Instrument case
Oct. 22nd, 2014 08:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsittingstillBoy, have I been making progress!
I put in the ring-posts to allow me to snap straps on the case and carry it like a backpack. This meant varnishing would have to happen around the ring posts, which was not ideal, but once the kit-box was in, access to the inside would be pretty restricted, and I figured it would be easier to install the ringposts first.
I fitted the two uprights to make the under-neck kit box. That took me like two weeks, and I was feeling like I wouldn't be able to finish in time for OVFF but once I got them glued in things went much faster. Fitting the lid was a pain because the sides of the box aren't straight at that point, and I knew one of the handle attachment points was going to have to go in there also. I ended up making the hinges of the box and its pull tab out of leather, which matches what I used to pad the edges of the neck supports, (which fit Pearl's neck quite closely, and thus had to be softened so they wouldn't leave marks which meant more time fitting because I needed extra space to account for the leather.) The leather hinges let the box lid shift around a little more than metal hinges would, which I think makes the tolerances for opening a bit less stringent. I'm very pleased with the lid--it fits tightly enough to stay closed on its own, but opens with a tug on the pull tab. Having fit everything, I cut the lid loose again temporarily.
I bought a different handle for the case, which didn't require a shim to install (saving me a week, easily,) and which looks very nice. It was 25$ instead of 8, but I think it was worth it. I spend a lot of time with Pearl wedged in temporarily with padding and all the kit I expected to carry in the under-neck box put in, to find the center of gravity of the whole thing as closely as I could. The handle needed to be mounted perpendicular to the line extending from the center of the handle through the center of gravity of the case, so that the case would hang evenly. The major reason I wanted a new case is that the old case doesn't hang right when full and the hinges of the handle chew on my fingers.
That did, as expected, put the attachment points of one end of the handle at the same level as the lid of the box. I carefully cut out two notches in the lid of the box to accommodate the attachment points. It looks a little odd, but it is functional, and as neat as I can make it, fitting closely enough that even small stuff shouldn't be able to fall out of the kit box shouldn't be able to fall out.
The instrument case has four coats of varnish (though only 2 in some places, because in an effort to get its surfaces more level and less ripply I sanded all the way through those first two coats in some places--which is easier than you would think, even wet sanding with 400 grit sandpaper, because in my desire to avoid drips and runs I try to put on a brushful and then pull it out as thin as I can and cover as much surface as possible with it before it dries, which makes for a thin coat.)
The last coats of varnish are very matte--I bought semi-gloss varnish but failed to read the directions until I was halfway through. Thus I was using it without stirring and wondering why it was so glossy. I think the stuff that makes it semigloss is some kind of particulate suspension that sinks to the bottom of the can over time, so when I started stirring it I got a full can's dose in a half can's volume of varnish. This is okay, though; lesson learned, and in the meantime the very matte surface disguises the unevennesses fairly well, and the lack of a gleam makes the whole surface seem to have a soft glow.
The case and all its shims varnished, I drilled holes to install the feet. The plan was to have three on the bottom, to protect the varnished bottom from damage if it was set on a gritty floor or something and two on the hinge side to match the hinges plus hinge shims so the case wouldn't topple over if I set it down for a minute to open a door or something. The two on the hinge side required wood shims so shim-plus-foot matched shim-plus-hinge.
Now the place I ordered the feet send me the wrong size backing pins. (I asked for 4 of length X and 2 of length Y and got 2 of length X and 4 of length Y.) I thought at the time it didn't matter because the instructions for installation specified a minimum length the pin must protrude from the mounting surface, but not a maximum length, so I thought an extra 1/16th wouldn't matter; I'd just pound it down a bit more. I'm here to tell you that Buckleguy backing pin 1414 has an iron shaft, even if you can order them in brass, and you can pound on them *quite a bit* without mashing them down any farther. I discovered this while setting the length Y pins in the shims for the hinge-side feet, so it wasn't a tragedy because I had to drill out the underside of the shim anyway because Y wasn't long enough to go all the way through the shim, so the dookie schmutz should have packed into that cavity to glue the foot sufficiently in place so it can't "extend" and "retract" anymore.
