My New Case.....that I made......

Thank you so much for the compliment.

I seem to have an issue with staffing right now....my supply clerk has a "hair thing", my production supervisor seems to bee more interested in crayons at the moment, and the darned Vice President of Internal Business Development is on Facebook most of the time...... If there were people manning the phones I have no idea where they are........

Well I tried screwing a shaft to it and hitting a few balls with it but the damn thing is too heavy.

putt-putt44 said:

Awesome work my friend !!

Way to start the New Year !!

........Alan,,,,,,,,

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Thanks. And that was a big part of it. It was a New Year thing.

I made a few cases in the past but the only one I still have from back then is this one:






I made that one back in 90/91 and am so happy I still have it. It was converted from an endoscope case, so not such a difficult thing, but it's mine and I made it how I wanted.

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Thank you!

As for the CEO that no good SOB has been known to frequent pool halls, drink Bacardi, ride motorcycles, and has a penchant for chasing the Vice President of Internal Business Development around the office.

Be that as it may rumor has it that he's going to make another case....a better one.....'cause he's learning.....

The tubes are the issue. I am looking for options. I can't afford to buy a whole bunch of them, but if I can come across one or two tubes then I am a go to try something bigger.

I am pretty much form follows function kind of person. I got lucky and scored a goodly amount of some really great leather...that's not what I used on the one above. The one above is very good, soft, beautiful leather, but it's really just for playing with right now. Anything I make will be in any color you like as long as it's black. I am studying boot making, motorcycle jacket construction, and motorcycle saddlebag construction. That's where my construction methods are going to come from....but not on the one above. That was just playing around and learning to sew a little again.

I have a design in mind, it's never been done before as far as I can tell. That's what I am working up to. But I have a lot to learn before I try it. A whole lot.

I don't like tooled leather and have no aspirations to learn it. My father always said it was damaged leather and I guess he rubbed off on me.

Motorcycle leathers have saved my ass more than once and that gave me the idea to begin translating design and construction from that area.

I am a big fan of Fellini, Thomas, Centennial, and their ilk as well as Whitten. Cowboy cases have been done to death IMHO. I am seeing them as a canvass for tooling more than anything else anymore. JB is very innovative and I like his work. But the whole thing with the cowboy cases....yes I see the differences...but when you have to look at slight differences in pocket placement or something to tell the difference or consult an expert to tell the difference between a high end custom versus an off the shelf mass produced case, well, it's just a sign to me that it has been done to death. Don't get me wrong, they are great case design in general and I do know that. Yes, the classic tube like Fellini has been done and re-done as well. But I really like them.

What I made above is nothing innovative at all and really isn't so great. It was a learning exercise and a way for me to celebrate the New Year Holiday. It made me feel good to do it. I'm not looking into going into business, just playing at a hobby. If I would ever sell one that would be quite an honor. You never know.

Right now every time I learn something it creates 100 more things to learn....but I like it that way, that is part of what attracted me to medicine, one's studies are never completed.

Thank you for your kind compliment.

EightballJunkie said:

Maybe make your own tubes out of fiberglass - save some money, and have the option of custom sizes :wink:

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I have thought about that, and I have thought about reforming PVC under heat. Some case makers have some that. I'm kicking different things around. I really didn't want to get into making tubes...but who knows? Maybe I will. More to learn.....

I just wanted to publicly say thank you. I have been overwhelmed with the supportive responses by PM and email, both from people that I had already had contact with and new people introducing themselves.

This was a fun little project and a learning experience. Because of the nature of the responses I got I now know I will move forward and do another one. It's really still just a personal project. I learned a lot building the first one. And I have a lot more to learn. We'll see how the next one turns out and I will be sure to post it. It will be a tube case, but with design and construction improvements.

The past few months have been difficult for me on many levels. I have been absorbed with my hobbies in part as a means to cope with that. I undertook this project to try to boost myself a little, to accomplish something that I wanted to do. I made it something of a goal. It really felt good to actually do it, and I tell you it was not easy. But the real great feeling has come from all of you and your positive supportive comments.

Very sincerely, thank you.

Thanks very much JB.

The seam just below the middle of the case was in fact an artistic point. I wanted to break up the expanse of that long tube. At first I was placing it precisely at the half-way point, but that seemed too geometric, too rigid. So, I lowered it to a slightly random...if there is such a thing...point to balance out the appearance. In the end it worked out exactly as I intended.

That oval on the top (and on the bottom) was a mother!

You can see a slight pucker in the top seam in the picture. It's the flash that makes it stand out. In person it is barely noticeable. When I saw the picture I was horrified but then thought it's an honest pic so post it. I have nothing to hide.

I did get a nice oval seam though, I was very proud of that. Worked hard at it.

What's funny is that I am really more attracted to heavier leather. I chose to start with this because I thought it would be easier....but it is actually harder I think. Why? Well, the garment type leather is STRETCHY! That makes machine sewing more difficult. The heavier leather I have is actually easier to sew. I have to go slower because I don't have a heavy duty machine, just a leather needle in a cheap light duty machine, but it actually is easier.

I appreciate your comments. I'm sure I will be in touch at some point. For the moment I am in a very steep learning curve with just what I can figure out on my own. LOL!

I'm afraid if I talked to somebody that knew what they were doing I would be truly lost!

I do have some very serious ideas about case construction, some of which I have let on about a little here in the forums...but most of which I have not spoken of. I am sure we will talk at some point.

For the moment what I built works, is sturdy, well protects the cue, and looks OK. I wouldn't try running over it with a truck, but I know that I could throw it to the ground and the cue would be perfectly fine, and the leather would likely be no worse for the wear.


By the way, this leather speaks Italian and is generally found in very well made gloves as far as I know.


The other leather I have is found in the best custom made biker leathers in the world. That's the next one I will work with.


Thank you again so much for your comments.

You may have seen Kelly tubes mentioned if you have done any reading about the history of cases. Some case makers used them I think. Kelly tubes are actually tubes from a pneumatic delivery system like is used in hospitals to deliver blood samples, drugs, etc.

Kelly Tube is still around. I have checked out their web site. I have not contacted them regarding tubing.

Here is an example of something they make from oval tubing:


I believe, correct me if I am wrong JB :wink:, that Bob Hempel of Fellini actually took round PVC pipe and formed it into oval tubes under heat, basically by squishing it into an oval.

I have no idea where current case makers get their tubes. Probably some make them in-house while others outsource them. I have not asked any of them.

I guess fiberglass is a possibility. I have not worked in fiberglass in 25 years. I can't imagine it would be difficult to construct a tube from it. But honestly, I hated working in fiberglass years ago and did it very little. It was back in my hot-rodding days.