Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:28 pm
Sounds (from the noticeable enthusiasm) like that guided plant tour of the Thai factory possibly came with a Happy Ending from its namesakes 
My relative (my wife's uncle) is making whole new cases, new hardware, plush, shell, new leather covering on the outside all over (in place of Tolex), and extra-thick contrasting-color leather endcaps. Same kind of really durable treated top-grain leather that boots are made of. He definitely isn't repairing my old ones. The price barely covers his cost of materials (nearly two hides each), but he is family after all. I will be doing the finish work myself on the leather-clad shell and interior with my own plush. I made the shells too, with steam-laminated red oak veneer, 8-ply, my own compression jig, and each ply soaked in the best glue. That is a job that I hope I never have to do again, it was time-consuming and very messy, but the finished sized shells came out light and very strong.
Also, I figured I would just try repairing my old cases myself. Two of the true vintage cases I have had minor structural damage to the wood shell. One is cracked and the other is crushed slightly at the bottom underbend. So I am stripping the Tolex off those, regluing and clamping the wood shell, and strategically re-covering them with exact period Tolex. The Whole House Plush inside both is fine, as is the latches outside, so that is not getting touched. I am getting the leather handles redone though.
My relative (my wife's uncle) is making whole new cases, new hardware, plush, shell, new leather covering on the outside all over (in place of Tolex), and extra-thick contrasting-color leather endcaps. Same kind of really durable treated top-grain leather that boots are made of. He definitely isn't repairing my old ones. The price barely covers his cost of materials (nearly two hides each), but he is family after all. I will be doing the finish work myself on the leather-clad shell and interior with my own plush. I made the shells too, with steam-laminated red oak veneer, 8-ply, my own compression jig, and each ply soaked in the best glue. That is a job that I hope I never have to do again, it was time-consuming and very messy, but the finished sized shells came out light and very strong.
Also, I figured I would just try repairing my old cases myself. Two of the true vintage cases I have had minor structural damage to the wood shell. One is cracked and the other is crushed slightly at the bottom underbend. So I am stripping the Tolex off those, regluing and clamping the wood shell, and strategically re-covering them with exact period Tolex. The Whole House Plush inside both is fine, as is the latches outside, so that is not getting touched. I am getting the leather handles redone though.