But this was going to be more of a problem for the one foot on the bottom side that got a too-long pin. So I called up Buckleguy. Now I'd already had to call them about that particular order because I got hardware for straps to carry the instrument case like a backpack and one of the trigger snaps hadn't worked properly, and they sent me a new one, so I was pretty apologetic about not having straightened out the pin issue at the same time, which would have been easier for them. But their returns guy understood and said it was their job to get the order right in the first place, and furthermore he sent the stuff out second-day express to get it to me in time to mount the third foot before I go to the con. I should receive it today and I trusted them enough that I have already installed the other two bottom feet. If worst comes to worst and it doesn't arrive in time, the case will be a little tilted at OVFF, but still useable.
So I've got to say, if you need brass hardware, Buckleguy has quality stuff, and very nice customer service if you have any problems.
And the hinge side feet are on, and two of the bottom side feet are on, and all the hardware and its assorted shims have been re-bolted on. Someday I will glue the shims but that day was not yesterday because it's useable this way and I would really like to bring it to OVFF and I might not have time if I try gluing the shims.
I have also sewn some brown corduroy over the padding for the body--so the major thing I need to do today is finish sewing down the edges of that and figure out how to handle the padding on the inside of the lid that will keep Pearl from dropping on her bridge if the case is, for example, dropped lid-down. I have the foam all cut to size but I have to cover it with corduroy and secure it to the lid, and the padding-gluing glue I bought turns out to have acetone in it and I'm afraid it will damage the expoxy that is a major part of the lid's strength. I may run down to Walmart and buy some sticky-sided and some sew-on velcro as a stopgap.
But really, it's already better than the old case in terms of protectiveness, and I have carried it around by the handle, and the handle is in the right place, and comfortable.
It's almost done; it's almost done! But I spent so much time working on it that I need to spend extra time on my Dutch translation this morning to be ready to skype with Dad this afternoon.
Must run!
I put in the ring-posts to allow me to snap straps on the case and carry it like a backpack. This meant varnishing would have to happen around the ring posts, which was not ideal, but once the kit-box was in, access to the inside would be pretty restricted, and I figured it would be easier to install the ringposts first.
I fitted the two uprights to make the under-neck kit box. That took me like two weeks, and I was feeling like I wouldn't be able to finish in time for OVFF but once I got them glued in things went much faster. Fitting the lid was a pain because the sides of the box aren't straight at that point, and I knew one of the handle attachment points was going to have to go in there also. I ended up making the hinges of the box and its pull tab out of leather, which matches what I used to pad the edges of the neck supports, (which fit Pearl's neck quite closely, and thus had to be softened so they wouldn't leave marks which meant more time fitting because I needed extra space to account for the leather.) The leather hinges let the box lid shift around a little more than metal hinges would, which I think makes the tolerances for opening a bit less stringent. I'm very pleased with the lid--it fits tightly enough to stay closed on its own, but opens with a tug on the pull tab. Having fit everything, I cut the lid loose again temporarily.
I bought a different handle for the case, which didn't require a shim to install (saving me a week, easily,) and which looks very nice. It was 25$ instead of 8, but I think it was worth it. I spend a lot of time with Pearl wedged in temporarily with padding and all the kit I expected to carry in the under-neck box put in, to find the center of gravity of the whole thing as closely as I could. The handle needed to be mounted perpendicular to the line extending from the center of the handle through the center of gravity of the case, so that the case would hang evenly. The major reason I wanted a new case is that the old case doesn't hang right when full and the hinges of the handle chew on my fingers.
That did, as expected, put the attachment points of one end of the handle at the same level as the lid of the box. I carefully cut out two notches in the lid of the box to accommodate the attachment points. It looks a little odd, but it is functional, and as neat as I can make it, fitting closely enough that even small stuff shouldn't be able to fall out of the kit box shouldn't be able to fall out.
