Thinking about making a case for my taragot

Gheorghe

The case I have is really nice, but it forces me to store the instrument in it in 1 piece. I don't think this is the healthiest thing for the instrument, or am I wrong?

When I look at the crude little Timis case, I'm pretty sure I could make one at that size, but of course fitted with foam inside. That would allow me to keep the taragot in 3 pieces when not being played.

Any of you crafty people (Princess?) have experience making hard cases like this?

Or is it better to store the instrument in 1 piece?

I do swab it with a pad saver before I put it away, and I also dry the top joint with rolled up paper towel.

George
 
Well there are a lot of fun ways to make cases. One, is a hard wood box (plywood works for me) and shape foam to the pieces of the tárogató, then you can cover that with velvet or whatever you like to finish things off. Also covering the outside of a case with leather isn't a hard thing to do, but simply lacquering the wood case (although easier to damage later on) with a beautiful color of your choice ends up looking very professional and elegant. Key is, strong wood, strong foam. It's also best to make a little compartment somewhere in there to fit your accessories like reeds, swabs, etc, so when you take it out to wherever you're playing, it's all there and ready for you.
I was thinking about building a humidity controlled case for at home storage including a thermostat of sorts eventually as an experiment. I'll keep you posted if I go through with it.

Keeping the instrument in one piece has the risk of locking water in the joints, so it's not such a nice thing to do, of course, but that doesn't mean nobody does it anymore. It depends on how often you play and how important being able to take it apart eventually is (sometimes the tenons can swell and lock your joints, no fun, which can also contribute to socket area cracks).
 
PrincessJ said:
Well there are a lot of fun ways to make cases. One, is a hard wood box (plywood works for me) and shape foam to the pieces of the tárogató, then you can cover that with velvet or whatever you like to finish things off. Also covering the outside of a case with leather isn't a hard thing to do, but simply lacquering the wood case (although easier to damage later on) with a beautiful color of your choice ends up looking very professional and elegant. Key is, strong wood, strong foam. It's also best to make a little compartment somewhere in there to fit your accessories like reeds, swabs, etc, so when you take it out to wherever you're playing, it's all there and ready for you.
I was thinking about building a humidity controlled case for at home storage including a thermostat of sorts eventually as an experiment. I'll keep you posted if I go through with it.

Keeping the instrument in one piece has the risk of locking water in the joints, so it's not such a nice thing to do, of course, but that doesn't mean nobody does it anymore. It depends on how often you play and how important being able to take it apart eventually is (sometimes the tenons can swell and lock your joints, no fun, which can also contribute to socket area cracks).
Click to expand...

The hardwood box is what I'm going with. I just wanted some ideas on how exactly to form the interior - cutting the foam with a blade? Then you'd glue the velvet to it? What type of glue?

A few years back I wanted to make a case for my panpipes, and started off with an aluminum case (cheap, hardware store type). I experimented with foam insulation ("Great Stuff"), and forming it to exact shape - but that stuff is hard to control, as it expands 4x, and by the time it does, the pre-formed shapes are meaningless.

Thanks for the tips.

George
 
I have done both restoring old cases and trying to make a wooden case from scratch. If you can find a case in which the shell is the right size and is in good condition with good hardware you can save yourself a lot of time. If you are a whiz at carpentry (like I am not) ignore the previous comment and knock yourself out doing rabbit joints or whatever.

There are several spray adhesives that work well with cloth, leather, wood, and styrofoam. Avoid using contact cement with styrofoam because it melts it. Heat glue is not kind to styrofoam either.

Stucco crews have a utility knife type tool with a long sharp blade for cutting thick pieces of styrofoam. You might try a stucco supply store if you need materials or a good cutting tool.
 
You may not believe it, but foam safe CA glue works beautifully!

Forming the interior with a knife is a good way to go as long as you seal it off.
 
jbtsax said:
I have done both restoring old cases and trying to make a wooden case from scratch. If you can find a case in which the shell is the right size and is in good condition with good hardware you can save yourself a lot of time. If you are a whiz at carpentry (like I am not) ignore the previous comment and knock yourself out doing rabbit joints or whatever.

There are several spray adhesives that work well with cloth, leather, wood, and styrofoam. Avoid using contact cement with styrofoam because it melts it. Heat glue is not kind to styrofoam either.

Stucco crews have a utility knife type tool with a long sharp blade for cutting thick pieces of styrofoam. You might try a stucco supply store if you need materials or a good cutting tool.
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the box is a non-issue for me. I am pretty handy with wood. just wasn't sure about the interior.

as far as the superglue goes, Princess, I assume you mean just applying it in a few strategic places? Otheerwise you'd need a boatload of it, no?
 
Yep, just a few important little places. But the thin stuff really does run more than you'd think, and it sticks forever. I use thick blend for the important parts, and thin for anywhere else you feel would ensure extra staying power.

