Stay in balance
Move the Handle
© Frank Ford, 3/5/00; Photos by FF, 3/4/00

	What were they thinking? This acoustic bass case has the handle positioned so that the neck dumps forward, and it really wrenches your wrist when you carry it. Ideally, the handle would be almost parallel with the ground.
	It's a regular handle, attached to the case with rivets.
	They're split rivets, and they look like this.
	I spent some time picking up the case to determine where the handle should be positioned for best balance. Naturally, one of the handle supports had to be located right where the neck support block was glued inside. So, what could I do? I grabbed the support and yanked it loose.
	Same for the lining. Sometimes a bit of brute force is the way to go. I just rip the lining away from the side of the case, to get access to the inside of the handle hardware.
	Here's the split rivet from the inside. The rivet is simply peened over and mashed into the plywood case side.
	I used my pointy diagonal flush cutter to grip the rivet sections to straighten them out so I could pull the handle off neatly.
	Moving the handle to its new position, I reinstalled it with new split rivets. Backing up the outside rivet head, I could easily tap the rivets in place.
	I reglued the neck support yoke and lining with a bit of hot melt glue, and you'd never know the handle had been moved. Well, there are those scars on the outside.
	I suppose I could fill the old holes, but a quick touch with a regular black marker, and the holes become far less objectionable.
	See? It looks pretty good now.
	And, now I can carry it without strain. Notice that the case actually balanced more level (parallel to the ground) before I moved the handle. BUT, the handle itself is now level because it must sit on a radically curved section of the case. It took a bit of figuring to get it right, and a little luck, too.

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