The instrument case has four coats of varnish (though only 2 in some places, because in an effort to get its surfaces more level and less ripply I sanded all the way through those first two coats in some places--which is easier than you would think, even wet sanding with 400 grit sandpaper, because in my desire to avoid drips and runs I try to put on a brushful and then pull it out as thin as I can and cover as much surface as possible with it before it dries, which makes for a thin coat.)
The last coats of varnish are very matte--I bought semi-gloss varnish but failed to read the directions until I was halfway through. Thus I was using it without stirring and wondering why it was so glossy. I think the stuff that makes it semigloss is some kind of particulate suspension that sinks to the bottom of the can over time, so when I started stirring it I got a full can's dose in a half can's volume of varnish. This is okay, though; lesson learned, and in the meantime the very matte surface disguises the unevennesses fairly well, and the lack of a gleam makes the whole surface seem to have a soft glow.
The case and all its shims varnished, I drilled holes to install the feet. The plan was to have three on the bottom, to protect the varnished bottom from damage if it was set on a gritty floor or something and two on the hinge side to match the hinges plus hinge shims so the case wouldn't topple over if I set it down for a minute to open a door or something. The two on the hinge side required wood shims so shim-plus-foot matched shim-plus-hinge.
Now the place I ordered the feet send me the wrong size backing pins. (I asked for 4 of length X and 2 of length Y and got 2 of length X and 4 of length Y.) I thought at the time it didn't matter because the instructions for installation specified a minimum length the pin must protrude from the mounting surface, but not a maximum length, so I thought an extra 1/16th wouldn't matter; I'd just pound it down a bit more. I'm here to tell you that Buckleguy backing pin 1414 has an iron shaft, even if you can order them in brass, and you can pound on them *quite a bit* without mashing them down any farther. I discovered this while setting the length Y pins in the shims for the hinge-side feet, so it wasn't a tragedy because I had to drill out the underside of the shim anyway because Y wasn't long enough to go all the way through the shim, so the dookie schmutz should have packed into that cavity to glue the foot sufficiently in place so it can't "extend" and "retract" anymore.
But this was going to be more of a problem for the one foot on the bottom side that got a too-long pin. So I called up Buckleguy. Now I'd already had to call them about that particular order because I got hardware for straps to carry the instrument case like a backpack and one of the trigger snaps hadn't worked properly, and they sent me a new one, so I was pretty apologetic about not having straightened out the pin issue at the same time, which would have been easier for them. But their returns guy understood and said it was their job to get the order right in the first place, and furthermore he sent the stuff out second-day express to get it to me in time to mount the third foot before I go to the con. I should receive it today and I trusted them enough that I have already installed the other two bottom feet. If worst comes to worst and it doesn't arrive in time, the case will be a little tilted at OVFF, but still useable.
So I've got to say, if you need brass hardware, Buckleguy has quality stuff, and very nice customer service if you have any problems.
And the hinge side feet are on, and two of the bottom side feet are on, and all the hardware and its assorted shims have been re-bolted on. Someday I will glue the shims but that day was not yesterday because it's useable this way and I would really like to bring it to OVFF and I might not have time if I try gluing the shims.
I have also sewn some brown corduroy over the padding for the body--so the major thing I need to do today is finish sewing down the edges of that and figure out how to handle the padding on the inside of the lid that will keep Pearl from dropping on her bridge if the case is, for example, dropped lid-down. I have the foam all cut to size but I have to cover it with corduroy and secure it to the lid, and the padding-gluing glue I bought turns out to have acetone in it and I'm afraid it will damage the expoxy that is a major part of the lid's strength. I may run down to Walmart and buy some sticky-sided and some sew-on velcro as a stopgap.
But really, it's already better than the old case in terms of protectiveness, and I have carried it around by the handle, and the handle is in the right place, and comfortable.
It's almost done; it's almost done! But I spent so much time working on it that I need to spend extra time on my Dutch translation this morning to be ready to skype with Dad this afternoon.
Must run!
