TOPIC: Jakob Winter tuba cases - replacing sheet metal hinges with a piano hinge

[bloke]

piano hinge installation on a Winter tuba case.png (55.11 KiB) Viewed 1732 times

[bloke]

I got the ideal strip of aluminum from the hardware store. It's 4 ft long and I will be cutting it down to 34 in. Hyperinflation has kicked in so hard that they don't have time to change the price labels in the stores as the prices rise so quickly. I've learned - when something is marked $8, and I take it up to the register and it comes up $10 - to just either pay it or decline to buy it, and not argue with them.

[bloke]

I'm going to get some blind pop rivets called peel rivets that are > the specific length < that I would like to use on this project. That will keep the interior "X" tabs from being longer than they need to be. I understand that this is sort of boring, but I'll post the little project when those come in. I completely understand that most people carry their tubas around in sacks, and the majority of the minority who use cases probably use MTS American-made cases that already have piano hinges.

[bloke]

I wanted a specific diameter and length of sheer rivets (slightly different from pop rivets, as no backup washer is required), which I ordered from McMaster/Carr and arrived lightning fast (one day) only an hour ago. (I wanted the four "blind" sheer tabs to be long ENOUGH to hold, but short ENOUGH to NOT find their way into the valance closure...I even installed each rivet in "diamond" orientation - to send the tabs of each one out at 45 degree angles.

I stopped what I was doing (Mrs. bloke handed me stuff and squeezed the case together) and did this chore, because I was tired of the supplies laying around (as well as tired of having to wibble-wobble a $1200 case, in order to get the halves of it to meet up properly)...

...so it's done, and the outcome is as good as I had hoped.

Off to the left, you will see the extracted sheet metal hinges.

reminder: The hinge is distressed as it was scrounged/recycled from a trashed MTS sousaphone case.
The oem hinge length (serendipitously) was the correct length for this project.




PIC #2: Yes, this small area of the closure was previously bent, due to the original sheet metal hinges not keeping everything properly aligned.
It's repaired, but - yup - somewhat marked up.

[Tubajug]

That looks great! Someday I might try something similar.

[bloke]

It's just encouraging enough when - every once in awhile - something works out just as you imagined it would.

[Stryk]

They are great cases and well worth a little refurb!

[York-aholic]

That looks much more stout than the original hinges. Nice idea and nice job.

[bloke]

None of the three makers of molded tuba cases that we commonly see in the United States, MTS, SKB, and Winter, do everything that is to my liking. The one thing that I really like about MTS is their piano hinges.

(Is SKB still in business, and are they still making tuba cases? I'm not trying to start a rumor, but only trying to get information in the asking of this question.)

[MiBrassFS]

Nicely done. J. Winter should consider this upgrade.

I think SKB dropped tuba cases…

https://www.skbcases.com/collections/mu ... ases/brass

[bloke]

Nicely done. J. Winter should consider this upgrade.

I think SKB dropped tuba cases…

https://www.skbcases.com/collections/mu ... ases/brass

I wouldn't be surprised if they were frustrated by production expense, shipping expense, storage expense, retailer reluctance to purchase (unless product is pre-sold), lack of market predictability, and the vast number of lengths/widths/configurations.

[arpthark]

I had an SKB for my PT-6. Plastic latches, poor fit, the lining smelled strongly of volatile chemicals. Seriously, the smell was horrible. Cost like $600 back in 2011 or whenever it was. I've since owned quite a few MTS cases and I've always thought MTS were way better. IMO.

[MiBrassFS]

The one SKB case I owned smelled pretty skunky.

[bloke]

The one SKB case I owned smelled pretty skunky.

If not mold/mildew, I'm thinking that some of the better glues (used decades ago) were EPA-ed away, and some case makers moved to glues which (if not completely responsible) contributed to unpleasant odors.

[MiBrassFS]

Stunk out of the box. I’m thinking glue. Never went away… until I sold it!

[bloke]

Stunk out of the box. I’m thinking glue. Never went away… until I sold it!

I can smell the odor simply by you reminding me of it, but I've smelled it with many makes.

[kingrob76]

I was told about 8 months ago by a knowledgeable person that SKB was getting out of the tuba case business and someone (Tuba Exchange?) bought their entire inventory.