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catsittingstillSo it's raining--again--wasting what would otherwise be a lovely October with weather where I don't want to go hiking or canoeing because I'm getting soft in my old age.
On the other hand, that makes it a lovely day to stay inside and work on my instrument case, because I don't feel bad about missing out on the good weather.
I was planning to clean up the third set of latch shims--sand off all the rasp marks, get the top and bottom edges of the shim lined up better (I have kind of given up hope on "perfectly") chamfer the edges, damp down to raise the grain and sand with fine sandpaper. I have already done the hinge shims and the shims for two of the latches. Sewing the padding together was going to be something I did for a change, when I felt like a rest.
Instead I sewed the padding together. Well okay then. It's not wasted time, or anything. Soon, very soon, it will be time to sew the cloth over the padding, but I figured it would be good to have the padding in one piece first.
Sewing open cell foam is kind of fun. It has a shape to it, and a certain amount of give, and bounce. The stiches can be as big and ugly as I like; they won't show when the cover is on. They don't have to be particularly strong; just strong enough to hold the whole thing in shape while I get the cover on and get the padding installed.
I'm mostly just padding out the belly of the case. I've got 3/4 of an inch of foam around the sides, and 1/4 inch of foam on the bottom, supplemented by a sort of donut of 1/2 inch foam, because the instrument has a domed back and I'm trying to match the curve as well as possible so that any shocks will be spread out over a wider area. This involved a lot of "put a little strip of foam in, put the instrument in, measure the distance from a straightedge across the top edges to the bridge. Take the instrument out, put a narrower, or wider, strip of foam in, lather, rinse repeat" as I figured out what dimensions I could make the various edges of the donut. I have got it mostly right, and have lost patience for messing with it. It will have to be good enough, unless I have more patience to mess with it tomorrow. I am putting in some chunks of padding on the lid to help keep the instrument from falling on its bridge if the case is dropped lid-down; that will probably help.
There is a bit more sewing-of-padding to be done, and then it will be time to make the cover. And I still need to clean up the third latch shim, which I need to do pretty soon to allow time for varnishing.
And in the meantime I have written a song for the OVFF song contest, which I will post after the contest.
On the other hand, that makes it a lovely day to stay inside and work on my instrument case, because I don't feel bad about missing out on the good weather.
I was planning to clean up the third set of latch shims--sand off all the rasp marks, get the top and bottom edges of the shim lined up better (I have kind of given up hope on "perfectly") chamfer the edges, damp down to raise the grain and sand with fine sandpaper. I have already done the hinge shims and the shims for two of the latches. Sewing the padding together was going to be something I did for a change, when I felt like a rest.
Instead I sewed the padding together. Well okay then. It's not wasted time, or anything. Soon, very soon, it will be time to sew the cloth over the padding, but I figured it would be good to have the padding in one piece first.
Sewing open cell foam is kind of fun. It has a shape to it, and a certain amount of give, and bounce. The stiches can be as big and ugly as I like; they won't show when the cover is on. They don't have to be particularly strong; just strong enough to hold the whole thing in shape while I get the cover on and get the padding installed.
I'm mostly just padding out the belly of the case. I've got 3/4 of an inch of foam around the sides, and 1/4 inch of foam on the bottom, supplemented by a sort of donut of 1/2 inch foam, because the instrument has a domed back and I'm trying to match the curve as well as possible so that any shocks will be spread out over a wider area. This involved a lot of "put a little strip of foam in, put the instrument in, measure the distance from a straightedge across the top edges to the bridge. Take the instrument out, put a narrower, or wider, strip of foam in, lather, rinse repeat" as I figured out what dimensions I could make the various edges of the donut. I have got it mostly right, and have lost patience for messing with it. It will have to be good enough, unless I have more patience to mess with it tomorrow. I am putting in some chunks of padding on the lid to help keep the instrument from falling on its bridge if the case is dropped lid-down; that will probably help.
There is a bit more sewing-of-padding to be done, and then it will be time to make the cover. And I still need to clean up the third latch shim, which I need to do pretty soon to allow time for varnishing.
And in the meantime I have written a song for the OVFF song contest, which I will post after the contest.
