Custom cue case with no projecting edges & mystery lock mechanism.

Parlo

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Most cue cases have protruding locks and hinges that can catch and damage upholstery, especially when loading over your shoulder into the rear car seat!
The brief was to make a sturdy cue case with smooth edges all round & nothing protruding wider than the case.
Here is a video of the carcass awaiting the clients preferred finish.

 
Those are Soss hinges. they are used in a lot of different stuff... I'm a cabinet maker so, I've used them a bit when you want to hide the hardware.

Below I used 3 large ones to make the slab appear to be an art piece hanging on the wall, but the client actually had shelves inside the recess with all his stereo equipment on it... The seam isn't invisible, but from a distance the lack of a hardware showing makes the slab look better.


slab door2.jpgopen slab door.jpg
 
Great job. I'll look into the soss hinges to see the quality.
 
@Parlo,

That is fantastic!

On seeing the first half I was thinking "milled from two solid aluminum blanks?"
Then when I saw the end I thought "ahh, from two rectangular aluminum tubes!"

I'd still like more info on the lock mechanism..... but based on the thread title maybe that's restricted info.....

Thanks for sharing this!
Brian
 
If budget and design allows i find these hinges a big improvement over the soss ones. these are also adjustable, key for cabinets, maybe not worth it for a case.
on the other end of the spectrum are the tiny barell style hinges found on pen boxes. i bet you could make beefier ones of those, but the do require a chamfer at the hinged edge.
 
If you pause the video when it gets to a close up of the "catch" side of the case, there is no recess in the 4 dark inlays to accept some latching member arm actuated from the side with the closer switch..... So my guess is that it's 4 (or 8) rare earth magnets that hold the case closed and the oblong plates on the catch side house the magnets and the switch in the other case half, just moves the magnets so they hold the case halves together powerfully when they are aligned.

The wood looks like Honduras mahogany. Having done woodwork all my life, I've seen a lot. I really like when projects are not all made of one material. The interplay of wood, metal, glass, or ceramics really look better to my eye than just any creation of any single material. Of course the hidden mechanism parts take it to the next level as well.
 
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Very nicely made case. Makes me want to go play some pool. Maybe someday I’ll get time to build a space for my pool table and get it set back up.


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If you pause the video when it gets to a close up of the "catch" side of the case, there is no recess in the 4 dark inlays to accept some latching member arm actuated from the side with the closer switch..... So my guess is that it's 4 (or 8) rare earth magnets that hold the case closed and the oblong plates on the catch side house the magnets and the switch in the other case half, just moves the magnets so they hold the case halves together powerfully when they are aligned.

The wood looks like Honduras mahogany. Having done woodwork all my life, I've seen a lot. I really like when projects are not all made of one material. The interplay of wood, metal, glass, or ceramics really look better to my eye than just any creation of any single material. Of course the hidden mechanism parts take it to the next level as well.
The wood was originally the rails on my snooker table that were upgraded a few years ago. I suspect the wood is well over 30 years old. Interesting to know the species, I can add that to the description if I sell anymore.
 
There won't be a place where the owner of that case goes, that other players don't ask where he got that and how could they get one... It's that beautiful, besides being "trick" and completely unique... I love it and I don't even play pool.
 
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