Building a rack mount flight case

[Alex Spencer]

In the short I had to sell my flight case to pay the gas bill, or something to that effect.

My father being the self proclaimed DIY man that he is has me thinking that it might be cheaper to by the parts and build my own rather than buying a ready fabricated one. I know places like Adam Hall sell all the parts individually, but I was wondering if anyone had had experience doing it themselves? I've always been a hands on kind of guy and think I can do an alright job, but I wonder about hidden costs, tricky parts and generally taking on a bigger project than its worth...

[Longmayyourun]

Hi Alex, It's certainly do-able but you're going to need a few tools to get a good finish: first off a mitre saw to cut the ally sections (Nobex do a good one)'cos while the cut ends of the casemaker sections can be hidden under the corners, the 'hybrid' lid mating section needs to be mitred nicely. (I'm assuming you don't have an electric chop saw, and even if you do I'd strongly advise you not to use it unless you really know what you're doing. I speak from experience.) A riveter of course - hand powered is fine for a one off, or even a few cases but you will build up muscle strength in your fingers. A drill for all those rivet holes, and some way to cut your chosen sheet material - a jigsaw would do it, a table saw would be much better, it's even possible to cut 'Astraboard' with a Stanley knife given enough care and patience. A file or two for de-burring metal. A band cramp or picture framing clamp to hold everything together while you stand back to look, or let go to pick up the drill.

Problems? well you might well end up buying more material than you need - the ally comes in 4 metre lengths and the sheet stuff is quite big - probably enough for a couple or three cases depending on what you are making, - so a one off could end up being quite pricey. Having said that, if you get a decent result all your mates are going to be after you to build for them,so - go steady, take your time and measure everything at least twice, but have fun and go for it. After a couple of cases you'll know how the lengths of ally relate to the dimensions of the finished case (that's easier to think than it is to put down in words) and it will become much easier to work out your cutting list.
Best of luck
Andi

[Alex Spencer]

Cheers Andi.

My dad is actually a case maker, so I have most of these tools out in the workshop. He mainly works with glass fibre though and hasn't done a flight case style case before so I thought I'd ask! I would quite like to make a matching flight case for my cab, so some excess material could go towards that, if it comes out well! Would you say it's worth the hassle?

[Longmayyourun]

I'd say the first one will probably be a pain in the neck - choosing the right parts (there are a lot of options in the Adam Hall catalogue) figuring out sizes etc, and you almost certainly won't save money given that factory made cases must be knocked out by the thousand, BUT there's plenty of satisfaction to be had from doing a good job yourself, and you end up with exactly the thing you want (with luck).For example I've built half width rack cases with plexiglass front panels before, and you probably wouldn't find them off the shelf, once I had to laminate a particular shade of moss green formica to 6mm ply to make a case, and then lined it in Black Watch tartan.What I'm saying is - you can have a certain kind of fun playing with ideas. I'm going to stop now as I'm beginning to sound more than a bit sad.

[Alex Spencer]

Nah man, it's interesting to hear about! The old man has don't some pretty interesting cases in his time too! So much do you think it would cost to build, say, a 12U?

[Monckyman]

I`d say ebay or second hand from flightcase warehouse would save a lot of pain, and might work out cheaper.
[url="http://www.secondhand-sound-and-lighting-equipment.co.uk/second%20hand%20flight%20cases%20and%20trunks.htm"]http://www.secondhand-sound-and-lighting-equipment.co.uk/second%20hand%20flight%20cases%20and%20trunks.htm[/url]

[Longmayyourun]

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1331078348' post='1567468']
I`d say ebay or second hand from flightcase warehouse would save a lot of pain, and might work out cheaper.
[url="http://www.secondhand-sound-and-lighting-equipment.co.uk/second%20hand%20flight%20cases%20and%20trunks.htm"]http://www.secondhan...nd%20trunks.htm[/url]
[/quote]

If cost is the prime consideration I'd have to say I agree with this. A quick look at Adam Hall shows that a sheet of Astroboard alone will set you back £100 plus some shipping.You could easily double that when you add on Aluminium sections, corners,catches,handles,rack strip..........

[Alex Spencer]

True. Thanks for all the research you've put in guys! I think I'll probably just end up buying one from flightcase warehouse and leave this project until I need something a bit more specific!

[mrtcat]

Flight cases rarely work out cheaper if self made. The aluminium extrusions and catches etc soon add up to a small fortune. However many expensive flight cases are poorly made so if build quality is king then make your own. I usually use 9mm ply and then buy a tired old case off the bay and use the parts. Just be sure to buy something big enough so you have enough parts.

[TimR]

Buy a riviter and consider buying a few old busted ones and salvaging the parts. I made a decent one for my amp by buying a long 2U case that had smashed and cutting the back off, drilled out the rivets, chiselled the ply down to fit the extrusion (the slots are thinner than the ply), drill and rivet back together.

I did try making a case from some right angle ally but it took days and fell apart pretty quickly. You need the right extrusions and catches.