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Hello,

I searched a bit in the archives and found some helpful hints, but I’m wondering if any of you have resources you could share, links, tutorials, sellers, etc… for materials needed for making cases?

Alternatively, anyone have experience to share with going the route of a cedar creek or similar? Was it cost effective for only a handful of instruments a year?

Brad


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-I can comment on the second part - I have had Cedar Creek built three custom cases for me for guitars that would not fit stock cases. They were very expensive, long delivery and are quite beautiful. Two of the cases were for odd shaped long scale 12 strings, one was for a odd shaped resonator. They did indentations in the top for the cover plate and tailpiece which fits perfectly.

I would rather build to fit available cases (duh) but I would certain order from Cedar Creek again. Are they cost effective, probably cost more than the materials for the guitars.

Depending on how big your guitars are there is another option other than having a custom case made or building one yourself - buy a larger off the shelf case, gut the body section and cut new foam to suit your instrument and re-line the fabric. You can buy a hot wire foam cutter cheaply from Amazon and easily get a perfect fit for the body. There’s a lot less work to customise a case in this way compared to scratch building a custom case.

I had a requirement for a fume free case that Cedar Creek could never get to “Yes” and a price about making, so I made one myself for the project. Rather than bend any wood, I used poplar planks for the sides and formaldehyde free plywood for the top and back of the coffin styled case. The stainless steel hardware mostly came from Amazon and the organic component fabric from a supplier I don’t remember (the customer ordered the fabric). There was a lot more time in this case than I charged for.

If it weren’t for the special chemical requirements, Cedar Creek would have been worth their price for a case (I think it’s around $700). Normally, I design to fit existing cases.

Very nice Bob!

When I had a Cedar Creek case made, they had two levels of custom cases. The cheaper option (but still expensive) was to have them modify the padding in a larger case to fit your instrument, similar to what Josh mentioned above. The more expensive option was to have a new case made from scratch to fit your instrument.

I had them make a case by the less expensive route to fit one of my guitar designs that is somewhat non-standard. The case is very well made and looks great. The padding looks a bit goofy inside though because it's very thick to fill up space to fit to my guitar design. The guitar is VERY well protected though. The case is heavy (15 lbs). Too heavy for my liking. I don't like hauling it around. It took over three months to get it made and it cost about $300.

I don't remember the quote for a completely custom case, but it was quite a bit more than $300.

You can see how thick the padding came out here:

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You can only play that guitar at night, and it doesn't show up in a mirror. Beautiful work, though.

I think the wide padding looks cool man! Kinda “luxe” as they say these days.

Yes, agree some of the high-end plywood cases are excessively heavy … when I customised my own internal padding I used lighter weight moulded ABS cases from SKB, Gator etc around $150 price point.

I used to haul my gear from gig to gig in proper steel reinforced road cases, both guitars and amps. You could back over them with the van and the gear would survive, but the weight was insane. Most players who aren’t out playing on the road for a living do just fine with a well-padded ABS hard shell case - it’s more than enough protection against the kind of bumps and dings the guitar might suffer in the trunk of the car, on the train, from rambunctious pets etc

A person could cut out top and back panels out of plywood, either freehand or CNC or whatever, and fit kerf cut plywood as sides, if a shaped case is the goal. I've seen it done and it works fine. Taking foam panels and CNC'ing them to shape, and then laminating with fiberglass is another. There were many different variants of coffin cases in the 19th century used for high end instruments. Lots of options out there.

Dave

Brad, I think my sample cases from Ameritage were quite a bit less than Cedar Creek. I don't remember the price specifically, but email Ameritage, let them know you're a luthier, and ask for the luthier's price list. They also have options like embroidering your branding, which is a super classy touch.

I agree with Josh regarding the needs of the average player. If you are not flying or touring (like REAL touring) with a guitar, any type of hard shell case that fits reasonably well will be fine. A lot of these high end cases are like the steamer trunks from the movie Joe vs. The Volcano. Complete overkill for weekend warriors. But if the customer wants one, you’ve gotta have one.

I've made a few guitar cases similar to the cases used in the 1800's. I make them from 1X pine off cuts planed to approximately an half inch thickness for the sides and 3mm plywood for the top and bottom. I line them with cloth covered corrugated cardboard to provide some cushioning without taking up too much space. Building them like the old cases keeps the weight down and provides a modicum of protection against the occasional bump or ding.
They are easy to construct and can be knocked together in a few hours with some Elmer's and a pin gun. I don't have pictures in the "archive" of one I made but here are some pictures of one of the old cases I have and a case for a travel guitar I made some time back.

I made a case once and promised my self I would never do it again

Although if doing this commercially, it's important to recognize that individually built ("bespoke," as they're marketed by TNAG) guitars are luxury items, and a high-end case is as much an expectation as excellency in fit and finish.

I agree, James, which is why I say that, if the customer wants one, you've got to offer one. I just think it is worthy of a conversation with the buyer about what they really need before they spend money on that particular accessory. Some of the offerings are outlandish.

Interesting. I've got a few cases I'd like to try this with. Pardon my ignorance but what is the material used inside the case and where do you source it?

A friend of mine who has built a few cases uses fake fur. Unless you're really stuck on the look of crushed velvet. Works great according to him. Something like this. https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/8390759 ... ol=1&sts=1

I like the various colors of crushed velvet or mohair, but the tiger fur might offer a unique look!

Todd Cambio/Fraulini Guitars has some info on the cases he makes on his blog at his website

People interested in old-style coffin cases should take a look at Robert Corwin's site, specifically http://www.earlymartin.com/coffincases.html. While, unfortunately for our purposes, there aren't as many dimensions or construction details as we might like, there are lots of great pictures of coffin cases with useful information.

For example: "Many old Martins are found today in coffin cases that are assumed to be Martin cases, but are not. As often as not, these cases have thinner handles that look more like a thick bent wire. You will never find these handles on cases supplied by Martin."

"Martin coffin cases always have heavy [cast] brass handles which are beautifully contoured. These are consistently of the type of 'bail handle' known as 'lifting handles,' originally designed for British blanket chests, with a built in stop that allows the handle to be lifted to 90 or 105 degrees, and no further, and secured not by built in posts, as a standard bail handle, but by screws passing through the face of each of the two brass plates or rosettes."

These heavier handles look much stronger than wire handles, and clearly would be more comfortable in use.

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