Adding Combination lock-latch to guitar case
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2016 2:49 am
I bought an Ibanez case for my Destroyer, but was unhappy that it didn't come with a proper lock. So, I purchased a combination lock-latch like the ones used on TKL made Gibson cases. I held the latch where I thought it should go and marked behind it with a pencil. I tried to avoid drilling through the stitching, for the latch but in the end had to anyway. In retrospect I should've made a template on paper instead of using the lock-latch as a template. The latch is spring loaded and it was difficult to hold it in position and get it to lie flat. The back of the lock protrudes as you can see from my pics, so the side of the case required a cut-out for the lock to fit flush against the out side of the case. I measured the protruding part and transferred the measurements to the side of the case with a silver sharpie. I used an oscillating tool to make the cuts across, then a cutting bit with my Dremel tool to finish the cuts on the side. I placed the lock back into the cavity and used a carpenter's square to square the top edge of the lock with the case and taped it into position with masking tape. I used a 1/8" drill bit for my holes. The plywood is 3/8" thick and the lock is 1/4" deep from the edge of the case to the outside of the lock. The lock came with 5/8" split rivets that were too short. I found 7/8" split rivets locally that would work. I was able to insert and secure the top two rivets without removing the case padding, but had to remove the padding anyway in order to secure the two lower rivets. I glued the padding back to the inside of the case with E6000 glue. The upper latch was easier to attach as there wasn't the padding to deal with. Here is a link how to secure split rivets and some pics of my work.
