Thread: My first project: Building a guitar case

Shivers! A guitar case for a first project? Yer a brave man, Stickman! You may be underestimating the difficulties involved... But, good on ya if you really want to give it a go.

I wouldn't use MDF. You'll need hinges and latches and things, which won't screw well into MDF.

Do you want it to be a rectangular box or curved around the guitar? If you want curves you might have to get into steam bending. If you want it boxy, look into finger joints or dovetails. For something this size, and lightweight, you'll need some strong joints for it to last.

I have basically nothing in the way of tools, and am a total noob.

Sorry, you're going to need tools

Q1) What wood would you recommend for this project? Can I get it cut where I buy it from to the lengths I need?
Q2) What tools will I need for this project?
Q3) Should I hammer or glue the wood?

1: Wood: up to you based on looks, price, etc. Don't use pine: it's very soft and will ding like crazy. Most timber merchants will cut wood to the lengths you need.

2: Square, marking knife, couple of saws, chisels, mallet, bench, clamps, glue, books on how to make boxes, box-joints, etc.

3: Don't hammer the wood: glue it (after cutting finger joints or dovetails: you might have to practice first). Or you could use metal fixtures to do the joinery, along the lines of permapine decking. Just nailing or screwing the pieces of wood together will not give you a lasting joint, neither will simply glueing the pieces butted against each other.

You should also be aware that wood expands and contracts with the change of seasons. Anything made from wood needs to be designed to cope with that expansion and contraction.

Good luck!

Thanks for the prompt reply zenwood Judging by your advice, I may well be underestimating how hard this will be!

I will be making a square case, similar to one of these:



This site is the tutorial that has inpired me, but it isn't a great one; there are not really many pictures.

Would using those corner pieces (not sure what they are called!) make the joints strong enough that I wouldn't have to dovetail? Because I think that would be the hardest part.

I down with those tools, as long as I don't need any power tools because I'm on quite a modest budget.

I'd build it out of pine first up. with a plywood top. As a first project butt joints glued and screwed would be cool. Give you an intro to cutting to size, getting things square, clamping etc etc.

Those corner brackets will really only help to protect the corners, not hold it together.......

I'd just make two open top boxes one deep one for the body and one shallower one for the lid. Four bits of pine glued, screwed and plug the holes to hide them. Screw on a nice plywood top. Do it twice, add a piano hinge and your done. The real problem will be making the french-fitted inside to the exact shape of the guitar. No point having a nice box if the guitar is banging around on the inside.

The google term, I think is "flight case", that is hardbox guitar cases.

Good luck dude! Dovetails? Are you kidding me Zenwood?

Damn it thats it! That can be my next project....a guitar case! Cool!

That's a pretty good site, Stickman. I can see how you were inspired.

LineLefty raises some good points.

For this design, the plywood glued to the sides would give the box most of its strength. So glue and screws should be fine. (A *really* neat thing about plywood is it doesn't expand and contract.) For screwing, you will need a drill and drill bits (most drills come with screwdriver bits, if you don't already have a screwdriver), and that's about all. Get your timber cut to size, and you won't even need a saw. If you decide to use nice brass screws, these break really easily, so you'll need to drill pilot holes and maybe pre-screw with steel screws. If you use pine, you won't need to pre-screw. You might need some sandpaper to knock off the rough edges and flush the joints after it's all been put together. Cork sanding blocks are good for this.

Sorry for the crack about dovetails. I was just bullshittin' ya! You'll get used to it around here...

I would use dowels instead of screws, they are inexpensive, dont require special tools and fairly easy to use.
Just buy a kit with a few dowels a drill bit and the small marking pins that fit in the first hole (hard to explain easy to understand when you see them)

Do a couple of tests on off cuts and then onto your box.

I think screws are the ugliest thing (even uglier than PU ) you can use in woodwork, they are acceptable for things like hinges or when dis-assembly is required but useless from a mechanical and aestetic point of view in corner joints.

Originally Posted by JackG

I would use dowels instead of screws... I think screws are the ugliest thing (even uglier than PU ) you can use in woodwork

Actually, screws might fit in with the general aesthetics of metal latches, corner protectors, handles, hinges. Not to mention all the ironmongery on the guitar itself (I assume your axe is electric?)

Certainly dowels are an option. Dowel markers can be used if you don't want to see the dowels (you'll need to drill accurately at 90 degrees to the ends/surfaces), or you can clamp the box together and drill holes straight through from the outside. You can even drill them at an angle to get a dovetail wedging action (this is no bullsh*t. See pic. Brad point drill bits are good for making nice clean holes. Conventional twist drills will tear up the surface.

How about pine for the 'edges', dowelled and reinforced with an internal gusset, or half-jointed and epoxied with same. 9 or 12mm ply for the top and base - the factory edge will provide the square starter edges. After all, it will have the cr@p bashed out of it.

case interior could be done with foam sheet cut with a hacksaw. Lay a flat sheet bottom and top and sdes say 40mm hi density, then another piece that will fill the rest of the box. Trace the guitar onto the thick stuff and hack out the shape. just pack the voids with offcuts etc till she sits in their real snug. You can trim it with cloth if you want to go that far. I did a case interior for a strat of mine like that.

