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 The Steel Guitar Forum
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 Flight Cases for Steel Guitars
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| Author | Topic: Flight Cases for Steel Guitars |
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Chuck S. Lettes Member From: Denver, Colorado |
posted 30 April 2002 06:01 AM
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I need to fly my steel guitar over the summer, and I need some recommendations for flight cases for my D-10 Mullen. I'm tryin to keep the weight under 70 lbs. Is this a possibility? What type of cases are you using? Does it have wheels? I sure would appreciate any tips about transporting my steel. Chuck |
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David Mullis Member From: Rock Hill, SC |
posted 30 April 2002 06:46 AM
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I bought a case from Opti-Case last year. I was really impressed with the construction, and the service. click here [This message was edited by David Mullis on 30 April 2002 at 06:46 AM.] I hear WC Edgar makes a good un too. By the way, the opti-case one I ordered has wheels. I'm pretty sure the Edgar cases do too.[This message was edited by David Mullis on 30 April 2002 at 06:47 AM.] [This message was edited by David Mullis on 30 April 2002 at 06:47 AM.] |
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Glenn Suchan Member From: Austin, Texas |
posted 30 April 2002 07:14 AM
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Chuck, Keeping the weight under 70 lbs. for a D10 with a flight case may be difficult to achieve. Part of the equation is the weight of the guitar alone. A good flight case can weigh as much as 15 to 20 lbs. by itself. In my oppinion, don't sacrifice the weight and integrity of the flight case to save a penalty charge from the airlines. It's not worth the risk and anguish resulting from damage to your guitar. I play a Sierra SCM14. This is a massive guitar. It weighs about 70 lbs. out of the case. A few weeks ago I posted a description of my flight case. Here's that description: My case was built by Keal Cases in Round Rock TX. It has three recessed spring-handles, two recessed, spring-loaded latches, heavy duty, recessed casters and a plate lock to secure the lid. The box is 3/8" plywood covered with ABS sheeting. Extruded aluminum edging, heavy steel ball corners, extruded aluminum, water tight edging around the opening of the case and it's lid. All components are fastened by rivets applied under a pressure of 2000 lbs. Keal cases are the "Sherman Tanks" of flight cases. Good luck and... Keep on pickin'! [This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 30 April 2002 at 07:16 AM.] |
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Herb Steiner Member From: Cedar Valley, Travis County TX |
posted 30 April 2002 07:28 AM
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Chuck Forumite Bob Dell makes a wonderful case and he's a great guy as well. I don't know if he makes an ATA-style case but he's definitely worth a call or email. A first rate fellow to deal with. I too recommend Keal Cases if you want an Anvil/Forge style case. They advertised with me for years and years, so the company is stable and has a reputation to uphold. They're not inexpensive, as any good product costs good bucks. But the protection is first rate. I recently acquired a guitar with an ATA case that is first rate also. Made by a company called California Cases. Their phone number is 800-899-6120. Address is 290 Industrial Way, Brisbane CA 94005. This is a suburb of San Francisco. I also agree with Glenn that the extra baggage charge is worth the cost, which is minimal compared to the damage that could be done to your beautiful guitar. John Fabian once wisely said that "the mission of the case is to die, so that the guitar may live." So make the case as bulletproof as you can. Thanks for the order, BTW ------------------ |
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Mark van Allen Member From: loganville, Ga. USA |
posted 30 April 2002 09:12 PM
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A few years back I did several long tours for the DOD overseas and they MAKE you keep the shipping weight down... I found a local company who makes cardboard boxes for computer and military stuff. They let me haul all away all of the scrap I wanted- I got some large sheets of thick triple ply corrugated and made up boxes to go around our regular cases, and one for my Session 400. The cardboard is really thick and "gives" so that a good dent is easily repaired with duct tape. Perfect protection and light as can be. In fact that session carton did four tours to 35 countries and was just used to ship that amp across the country. |
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Tommy Detamore Member From: Floresville, Texas |
posted 30 April 2002 09:50 PM
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For the past several years I have gone to flying with two cases. I put the body in a flight case and the pedal rack, legs, and rods in another case with room left over for whatever else. This makes each case under 70 lbs. There was one trip to Europe a few years ago when I had to take the casters off my flight case right there in line at the airport, because even after taking out the pedal rack, etc, it still weighed 72 lbs and they wouldn't let me slide. Wanted to charge me over $100.00 'cause I was two lbs over! :0 |
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Danny Naccarato Member From: Ft. Worth, Texas US |
posted 01 May 2002 01:25 PM
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With Janie we flew all the time. I got mine from Opti-Case. David did a great job. It has wheels and a small compartment at the end for additional storage. I too used 2 cases. In the other, I put the pedal rack and rods. Also, in the other were the items that usually went in my pak-a-seat which was left home. I had a small cheap drum throne in there. My picks/bar, etc. were stored in a Crown bag. Also, I would store strings in Crown bags and have them slung off the tuning key (never did get that Crown Royal endorsement). We went direct, so I used a POD which also went in there. So the bottom line....2 cases to check, both under 70 lbs. and a travel bag carry-on for clothes. |
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