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The 'trusty' local repairmen sent my horn back beautifully, but with a small (1.5") long crack in the case, near the bell. Its a yamaha hard case for an 842 Euph... Maybe the repairmen will be doing this for me next time I see him

Any suggestions to strengthen this to prevent it from getting bigger? Some sort of Putty?

I wasn't successful in searching for the correct cue words.

Thanks

gaffer tape is good for this.
remember though, that the job of the case is to protect the valuable instrument inside it. a few scuffs and cracks add character to the case

You could take the Yamaha case to a luggage repair place to get the crack patched. I've had our Samsonite suitcases patched after an airline cracked our suitcases.

Thanks guys. It doesn't affect the protection at the moment, but I don't want it to get worse, as the rest of the case is in good condition. I thought about that being a possibility Bloke, but it's more fun to blame the repairmen of course.

Sounds like this is vacuum molded plastic. Hit the auto parts store or the Home Depot for some fiberglass cloth and resin. Scuff the surface for adhesion. Cut the cloth the length of the crack with some over lap and brush the resin/hardener over the cloth and squeegee it smooth. Sand it smooth and spray paint it match the case. The patch might make it through another flight better than the rest of the case!

I held an old Martin two-piece wood case together this way for years before it finally gave up the ghost.

Some auto repair guys (one of my sons is an Audi tech) have plastic welders which might work for you. Check around - the novelty of fixing a tuba case might appeal to an automotive repair person.

Mark Heter

Uncle Markie's got the real solution if you can find the people/materials he is suggesting. With that said, I have fixed similar problems by super gluing pennies, in a row, along the crack. Of course, a piece of metal strip would do the same thing, more neatly. Just a thought . . .

Has anyone tried Rhino Linings on a hard case?

Mark wrote:Has anyone tried Rhino Linings on a hard case?

never thought about that. I've always used gorilla tape on my cracks