It's not fine woodworking, but I'd make it like this

Pine for the frame - and rely on the ply top and bottom, screwed and glued to the frame as bracing. Polyurethane gorilla glue is stronger than the wood itself. Basic, simple, very strong, industrial look.
Tools needed, a handsaw and a screwdriver.
A cordless drill / driver and a jigsaw will make life much easier though, and be usefull for all sorts of other projects / repairs You can countersink the screw heads into the ply for a neater job.
You will want a selection of sandpapers, coarse grit for cleaning up the sawn edges, finer grades for finishing. You can make a basic sanding block from an offcut of the pine.
I'd finish it with a couple of coats of polyurethane, will have something looking like the lower box in the picture then.
Old_Picker has the right idea for the lining, a selection of firm foam cut to size / shape.
It will be basic, but it wont fall apart and unless you run over it with a car your guitar will be safe

Next project you can get some better tools / wood and do a much nicer one with doveltails and contrasting inlay work

Cheers

Ian

See? Someone else mentioned dovetails...see? see?

Gidday Stick,

Some comments from an amateur luthier.

Youre breaking one of the most important rules of owning a guitar....never store a guitar in a classy looking case....you might as well add big stickers reading "CONTENTS JUST AS CLASSY AS THIS CASE...PLEASE STEAL ME!!!"

Put the resources into making a guitar and buy a case if you need one. A wooden case is never going to be as durable as a hard shell plastic case with plenty of foam and support inside. I currently store my babies in Ashton cases.

Cheers Martin

Fellas, fellas, fellas, its a gituar case lets not complicate it too much.
Yes the metal corners do contribute to the strength considerably particularly corner on biff. I've seen badly abused cases held together by little else but the corners.
Something a little bigger would look better and do more.

for a bloke with few power tools the pine & ply aproach is the best.
Concern yourself with good sound glue joints, on a pretty case the screws will be a pain.
But join the timber frames. preferably get them cut with a good drop saw and as accurate & square as posible. Forget trying to mitre, it is weaker & requires more accuracy & fiddle.
I would go with 6mm CD pine ply or more expensive BC ply for strenght.
use small nails on the frames and fine brads to tack the sheet down.
Good quality pva or yello glue will hold quite well. The nails are just there to hold it together till the glue can do its thing.
If you want a cleer finish estipol sanding sealer and a good sand followed with estipol over. is good
If you want black, estipol sanding sealer with berger jet dry paving paint or 3D auto undercoat with acrilic laquer over.
If you want to source some proper road case hardware give me a PM.
What you are building will be stronger than any cheap case & a lot cheaper than a "professionaly made flight case"

Don't be stingy with the foam, cheap stuff will crumble & make a mess of you axe. PE foam is my preference or eva but thats dear. don't forget the velvet It must be comfy inside.
cheers

I know a way to hold the guitar in place that'll be a perfect fit, involves fiber glassing

1. Cover the guitar tightly in some materail like bed sheets need to be around 3-5mm thick, then tightly wrap in glad wrap so its water proof(ie, no holes!), try to get these layers flat as possible.

2. Place guitar face down on a flat surface place a few small blocks of wood under the guitar to steady so it cant rock around(no pun intended), hot melt glue them in place on flat surface. Make sure wood blocks dont protude past the outside edge of guitar. mark out with a texta how big your new case is.

3. Grab some wide masking tape and tape around the outer edge of guitar at a slight angle away from guitar to the flat surface.(this is essential to allow mould/guitar release... do not use cheap tape!)Make a small carboard box to go around the machine heads allowing enough room so they dont get knocked out of tune when placing the guitar in its new case.

4. Paint the whole lot in some mould release agent.(can use oil)

5. Chop some F/glass mat into 5X10cm strips for the edges and cut 1 or 2 layers to fit around the guitar leaving a 1-2cm gap and as far as the texta marks you made earlier, finaly cut 1-2 layers fit over the guitar itself no overlap.

6. Don the correct safety gear(fully clothed, gloves, glasses, respirator... good lighting).

7. Mix resin to the manufacturers recomendations, paint on the resin on one section at a time and apply the matting pressing it down with a dabbing action with a paint brush, do the outside first then the guitar back/neck, finish with the body edges applying the mat strips overlapping each other by 5mm or so.

8. Do the second layer while the 1st is still curing, start with a new batch of resin and paint brush, pour any left over resin all over the guitar paying attention to the outer edge areas of the guitar body/neck.

9. Let it fully cure over night, take a knife and slide it under to help the release once free from the flat surface the guitar will pull out from its mould.

10. Rip off the protective coverings and take guitar inside and give it a darn good thrashin(hope you got a Marshall, air guitar demo goes in here!)

11. A small amount of car bog may be needed in a few spots for fill, trim to fit the case your making then cover it with a strechy material of your liking... will fit your guitar like a glove!

I havent done this myself but have watched a mate do it under my instructions(done a bit of F/glass'n, former car audio nut...), IMHO it come out better than 99% of shop brought jobs!
Its not as hard as it sounds... quite simple really, once you get going.