Walt Johnson case repair help please

[Rotaryclub]

Does anyone know who can make repairs on a Walt Johnson flight case (new handles, wheels, clasps) in the Washington D.C. area? Can't seem to find anything at all on the internet. I guess I could ship it somewhere but that seems silly (and did I read on this site that Walt Johnson doesn't even repair them?).

Any info would be a big help-thanks.

[joshwirt]

I just replaced the wheels on an older Johnson case. It was a bit tricky because the wheels are riveted on to a mount that is filled with fiberglass. I cleaned out some of the filled area to add washers to the new rivets for the exact same 2" wheel found at Home Depot. After new rivets (with washers unlike the original ones without), I leveled the case and filled the remainder of the fiberglass block with hot glue (it smoothed over the entire block and looked like it was supposed to be that way), though I'm sure you could mix up some epoxy if you wanted to color it black. I was going for function over form as it was on the ground side and you'd only see it if it was standing upright. Plus it'll be muuuuuch easier for the owner to repair it next time should they need to (doubtful as it rarely travels)

I had to replace the entire mount because after Greyhound chewed off the wheel, they bent the crap out of the mount and I couldn't just swap the wheel. You may be lucky enough to just by the wheel assembly for a couple of $$$$ at Home Depot and swap the wheels.

Not sure about the clasps, though arent similar ones found on Anvil cases? The black plastic handles could be replaced by most any repair shop.

Josh Wirt

[Rotaryclub]

Thanks for the tips Josh, I could probably try to do that myself but work would pay for it, and three kids under 4yrs at home-I need the easy way out. Appreciate it.