Fitting the 3B/F in an SKB 360
Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 9:22 pm
I recently got a really, really nice early 3B/F bell section to replace my Silversonic. However, there are no good cases to fit this size instrument- the only options are cases meant for .547s or gig bags. I like to have a case as small as possible, so I bought this cheap SKB 360 to modify.
Of course, the problem with the 3B/F is that there are tubes and a valve spindle on the left side, and a lever on the right side of the bell section. The 360 (and all equivalent cases) don't account for that! So out comes the knife.
It's hard to show, but it was pretty easy to to- I marked out the space taken up by the F wrap on the left side of the bell. Then I simply cut the soft material and peeled it away from the foam. After I had all the soft material away, I found the correct depth I needed to remove (probably like 3/4 of an inch) and cut away the white closed-cell foam in that area. Simply put the soft material back in place and you almost can't tell!
The valve spindle is another issue. I marked this spot out and spent a while digging away at the foam, much more removal needed here. You can see the white foam poking through.
The other large issue is the valve paddle. On the 360, the slide door is a wood core with the soft material. The paddle needs to go through that wood. Good thing I have a knife!
Now, it looks scary- I had to cut all the way through the wood, exposing a slide tube underneath. But I checked this dozens of times- the paddle arrangement has plenty of clearance to the slide tube, probably a half inch. If the slide tube and paddle come together, the case has undergone something pretty harsh anyway!
Here's the bell section in the case.
What's neat is that even with foam cut out, there is no degradation in protection for a straight horn. Don't mind the dent (my fault), but my 16M fits fine with no parts touching the missing foam.
Look, the case even closes!
I'm not sure many people need to to this, but it sure is handy to have the ultra-versatile 3B/F in a nice, small case.
Of course, the problem with the 3B/F is that there are tubes and a valve spindle on the left side, and a lever on the right side of the bell section. The 360 (and all equivalent cases) don't account for that! So out comes the knife.
It's hard to show, but it was pretty easy to to- I marked out the space taken up by the F wrap on the left side of the bell. Then I simply cut the soft material and peeled it away from the foam. After I had all the soft material away, I found the correct depth I needed to remove (probably like 3/4 of an inch) and cut away the white closed-cell foam in that area. Simply put the soft material back in place and you almost can't tell!
The valve spindle is another issue. I marked this spot out and spent a while digging away at the foam, much more removal needed here. You can see the white foam poking through.
The other large issue is the valve paddle. On the 360, the slide door is a wood core with the soft material. The paddle needs to go through that wood. Good thing I have a knife!
Now, it looks scary- I had to cut all the way through the wood, exposing a slide tube underneath. But I checked this dozens of times- the paddle arrangement has plenty of clearance to the slide tube, probably a half inch. If the slide tube and paddle come together, the case has undergone something pretty harsh anyway!
Here's the bell section in the case.
What's neat is that even with foam cut out, there is no degradation in protection for a straight horn. Don't mind the dent (my fault), but my 16M fits fine with no parts touching the missing foam.
Look, the case even closes!
I'm not sure many people need to to this, but it sure is handy to have the ultra-versatile 3B/F in a nice, small case.
