Case Problem

Curdog

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Let me get it out of the way that I'm not the smartest guy on the block. That being said, I have a problem I created with my instroke case. I stuffed paper in the butt sleeve so the butt would fit better. Now I want to get the paper out and have not been able to. I have tried a coat hanger with no success. Any ideas out there?
Jack Justis once suggested to me to use marbles instead of paper. Guess this would work also. What approaches do other posters use?
 
Light a match and drop it down the butt section (LOL)... only kidding.. Try using a big fishing hook at the end of the metal coat hanger...attach with electric tape. Hopefully you could get a nice grip on the paper and just yank it out. If you need to open the hook up a little.

Good Luck...

Note to self don't put paper down butt shaft ;)
 
Remove Paper

Black powder guns come with a rod to shove in the ball. There is an accessory that hooks to the rod to remove stuck balls. It is like a cork screw. You could probably make something like this with a cheep cork screw and an old shaft. That is what I would try.
Purdman :cool:
 
Donald A. Purdy said:
Black powder guns come with a rod to shove in the ball. There is an accessory that hooks to the rod to remove stuck balls. It is like a cork screw. You could probably make something like this with a cheep cork screw and an old shaft. That is what I would try.
Purdman :cool:

hadn't thought about that, but now that you bring it up... you should be able to take the metal clothes hanger and where you untwist the hook end, snip it with a pair of snips and have a psuedo-corkscrew built right in...

jaz
 
jaz said:
hadn't thought about that, but now that you bring it up... you should be able to take the metal clothes hanger and where you untwist the hook end, snip it with a pair of snips and have a psuedo-corkscrew built right in...

jaz

Ya might want to sharpen up the point. The aforementioned device is refered to as a ball retriever. Screws right into the rod like the cleaning patch attachment.
Purdman :cool:
 
in the future i suggest you use dice. 1 die for the shaft tube. 2 dice for the butt. this works well with my Justice. take care.
 
miah g. said:
in the future i suggest you use dice. 1 die for the shaft tube. 2 dice for the butt. this works well with my Justice. take care.

My Whitten case came with a piece of rubber with a whole down the middle that allows it's removal with a stick. You cut pieces of it to size for the various tubes and can remove it with the stick with out having to dump it out.

Before my Whitten for my Guiseppe I just went down Home Depot and bought an appropriate diameter dowel and cut off pieces to suit. I also glued coins to either end of small coil springs (available in any hardware store) to produce an effect where the shaft would pop up a little when the case was opened. Low tension springs so no harm was done to the shafts.

As far as the original problem, you should have bought a Justis. :D :D Only kidding, only kidding John B.
 
Remove the nails on the bottom. Cut an x into the sealer on the bottom of the tubes. Use a house cue to push the foam and paper through the bottom. Replace the foam. Tape up the foam and apply glue to the bottom of the tubes. Replace the bottom and put the nails back in.

Use wooden dowels to adjust for the length you need. Sand them so that they can be removed easily if need be.

You should have bought a Justis, or a Guiseppe, or a Whitten or anything but an Instroke. Instroke doesn't put springs in the tubes or marbles or dice. All of those things work to some degree and I figured when I designed the Instroke that people would be clever enough to adjust the case to their needs just as I had to rebuild my Flowers to suit my needs. That is why I have removed all sorts of things from the tubes of Instroke cases such as underwear, paper towels, springs and other stuff.

John
 
get a drill bit and attach it to a drill bit extension rod. put it down the tube and turn it. the paper will twist up nice and tight and come right out.

i never had to do this myself, really, i didn't.
 
Go to Sears or a place that sells many mechanics tools. Get a bolt/nut retriever. What it is is a long flexible metal shaft with prongs running the length of it and coming out the bottom with a handle grip at the top. What happens is when you press the button or squeeze the grip (depending on which model) and then 3 prongs will come out of the bottom. When you release the button or grip, the prongs will retract back into the shaft and hold tightly whatever you grabbed. It's usually about 3' long and 1/4" in diameter. All mechanics have one of these little gadgets. This WILL work and do NO damage to your case. Should be able to find one of these for less than $5.

Good luck,
Zim
 
onepocketchump said:
Remove the nails on the bottom. Cut an x into the sealer on the bottom of the tubes. Use a house cue to push the foam and paper through the bottom. Replace the foam. Tape up the foam and apply glue to the bottom of the tubes. Replace the bottom and put the nails back in.
...
John

John,
I know there was a fair amount of sarcasm in your post, point taken, but in terms of the method you described for removing the paper...were you serious or was that sarcastic too? If you were serious, wouldn't you think it is a bit risky for a novice who isn't a case repairman?
 
catscradle said:
John,
I know there was a fair amount of sarcasm in your post, point taken, but in terms of the method you described for removing the paper...were you serious or was that sarcastic too? If you were serious, wouldn't you think it is a bit risky for a novice who isn't a case repairman?


I was being serious. If you are careful about the nail removal then you should be able to do the rest without incident. I use a staple remover, look like a screwdriver with a v-notch in the end. Using a nut retreiver is a good idea but you may inadvertently hook the fabric and tear it so it would require a lot of care.

The issue of adjustable heights has plagued me for years and I never did find an acceptable general solution that I liked. Whitten's plugs are probably the closest but what bothered me is that it requires a seperate specialized tool that you have to keep track of. I find the dowels to be the best solution for custom heights and easy removal.

John
 
a drill bit and two extensions will do the trick. no power drill required. just twist the bit by hand into the paper, it will grab and all come out in one piece. no muss no fuss.the dowel trick is good , i used a partial roll of nickels
 
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