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OK, I suspect I will get called crazy for this, but I am interested in a case for my harp guitar, but I do not want a "suit case" (square box) and thus am interested in building one. Or, at the very least, exploring my options. Yes, I am aware that we have a case builder for a sponsor, but I strongly suspect I will choke on the price... and from what I can tell, they would deserve it. If all I wanted was a harp guitar, I would have bought a Lark in the Morning , but that is just not the case (no pun). I did find a site that started to describe the process of shaped cases, but it ended at the point it was becoming interesting. Waa! But I think I get the point. So, thoughts please? Ideas, links, directions? Material sources? Anybody done this?

Mike

Bump. No one does this? Hmmm, sounds like a good idea then.

I don't know much about professional case making, but I have pondered building them out of wood. Plywood, OSB, masonite, all seem like they'd work fine. I don't think I care enough to bend sides on a case though. Just approximate a guitar shape out of 10-20 straight pieces, fill out the inner guitar shape with styrofoam or something, line with soft carpet/fur/etc, glue some fabric on the outside to make it look a little less pitiful, and call it done.

I know I saw case latches and handles for sale at some guitar building supply site, but I can't remember which one. I'll post if I can find it again.

The other option would be to make a soft case, or even just modify a store bought soft case. Nothing much to it, just basic stitchery, with what feels like stiff foam rubber for the base, canvas for the outside, soft cloth for the inside, and a long zipper. But I'd feel a lot better hauling an instrument around places in a hard case.

Hmm, thinking more about curved sides, I suppose you could laminate them out of veneers around a mould, then put dowels around the inside as support posts, and a layer of foam around the outside as padding. Might not be a whole lot more durable than the guitar itself, but also not that big a deal if the laminates ever did crack, since the dowels and styrofoam lining would still protect the guitar from blunt impacts.

Or maybe just use a whole bunch of dowels. So many that there aren't any large spaces between them. And then laminate the veneers directly around those, instead of needing a mould. Then the veneers are mainly just to provide a smooth feeling surface from the outside, but are structurally unimportant.

Mike,

It's going to depend on how much you love your harp guitar and how much travelling you do with it. You can make a plywood "coffin case" like the really old Martins had but plywood cases are both heavy and offer little protection to any major impacts or traumas, or against extreme heat and cold. The cases that Gregg sells would work very well and are a good price (unfortunately not so good after shipping/duty to the UK ) and a keyboard proper flight case with a tailored foam insert is a good solution too - but rectangular. The Calton custom made harp guitar cases here in the UK (made by Keith Calton) are also rectangular but expensive (again worth it if you love your harp guitar enough and travel with it). Getting a custom case made that is harp guitar shaped and of air travel standard will cost as much as aor more than the harp guitar I suspect - bespoke instrument, bespoke case - good luck.

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

I have built cases for odd-shaped ukuleles and find them heavy and a lot of work. With my high quality workmanship they also look ugly as if they had been built by a ten year old.

Some details that I have learned
The lid should should have a 1-1 1/2" side for stiffness.

Laminate flooing underlay makes a good, resilent 1/8" padding.

A plastic sign maker could make plastic shell using vacuum-forming if you supply a male-mold of the inside,

Bob

Ah! Good idea on the sign maker! I was thinking the same thing about plastic shells. In middle school, I took some course where we vacuum formed plastic like that. Tnx

No, I've never done this, but....I work in a cabinet shop and we often make custom furniture with bent panels. We often use a product called "bending ply" which is a plywood specifically designed to be easy to bend in only one grain direction. It comes in several thicknesses, and the 1/4" stuff would be ideal for bending the sides of a custom instrument case. It will bend into a very very short radius. If you google" bending ply" or "bending plywood", or if you contact a cabinet makers shop, you should be able to source some close to your location. It is also very lightweight.

cheers

John

You could laminate a couple of layers of luan for the sides. Using epoxy would help set the shape. It's just a thought...

The suggested thickness is 1.4 mm, two plies. I have so far found plywood 1/16" & 1/8" which is close

By two lies I mean two layers of the 1/16" plywood