Building a case

[yoshi]

Anyone here built a case for their axe? I am keen to try and build something small and compact to house my upcoming headless 5er. I was thinking of a wooden frame with sheet aluminium panelling... maybe a bit costly though. Any thoughts?

 

[skot71]

I built a case for my Ibanez Destroyer bodied bass when my son started playing. Had no case and almost impossible to find. Only paid 25 bucks for the bass, so a new case was not gonna happen. I built a pine 1x3 frame, and used lauan (spelling?) underlayment plywood for the top and bottom. Cut the lid off with a table saw. Just painted it black. Probably not the most protection if you're touring, but for my son to take it to school or church and back, it worked fine.

 

[redboy1975]

Glad someone posted this as I to am considering making my own case .

 

[Smilodon]

You could use thin plywood (7mm) and aluminium profiles to make a pretty solid case.

Look here: Invalid Link Removed

They are pretty easy to make, and are quite durable. The parts tend to be pretty expensive, though.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I've made a couple bass reflex cabinets, agree it's the hardware and lumber costs that kill you. It's hard to compete with economies of scale possible with mass produced cases. Do it for fun and learning, not to save money on a case.

 

[MrArose13]

I finally got a moment to add something here. I basically HAD to start building cases a couple years ago when my faved case co. quietly stopped production and I couldn't find any cases that would fit the long scale basses I build. As Gilmourisgod stated, The worst part is (as most things) unless you buy in bulk, it's just not cost effective, that is... if you want to take it to a reliable daily duty level (I've been planing a thread on this, but have been a bit busy). To balance that, it gives you a new skill set and is very rewarding.

Gratuitous pics



I find my biggest expense is in foam.

Anyway to make this post worth wild (ha! that's funny, no pun intended) when I was researching I found this You Tube video the most helpful.




Hope that's useful, have fun, and just cause... I'll probably get a thread together in a couple weeks on this.

 

[Rôckhewer]

I'm in the process....(well...I'll finish it when I have time)...of building a coffin shaped case. I like coffin shaped cases not only because they look cool, but the shape just makes sense.
I used ¼" birch ply for the top & bottom, because it was free to me. (we use a lot of it at my shop & they were off cuts).

I bought only the essential hardware so far at HomeDepot. If I need it to be stronger, or sell a bass & provide a case I will get aluminum for the edges, steel corners & some black vinyl to cover it.

I made the sides from basswood....again this was free. (we throw so much basswood away it's crazy). Also because it is lightweight.

I made the bottom sides 9/16" thick. A couple of cross braces that double as neck supports / dividers ...(I'm going to eventually make lidded compartments on either side of the neck).
The top sides are much shorter, but are an inch wide ....with a 5/8" rabbet to create a lip that fits down inside the bottom sides, (1/16" reveal )...so that the lid can not shift around when closed.

For padding I first put down a layer of 1/2" foam rubber I got at an upholstery store, then cut down some foam from an old camping mattress to surround the bass. I will attach more soft upholstery foam to the inside of the lid ....1/2" -to 1" depending on how it feels when I close the lid.... & the strings & knobs etc... push into the foam.
I bought two yards of red crushed velvet from the fabric store to line the inside with....

But that is as far as I've gotten.... Upholstery work is just not my bag, man....
But I'll figure it out one of these days....
Meanwhile, I've been using it as is , and just kinda wrapping the bass with the fabric like "swaddling clothes"

So .... It really isn't to difficult to make a fairly decent case...& I think I spent a total of about $25... (but when I reinforce the edges etc...that will probably double , at least.)... oh yeah...it would have been much more if I would have had to buy the wood... Oh well.
Hope this helps... I wasn't really planning on doing a case build thread, as I was just kinda "winging it".... But since you asked...

 

[MrArose13]

Rôckhewer That's a nice case you got there! Your definitely a man with talents. I for one would love to see a coffin case build thread. I would think the awkward angles would make it problematic to trim it out with aluminum extrusion and ball corners... of course that would make the thread more interesting too... at least to me it would.

 

[yoshi]

Awesome tips & advice, thanks! Looks like a lot of fun trying to make this... the last box-making I did was to house a bunch of beer bottles for my growing homebrew collection. Maybe I can build a few beer-slots into the inside of this case!

 

[Rôckhewer]

Maybe I can build a few beer-slots into the inside of this case!

That's exactly what every bass case needs!!! A beer cooler!

That's a nice case you got there! Your definitely a man with talents.

Thanks man!
Yeah I kinda figured I wasn't gonna be able to use "off the shelf" steel corners....but the wood shop where I work is right next door to a metal shop with a laser cutter and a really sweet press brake. I was thinking about drawing something up in CAD & having them help me out....
Not a huge priority for me right now though.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Actually, most of the standard steel case corners can be used on non-rectangular corners. The corners have the three tabs, which have the screw holes. Just bend the tabs as needed to fit the geometry, and screw it down.

Likewise, the aluminum angle edge extrusions can be formed around odd-angle corners. Measure carefully, use a hacksaw to cut a V in the one leg of the angle, and hand bend it to close up the V. Deburr the edges and screw or pop-rivet the aluminum to the wood.

The best resource I know of for case building hardware is Reliable Hardware:
Reliable Hardware Company - Home

 

[yoshi]

That's exactly what every bass case needs!!! A beer cooler!

Thanks man!
Yeah I kinda figured I wasn't gonna be able to use "off the shelf" steel corners....but the wood shop where I work is right next door to a metal shop with a laser cutter and a really sweet press brake. I was thinking about drawing something up in CAD & having them help me out....
Not a huge priority for me right now though.

That's a sweet case by the way! I followed the build for your Angry Dwarf bass - who'd have realised it was destined for an early grave!

 

[Will_White]

For a simple rectangular case for storage and going to and from gigs, would a 1x frame and 1/4 plywood for faces be sufficient? Or would you use corner protectors, and if so does anybody have a good source for them?

 

[Jonny5bass]

Check out Bruce's post above.

 

[Will_White]

How do you decide on where to put the handle?

 

[skot71]

For mine, I put the bass in the case and set it handle side up. Put a 2 inch by 2 inch piece of wood under the case, and moved it until it seemed balanced.

 

[Ol'Bass'ead]

Theres multiple case builds on youtube;

build a guitar case - YouTube