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Hi

I've got a hole / crack in an MTS sousa case - what's the best way to fix?

Thanks!
Bruce

The answer is:
Have you wife surprise you with a new sousaphone case and a 6-pack of beer.

or...


Buy a fiberglass repair kit and some sand paper. Make a patch over the cracked area. Then buy yourself two 6-packs. Do the repair outside so the wife won't complain of the smell. Or, do the repair inside and when she complains of the smell, tell her she could have avoided that if she would have just bought you a new case and some beer.

This made my morning!

Gorilla tape. The handyman's best friend. It's blackish/brown so it blends in well.

Oh, man. I got really excited about "Bruce's Sousaphone Heaven".
You got me, Bloke.

I second the motion to use a fiberglass repair kit. I recommend getting the fiberglass mesh with the resin and applying it from the inside. That way, if you do a sloppy job, no one can see it from the outside. And, yes, do it out-of-doors because of the smell and wear latex gloves to keep from having the resin harden on your fingers.

If the cases were fiberglass it would sure be the obvious thing, but apparently they aren't (of course.)

I didn't go so far as to actually load the pages, but a web search leads me to think the shell is ABS. ABS is what the large black waste plumbing is made of, and it's put together with a cement that works very well. That might be something to look into. You'd have to find patch material in a suitable shape, but first just buy a little tubing or an elbow joint or something, and some ABS cement, and see if you can cement that stuff somewhere on the case and how strong the bond is. Then you'll know if it works. I forget if there's a primer - maybe that's just PVC? - but if there is, of course use that too. When you cement the patch on, it needs to be tight contact, no space. One thing you might think about ... I have no idea what you're looking at there, but you might be able to saw some pipe up lengthwise to make a sort of bumper rail that happens to cover the hole, but also extends way past it. The stuff has a little flex to it. Whatever you do, it's going to be tricky and you're going to need a fancy clamp setup.

Also, trace the crack out a short ways past where it's visible, and drill a hole where the crack will run into it. Both ends. I don't know, may not help with plastic, but it's good for wood.