Reforming a Commercial Flute Case

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tstermitz
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Reforming a Commercial Flute Case

Post by tstermitz »

Regular, commercial flute cases are extremely cheap on eBay, thanks to out-sourcing I guess. By cheap, I mean $20-50 for a Protec molded case with nylon cover or $50-100 for a very nice "french" style flute case with "leather" covering.

Of course an 8-key simple system flute is fatter than a silver flute, and the case holes don't really fit the keys properly. These cases usually have some kind of velvet over foam, and I've seen references in the past about reshaping the foam.

Has anyone actually done this?

I can't tell from the construction whether the velvet-foam part is sewn into the case or tightly press fit. I guess I could slice it out with a razor blade, re-form the foam, and then press-fit it back in.

Or, I could mash away at the foam with pliers to add a little more clearance.
Flutern
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Tell us something.: I have a keen interest in wooden flutes (modern and antique), early music (Renaissance, Baroque), Romantic music and Irish Traditional Music of course! I also play the clarinet (my first instrument) and I've also started learning the cittern.
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Re: Reforming a Commercial Flute Case

Post by Flutern »

tstermitz wrote: Thu Sep 01, 2022 2:37 pm Or, I could mash away at the foam with pliers to add a little more clearance.
I did exactly that for a flute that I've since sold on and it worked quite well. It was a protec case. (See image below.) In hindsight, I got somewhat lucky because the length of the headjoint+barrel fit just right with the head pulled in all the way (and with a bit of help from the pliers). I tried to fit another flute in this box but the headjoint+barrel was too long.

Image
Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
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Terry McGee
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Re: Reforming a Commercial Flute Case

Post by Terry McGee »

I offer the cheaper-style cases for my "Economy" range. The original lining is velvet-style fabric over moulded polystyrene blocks that are glued into place in the floor of the box. I bust those out and discard them. Then I cut a new block from poly foam from the insulation section of the hardware store, using a commercial hot-wire cutter to slice the blocks from the slab and hand-held hot-wire cutters shaped to a semi-circle to scoop out half-cylinders for the flute pieces. You might be able to come up with a lower-tech way to excavate the half-cylinders, you could certainly cut out the slab with a saw.

Then I use double-sided tape in the bottom of the flute holes to secure velveteen fabric, wrapping it around to the back of the slab and again secured by double-sided tape. If you cut the slab to just fit in the box, you don't need to glue the slab in, making it easy to replace the fabric if it gets too grubby.

I recently found a convenient and seemingly infinite supply of polystyrene piled up at the back of a local supermarket. They are the polystyrene boxes they use to transport and protect lettuces. I cut them up to use them as packing around flutes being sent to customers (inside a stout cardboard box), but they would probably be OK for flute case slabs too! Normally a single use plastic, it sees double use as mailing box filler, but might last a lifetime in a flute case!
david_h
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Re: Reforming a Commercial Flute Case

Post by david_h »

There is some 'issue' regarding expanded polystyrene with some other plastics. In the UK it can't be used in a building in proximity to electrical cables and it is apparently the reason electrical goods distributed with expanded polystyrene packages have their cable in plastic bags. I have been told both that it is due to outgassing by the polystyrene foam and migration of plasticizer in PVC, so not sure which (or either). I have certainly had cables stored with it go sticky.

Not likely to be a problem with wooden flutes but it may be a problem for other things in a flute case. I carved closed cell foam (camping mat) when re-fitting an ABS case but am aware that, unlike with a wooden case, I ended up with something that won't 'buffer' the humidity. Where I live high humidity and the flute not drying out is the problem. I may re-do it with built up layers of sheet cork. I used dabs of 'Copydex' latex adhesive to stick the fabric - not smelly and easy to peel off.
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Terry McGee
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Re: Reforming a Commercial Flute Case

Post by Terry McGee »

Haven't struck any "stickyness" or other "breakdown" issues with polystyrene so far, but I have struck it with some plastics in other fields. One was a cheap battery-operated power drill - all the "soft bits" around the handle area started exuding this sticky goup that made handling very unpleasant. I'm assuming it was the plasticiser migrating out of the polymer. "Scrubbing" it with a rag soaked in methylated spirits (de-natured alcohol) took off the slime and the dirt that the slime had attracted. And I remember one cable (out of the hundreds of cables I have lying around the place - the curse of being "the sound guy" for about 55 years now!) that went the same way. Truly awful thing to have to wind up after the gig. Again, drawing it through a metho-soaked rag removed the worst of it. I wonder for how long?
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