 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken Rasmussen
Date: 2000-12-18 06:11
Those of you who read all the posts, and are able to probe the deepest secrets of our psyches from the fragments, have undoubtedly been aware of the trauma which resulted from my inability to get a Kooiman thumb rest into my Buffet pouchette style case. I finally succeeded! I tore the innards out, used a hemostat and adhesive to repair the damaged latch, spent three evenings carving a base and lid out of foam, spent an afternoon upholstering the interior, and voila', my tiny little case now has a Kooiman compartment! I also managed to increase the size of the accessory compartment. The horn fits like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I'm feeling very proud.
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Author: Steve
Date: 2000-12-18 13:07
Hooray Ken!!! When are you going to start taking case-refurbishing oders? ;-)
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Author: Dave Spiegelthal
Date: 2000-12-18 14:30
Ken,
Mere words cannot capture the elation I feel upon your successful case surgery. May your future musical successes exceed even this victory!
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Author: Anji
Date: 2000-12-18 15:37
Um, so I shouldn't be carrying mine in a pocket?
Kidding aside, have you tried putting some Dr. Scholl's padding on where the tip of your thumb touches the works?
A found the original foil to be slick.
anji
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Author: Yusuf Zaid
Date: 2000-12-18 17:55
What good news.Well done that man! Now you can settle down and put your nerves together.
True! True!
Yusuf
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Author: gRAHAM gOLDEN
Date: 2000-12-18 20:40
Congratulations!!!!!!
That's great, so now that you customize cases and stands when will you make a case that can hold a real clarinet stand???
Graham
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Author: Ken Rasmussen
Date: 2000-12-19 03:20
I have no immediate plans to become a case customizer, but I'd do it for a good hourly wage. I've got quite a reputation as a kayak cockpit customizer, and people are always trying to get me to do their boats. I never refuse, I just tell them how much, and they usually don't trouble me any further. Sometimes they surprise me, and pay what I want, and that's OK too. If you want to have a custom interior, here is how I did it: I took some of the same foam I use on kayak cockpits, and carved it to fit the base and lid of the case using a handsaw and sureform. I inlet it for the horn using a razor knife, a Dremel with a ball shaped bit, and coarse sandpaper. I made the fits slightly loose to leave space for the velvet material. I glued strips of lathe (paint stirring sticks) onto the sides of the accessory compartment so it would have hard sides. I laid the velvet material over the foam base and pressed the sections of horn into place so as to force the velvet material into position. With the horn imbedded in the velvet, I stuck pins all around the periphery of the base so the material wouldn't shift. Then I removed the horn, turned the base upside down, and sprayed the overhanging material and the sides of the base with spray adhesive. After the adhesive was tacky I carefully pulled the velvet up against the sides of the foam base, and trimmed off the excess. I removed the pins and pressed the base into the shell, leaving it unglued. The velvet is only glued to the sides of the foam. The lid is made similarly, though I've seen cases that don't use a fitted lid, just a more compliant foam beneath the fabric. That would be easier. There is one other small piece of velvet which covers the hinge between the lid and base and also one side and the bottom of the accessory compartment. It is overlapped by the foam inserts for the base and lid. It was a lot of work, but the result is quite good, and it is nice to be able to continue to use my small case, which I've always liked, and have a good way to protect the thumbrest, and to insure that the thumbrest doesn't get left behind when traveling. Feel free to email me for more construction details, and good luck!
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Author: Anji
Date: 2000-12-21 12:11
As an afterthought, look to old camera cases.
These are generally large enough to carry my Protec case (not as nice as the KR custom special) and has external pockets to boot.
If your case is small enough, with the super-neato secret compartment, this is a cheap way (less than $20) to get some additional coverage.
Of coure, if the skirt on your Kayak leaks, all bets are off.
Do you use the 3M spray adhesives?
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Author: Ken Rasmussen
Date: 2000-12-22 01:46
When I'm customizing kayaks I use a spray adhesive called "Heavy Duty Adhesive Spray". It is available through a kayak fitting website, kayakfit.com. 3M does make spray adhesives, and they are good also. When I redesigned the case I used the same stuff I use on kayaks because I had it on hand.
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