Regular superglue is no way to go, you can order the good stuff from model airplane building stores, these are trusted brands. They hold my pro foam RC planes together through aggressive aerobatics so that should tell you what this stuff is all about. :)

http://www.hobby-lobby.com/super_gold_thin_odorless_foam_safe_ca_1_oz_1034644_prd1.htm

http://www.hobbywarehouse.com/Pro-Foam-Safe-CA-Glue-1-oz-Thick
 
I think if the instrument is properly dried there is little danger storing it in one piece, although as PrincessJ points out, if the tenon socket shrinks you can end up with a mess--this won't happen though if you take it apart to clean, but storing for months in a single piece is certainly not a great idea. It can compress the cork as well.

In pieces also the case is less of a hassle to carry.
 
kymarto said:
I think if the instrument is properly dried there is little danger storing it in one piece, although as PrincessJ points out, if the tenon socket shrinks you can end up with a mess--this won't happen though if you take it apart to clean, but storing for months in a single piece is certainly not a great idea. It can compress the cork as well.

In pieces also the case is less of a hassle to carry.
Click to expand...

I could literally reduce the case size by a half. Current case is very sturdy, but unnecessarily large.

I might play around with that Great Stuff foam insulation after all - I've seen some pictures on the web of people getting really creative with it. And it's not any harder to cut than Styrofoam.
 
PrincessJ said:
...shape foam to the pieces of the tárogató, then you can cover that with velvet or whatever you like to finish things off.
Click to expand...

What do you do with the velvet in the fitted ("indented") parts - do you custom-cut it, or use it in 1 piece and live with the creases/pleats in the round areas?

George
 
When you have completed your project, some pictures would be nice. I am now the proud owner of the 1st taragoto that kymarto (Toby) bought and replaced with a better one. Mine will be needing a case at some point in the future too.
 
There are also custom case manufacturers out there. Google returns about 2.5 million hits. However, you can expand the search to, say, "custom equipment case" and you can get even more hits. One would think that if you're a company that makes cases for high-end cameras, you can make make cases for less fragile musical instruments.

Helen, our resident sax CE and bass sax player, I think had a custom case made for her -- or for one of her friends. She might drop on by.

FWIW, I don't really like the idea of a horn staying in one piece -- unless it's a one piece horn, that is. I think more about damage profiles: if you've got a one piece horn and slam the bell end into something, you'll have the shock through the entire instrument. If you had multiple pieces, chances are really good that not all pieces would experience the same amount of shock, especially if there are cushioned areas between the pieces. I also don't care that much for an overly long case: couldn't do much about that with my bari sax, of course, but my one piece Pan American metal clarinet case seemed really long.
 
pete said:
FWIW, I don't really like the idea of a horn staying in one piece -- unless it's a one piece horn, that is. I think more about damage profiles: if you've got a one piece horn and slam the bell end into something, you'll have the shock through the entire instrument. If you had multiple pieces, chances are really good that not all pieces would experience the same amount of shock, especially if there are cushioned areas between the pieces. I also don't care that much for an overly long case: couldn't do much about that with my bari sax, of course, but my one piece Pan American metal clarinet case seemed really long.
Click to expand...

In terms of making my own case, I would think it's something I can pull off easily - I just needed some tips.

I share the same concerns with regard to keeping it 1 one piece. Furthermore, my current case only really supports the instrument at the bell and at the end of the top joint. It's kind of snug, but it's not form-fitted by any means. So if there is a hard knock (when setting it on the floor for instance), there is probably unnecessary stress on the body.

Long story short, storing it in 3 peaces is preferable, no question about that in my mind.

George
 
Suzy has made custom cases for clarinets on occasion. We bought a tooline metal briefcase, used formable foam inserts covered with a nice fabric. Total expense was around $35 IIRC. Not a hard project compared to some stuff I see done around here by the super-techs.
 
Gandalfe said:
Suzy has made custom cases for clarinets on occasion. We bought a tooline metal briefcase, used formable foam inserts covered with a nice fabric. Total expense was around $35 IIRC. Not a hard project compared to some stuff I see done around here by the super-techs.
Click to expand...

Gangalfe,

That's what I have in mind. Can you explain the formable foam inserts? I bought a case like this before, and it was filled with 1 block of foam that was perforated throughout, so you could rip off 1" blocks of foam to create a custom shape. Is this what you're referring to? It might be 1 way to go.

George
 
You can also take non-perforated foam, get it wet, and freeze it. Then it is easy to carve--if your freezer is big enough...
 
An alternative to open cell foam, at least for the bottom of the case, is styrofoam, which is rigid enough to carve without any tricks. Then you could use softer, open-cell foam in the lid to apply gentle pressure to keep the pieces from moving.
 
kymarto said:
An alternative to open cell foam, at least for the bottom of the case, is styrofoam, which is rigid enough to carve without any tricks. Then you could use softer, open-cell foam in the lid to apply gentle pressure to keep the pieces from moving.
Click to expand...

That is what I'm thinking. I was considering something like this: http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=4770.0

However, with something like the taragot, it wouldn't work so easily. That foam would have to be built up in stages, since it doesn't cure very well when a lot of it is piled on at once. Also, it would definitely creep into the bore while expanding, and would be a PITA to re-shape.

George
 
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