Posted by Jim Andrada on August 27, 2003 at 22:01:55:
In Reply to: Tuba Cases posted by Rocky Bivens on August 26, 2003 at 06:26:12:
Just a suggestion - be careful about the bell. You might want to make sure there's clear space in the corners of the case where they don't contact the foam liner - a fairly substantial diagonal corner cut on the foam is recommended. It's pretty amazing how much impact can be transmitted through foam to the contents if the case is dropped on a corner. Actually I think the best design would also leave some "sway space" inside so the big end of the bell stack has some clearance between it and the foam.
I've seen some pretty bad damage to fairly sturdy sheet precision equipment that was encased in a very well engineered foam block after a drop test on a corner - solution was to "chamfer" or "bevel" the corners so deformation of the case itself could absorb the initial impact.
And by the way, you can glue a couple of small wood blocks inside the case near where you expect to fasten hinges, handles, latches, etc to give you something to screw into.