Make a Guitar Case Table

I was wandering around in a tag sale one day and came across an old chipboard guitar case, which seemed like the perfect candidate for an unusual table.  So, I headed to my shop with my $5 purchase and got to work.

The materials I used were:

- an old chipboard guitar case
- 3 metal conduit couplers
- an 8' section of metal electrical conduit
- epoxy glue
- a piece of scrap mdf board (roughly the length & width of the guitar case)
- scrap 1x2 pieces of pine
- screws
- primer & paint

The tools used were:

- drill and bits
- screwdriver
- jig saw

I needed a ridged base to attach the legs to, and reinforcement for the case, so I cut a piece of mdf board about 3/4" narrower than the guitar case.  Then, from the inside of the case I screwed the case to the mdf board.

To attach the legs, I drilled three holes in the bottom of the mdf board at the locations where I wanted the legs to be.  I then epoxied the three metal conduit couplers into these holes and let the epoxy cure for the recommended time.

While the epoxy was curing, I cut the metal conduit to the length needed for each leg.  After the epoxy had cured, I fastened each leg in place using the set-screw on each coupler.

Not knowing exactly what would wind up being placed on this table, I made a couple of reinforcements to keep the lid from eventually sagging.  I made these from some scrap 1x2 pieces of pine, cutting them to the height of the inside, and simply set them in place.  I thought about gluing them in, but I wanted to leave the reinforcement in the wide part of the case somewhat moveable in case we ever wanted to store something inside the case.

With these reinforcements in place, the top is very sturdy.

The final step was to prime and paint the case.  I removed the legs (by loosening the set screws), taped off the latches and handle, and primed and painted the case using spray cans.

This was an easy & fun project to undertake, and makes for an interesting conversation piece!