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tips & tricks

On this page you will find some information about building your own flightcase.

A good start is half the work
Assemble the Base
Mounting lid extrusions
Mounting corner extrusions
Mounting corners

Mounting locks and hinges
Mounting handles
The use of foam
Any questions or problems

1

A good start is half the work

Before the construction of the flightcase can begin, it is wise to first cut out the recesses for any locks and handles.
The size of the holes for the butterfly locks can be read from the table. It is important to know what kind of lid-location profile is used at the holes for the butterfly closures. It is customary that Male lid-location is used on the Base of the flightcase (eg, 0521M), and female lid-location profile (eg, 0521F) on the lid.
For Recessed Flip Handle H7159z you need to saw a hole of 132x78mm.

	0521M	0521F
Top side lock	76 x 21 mm (WxH)	76 x 25 mm (WxH)
Down side slot	76 x 52 mm (WxH)	76 x 48 mm (WxH)

2

Assembling the Base

After all panels are equipped with the necessary holes, the base of the flight case can be put together. For strength it is advisable to first assemble 2 or 3 parts of the flightcase as a cube. The panels can be glued together and / or connected with small nails.

3

Mounting the lid-location profiles

The lid-locations are in the corners of the flightcase mitred. It is hereby recommended that first the long lengths, which must be mitred on both sides, should be cut first. Then the short lengths.
When all lid-locations are cut to length, they can be put in place with the Brace for case angles. You only need to use the top two holes of the Brace for case angles to secure it. These are fixed with the short rivets (91408GE 4x8.5mm), do not drill the holes entirely through. Just drill the hole only through the front side of the lid-location and through the wood. In this way, the inside of the lid-location stays neatly and without holes. The top angle of the Brace for case angles remains approximately 1mm below the top of the lid-location, see figure 1.

figure 1

figure 2

4

Mounting the Case Angles

Subsequently, the Case angles are cut to the correct length. It is not necessary for the profiles to run fully into the corners. The length of the profiles are equal to the length of the panels, reduced by 2 times the width of the profile. So if you have one side of 60cm, then cut the profiles on 54cm, assuming you use 30x30mm Case angle (0100), see Figure 2.
There is no standard for the amount of holes in the Case angle and distance between the holes. It is sensible for the distance between the holes to be not greater than 15cm.
At best you use a rubber hammer to position the Case angles, which fall under the Brace for case angles. All other Case angles and the lower holes of the Brace for case angles are fixed with the long rivets (91412GE 4x12mm).

5

Mounting the Ball Corners

When all profiles are fixed in the right place, the ball corners can be mounted. The ball corners are fixed again with the long rivets. The corner of the flightcase can be somewhat adjusted, when the ball corner does not entirely fit on the Case angles.

figure 3

figure 4

figure 5

6

Mounting the latches and hinges

It is best to put the lid of the flightcase on the base unit, and possibly tighten this with a strap or something.
To easily mount the latches and hinges, turn the flightcase entirely on the back.

CAUTION
When the lid of the flightcase is completely removable (without hinges), first mount the latches on one side. Then loosen the strap, and rotate the lid 180 degrees. Then re-tighten the strap, and then assemble the other part of the closure. In this way the lid fits at all times, regardless of how it is placed on the flightcase.
The upper holes of the latches and / or hinges which are on the lid-location profiles, are fixed with the short rivets (8673 4x8.5mm), see Figures 4 and 5.

7

Mounting the handles

Finally, the handles are mounted on the designated locations. The handles are fixed with the long rivets.

8

The use of foam

Polyester Foam 10, 15 and 20mm thick
Plastazote Foam 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50mm thick
Eggbox Foam 20 and 30mm thick

The best kind of foam you can use for your flightcase, depends on the application or what is should be transported in the flightcase.

Often combination are made of hard foam in the flightcase itself, together with Eggbox foam in the lid to keep the contents in place.
10mm Plastazote is the best size to use in general. The 5mm thick foam is often used to finish off.

All the foam can be glued with our adhesive Spray Glue. Because this is adhesive glue, you need to spray both the flightcase as well as the foam. At the time that the glue is almost dry, you can place the foam in its position.