Some of you may remember my screeds in old threads regarding the lack of really nice, protective cases designed with the shape of uilleann pipes in mind.
Here’s a pic of a converted fiddle case from Bill Haneman’s site that pretty much sums up the sort of case I had in mind:
Very nice, Bill! Did you come up with this design yourself?
Thanks! It was mostly a matter of placing a set into the violin case and finding out where things logically fit! I did have to move some of the pre-existing fittings around…
It’s a standard violin case (a model from which it’s conveniently simple to remove the form-fitting insert). You wouldn’t necessarily have thought a 3/4 set in B would fit into a violin case, but it does, with room for whistles (left hand section in the case top), a tuner, reed box, and a concert pitch chanter, etc. Unfortunately you do have to remove the baritone drone (of a B set at least).
Violin cases have the advantage over, say, gun cases, in that they tend to be thicker through the middle (~ 5") and can easily accommodate a bellows, provided the bellows outlet tube detaches. A viola case gives even more room; possibly even enough for a full set, not sure yet (I think Mick O’Brien uses a modified viola case for one of his full sets). Violin/viola cases also have some possible advantage when flying.
Bill
I use a viola case, and let me tell ya, it’s the oyster’s iceskates!
Tómáisín Claoin
A very nice case alright .
What is the purpose of the clock that is fixed to the lid ???
RORY
I think that is a hygrometer, unless I am mistaken, which I often am.
It’s a compass, to make sure that billh never gets lost on his way home from sessions 
Ah, I see you know me all too well!
Actually it’s the auto-destruct timer, in case the set should fall into the wrong hands.
… then I’ll be careful not to touch it. 
Id be nervous about deconstructing a Fiddle or Viola Case, often the seperators -are- the structural supports…
I’ve been toying around with ordering a Calton double fiddle case, minus the fiddle shaped insides, a spendy proposition, but hey! The things irreplacable!
Trouble is, I’ve got a lovely hacked together wooden box that is, very, very small, and its nice in that respect. When I got it, it had no padding or anything, just plywood. The C set barely fits inside it, and a D chanter makes it almost hard to close. Almost.
That’s a good point. Fortunately it’s not true of this particular case. The only semi-structural internal part is the long ‘shelf’ in the case lid, which I didn’t alter.
The Hiscox violin case (on the other hand) has a good reputation, but some of the internal padding does look structural there. For a case like this, possibly the potential problem could be dealt with by replacing the form-fitting rigid polyurethene foam internals with more rigid poly foam which fit the pipes - for instance the aerosol hardening stuff used to insulate around electrical junction boxes in houses. With suitable fabic lining, of course…
I’ve been toying around with ordering a Calton double fiddle case, minus the fiddle shaped insides, a spendy proposition, but hey! The things irreplacable!
Trouble is, I’ve got a lovely hacked together wooden box that is, very, very small, and its nice in that respect. When I got it, it had no padding or anything, just plywood. The C set barely fits inside it, and a D chanter makes it almost hard to close. Almost.
I really don’t think you need a double fiddle case unless you want to carry more than one full set of pipes (plus one chanter). A viola case should hold the C set and a D chanter just fine.
One other thing about viola cases - since violas can differ in size more than fullsize violins, sometimes a viola case gives more opportunity for adjusting or removing internal supports and form-fitting pieces than does a violin case from the same manufacturer.
Bill