Here's one I tried on a Bet!
Some friends and I were talking about cases you could buy and how expensive some could be. I piped up and said," Well, those are ordinary Square ones too!",Says one friend," Well Smart A%% show us a different way then" Oho! a Challenge ! Never could resist one of those.
So, we go into my shop(Body Shop) and I pull some Lexan off the shelf and cut two pieces with an arched top (Roman Simple Arch!) Then I cut another piece and take the plastic off both sides. " Whatya doin?" "You'll see". I go and get my Stainless panel bender ( A hollow Polished Stainless Pipe with caps on both ends and a water valve on each end as well. " Watch this boys!" says I.
I proceed to fire up the boiler in the shop for this purpose. When the water has reached a "Roiling Boil"( I have a window in the side.) I fill the Stainless pipe. Set it on a rack and put the Lexan on it square. Within minutes the Lexan lying on this polished surface starts to sag. When it has sagged enough I remove it and put it over a wooden form and let it cool.
I match the ends to the Curved Lexan and mark it for cutting. I cut it with a very slow Jig saw and then take it to the sanding table which in this case is a 48" across disc I bought used when a plastics supplier closed up shop. I placed it on there and made sure all was square and the polished the edges of the ends and Glued them in place. " There, says I, a case that's not like everyone else's"
I took a piece of oak already prepared and placed this rounded top on it. They were certainly full of questions after that. Of course I had laid it out for cutting and forming later in the Week for a client's model. But, I proved there was more than one to make a case. I also proceeded to show them the piece I had in the office. A Mercury/Atlas rocket on the Launch Pad and the Lexan Pyramid that enclosed it. No one ever made that challenge again!