdlbear]

Good point, especially if you fly on small planes -- I fly Southwest whenever I can, and 737s have nice big bins. Plus you get two checked bags for free. The box, if you can get it down to the right size and weight, sounds like the best option, especially if you can fit both instruments into it.

Another thing to consider is putting the small mandolin into a gig bag or custom soft case that might be carry-on size.

[catsittingstill]

The problem is that the mandolin bare naked is 2 inches longer than the maximum length for carry-on.

And I'd be scared carrying it on a plane without rigid protection. I can too well imagine some tired passenger, bleary and hasty after twenty hours of travel, dropping his rigid suitcase on top of it, and then shoving vigorously, trying to get the bin closed.

I have a design for a box that meets airline checked baggage limits. However I can't fit both instruments in it. Even if I get creative and put one in upside down and head down, I still end up with only 2/3 of an inch of foam between the box sides and the instruments and between one instrument and the other. Even if I put them crosswise I can't get more clearance than that.

I don't have a computer program to model this but my intuition starts shifting nervously as I imagine the box being bashed and thumped and bumped with the instruments jiggling inside in the flexing foam. If I made the box oversized (but within limits of what they will carry) I could do it, but it's probably cheaper to check a second box.

Whereas the octave mandolin can have an inch and a half of foam between it and the box walls if it goes in the non-oversized box by itself. Plus I can fit the octave mandolin stand and music stand in separate compartments in the box. They won't have any padding, but they won't hurt the instrument rattling around in a separate compartment, and they're neither easily damaged nor particularly expensive.

And a smaller box would give more flexibility in terms of loading things into cars, and taking things to filk circles and such.

Weirdly enough I keep getting distracted by wonderful ideas on how to make the box more interesting. A latching mechanism using a central gear that drives two racks in opposite directions. Electrowire and LED decorations.

[mdlbear]

My travel guitar is also slightly bigger than the maximum size for a carry-on; Southwest has never given me any trouble, and even on tiny planes I've only had to gate-check it once. (Gate-checked items are treated carefully, since they include other fragile and awkward things like baby strollers and wheelchairs.) It's really a matter of knowing your airline.

[mdlbear]

What thickness of plywood are you thinking of using? 3/4 is probably overkill. To pass the crowbar test you might consider two sheets of 1/4 inch with aluminum in between.

Does your mandolin fit the carry-on dimensions if you place it diagonally? That counts. :)

The decoration possibilities are endless. Brass steamer trunk fittings...

At one point I was thinking of lexan backed with black velvet.

[catsittingstill]

I am designing at the moment for 7/16th inch plywood. I have a sheet of that and it feels pretty sturdy. The edges will be inset into spruce 2 by 2s (which are really 1 1/2 by 1 1/2.) This will help hide the plywood edges and keep them from splintering. I'll fasten them into the 2x2s with screws; I'm presently waffling between steel and brass. Brass would look better but wouldn't be as tough.

I have two interior compartments (one on each side of the neck) that will come up to the lid, and help brace it so it doesn't have to span as much distance.

My plan is to fill every inch (except the compartments) with foam and cut out a hollow for the instrument.

Brass fittings would be very nice--I have brass-look hinges and latches I was going to use on the cedar strip case for the octave mandolin. I'm also going to get a brass plate and have my name and address engraved on it.