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I want to make a case for my Parlor I am restoring. What wood should I use to bend for the sides? Also, I would love to find nice case hardware, cover material. Anyone maybe have a source?

Lee Valley has a ton of good hardware, worth checking out if they have anything appropriate.

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You might be able to kerf the plywood to bend it depending on what size of ply you are using. I suppose you could also steam it or soak it in hot water and bend it around a form made of dowel pegs. An Upolstery shop might have some cover material and Woodcraft has some latches and handles.

Thanks, I'll let ya know what I come up with.

PM Todd Stock I think he may have done some boat work and maybe he could tell you something about bending or steaming.

Most lumber dealers carry poplar bending ply. If you get the thinnest, bend it around a form that will be your bottom and glue a second layer to it. It will hold its shape and be very stout. It bends to about a 4" diameter.

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Dean

There is a 3-ply plywood that is about 1/8" thick (3mm), that you can obtain from a cabinet shop or architectural millworking firm. Made by the same factories that make "Baltic Birch" ply or "Finnish Birch " ply, or there are other variants of this. That material is not as bendable as the plywood made with all the wood veneer laminates going in the same direction ("bendy board"?). but an 8" strip of it would probably bend the curves OK. Two layers of that glued together, with staggered joints, around a guitar shaped 1/" ply top and bottom plate would build a strong box.

Then you could go around the box with a wing cutter in a router, to cut the top off of the box.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

But you need something that will hold it's shape so that it doesn't open up when you open the lid. You could always bend 3 layers at .090" on a hot pipe and laminate them.

you may be interested in this article on building an 1800's style guitar case

http://mysite.verizon.net/nostberg/chapter19/index.htm

Stew-mac has some case parts- hinges, handles, covering material:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Accessories/Case_parts.html

Rockler also has lots of hardware- one of the best sites I've used.

http://www.rockler.com

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

I think it would hold its shape, Chris. I guess I'd have to try to know for sure, but once the glue dries between the two layers of 1/8" ply, I'm pretty sure that the resulting 1/4" ply would be pretty solid. One of these days I'll find out, as I have a couple of instruments on the drawing board that will need custom cases. I'm not saying this would rival a custom case from Calton, but would (hopefully) be a working shell, ready for foam and cloth and latches. Some sort of a lip applied to the exterior of the lid would help with alignment during closing.

Oh, and whoever came up with the concept of making instrument cases black deserves a swift kick in the butt.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Mine will not be Black fake cow! I have not decided, but if I am going to R&D and build build build, it better be special in the end. How about an Indian Rosewood top and Bottom (over the ply) Maybe Mahogany on the side? The Parlor is tiny,12" wide, wood use will be minimal