Making an outey into an inney

[Tim2723]

Several times over the years I've had to try to fix this problem. You get a new case and the little ribbon thing that keeps the lid from flopping all the way open won't fold the right way when you close the case. It sticks out the back.

Anybody have an actual fix that works?

[MikeEdgerton]

If you get one let me know, I have cases that I've owned for 30 years that do this.

[Mike Snyder]

At the end of a really long, bad day, this is the kind of thing that can put you right over the edge.
It can be very exasperating to fold this stubborn little stinking ribbon into the case for the THREE THOUSANDTH TIME. Mine never folds in of it's own accord. Never. So it's probably best to take a Zen-like approach to the problem. It's not cancer. Or a root-canal. And I'm putting away my most cherished possession, my best friend, a piece of my passion. I fold it in, and close the case.
No, Tim, I have no actual fix for the case ribbon. Just some psychobabble. Works once in a while.

[man dough nollij]

I'm assuming the ribbon is sewn into the case lining, so there's no way to get at it when it's slack. I just looked at the strap in my Golden Gate hard case, and it's actually made of the velvet case lining material.

Here's a thought: I wonder if you got the ribbon damp, then pulled it inside the case. Open the case just far enough that you can get your hand in there. Put one of those big, clamp-like paper clips on the folded-over ribbon. Ideally I would like to iron a crease into it, but I can't imagine how you could pull that off. Maybe the paper-clamp-on-the-wet-ribbon method would give the ribbon a memory to fold in, instead of out. :confused:

http://www.designsbydarren.com/stock_photos/photos/13/med_office_supplies_11.jpg

[Tim2723]

I tried that once too, and added a little laundry starch to the process. It held for a little while, but there's something about these ribbons that makes it just a temporary fix.

[Mike Snyder]

Swearing seemed to help, before I got my Karma adjusted. Me, that is. Not the ribbon.

[Soupy1957]

I always cut the label outa the t-shirts I buy, ...............why not cut the ribbon out of the case I use? a good pair of scissors should do the trick!

-Soupy1957

[John Flynn]

I always cut the label outa the t-shirts I buy, ...............why not cut the ribbon out of the case I use? a good pair of scissors should do the trick!
The ribbon serves a function. It takes pressure off the hinges. My guess is that the hinge attachments will tend to last longer with the ribbon in place. The "inny/outty thing drives me crazy also, but I have just given up on it. If it wants to stay out, so be it. It still does its job when the case is open.

[Tim2723]

Yeah, but it can get caught on stuff when it hangs out the back. I wouldn't cut it of either. It's a kind of strain relief for the hinges.

I had the thought last night of using a curling iron. My ex-wife used to stand for an hour every morning curling her hair with one. All you'd need is to give the ribbon a tendency to curl in instead of out, right?

[fredfrank]

I always cut the label outa the t-shirts I buy, .......

-Soupy1957

If I did that, I wouldn't know which side is the front. My wife would have to check me before I go out the door each morning!

[mandroid]

I'll throw in 0.02 .. ~o) ~o) ~o)
how about stitching in a small pair of velcro dots on the ribbon , so it will fold in half , on itself.
have the velcro stick to the other half of itself ..

nice to see the use of more than satin ribbon in the last 80 years .. /.\


:popcorn:

[journeybear]

If the ribbon always sticks out, then remove it, flip it around, and reattach. Voila!!! :grin:

Or ... perhaps the judicious application of a bit of scotch tape or a short piece of cut-up wide rubber band (like they use on broccoli) bending in the desired direction could work. ;)

[Tim2723]

nice to see the use of more than satin ribbon in the last 80 years .. /.\

Yeah, isn't it remarkable that no one has come up with something better than satin ribbon? I'll bet ribbons have been used since instruments were first put in cases.

[liestman]

Glue a Blue Chip pick to the lower half of the ribbon and a Tortis pick to the upper half. The extra weight might help the ribbon close right and the extra investment might help you remember to tuck it in. :grin:

[mandroid]

The satin was a bit on the weak side . satin / kevlar , a better material in tension..

[Jean Fugal]

You Boys N' Girls ain't got no farmer in ya.

rig up a rubber band (kind of like a screen door closer. Problem solved.

jean

[journeybear]

Eh, not so much. You want the lid to be kept steadily open just slightly past vertical. Stretchy rubber bands ain't gonna do that. Also, rubber tends to dry out and break over time, a process that will accelerate under stress. As I suggested, a bit of rubber band attached to the satin ribbon, just enough to direct its folding action, ought to work. I had a case whose ribbon was just slightly short - the lid wouldn't stay open unless I stuck my toe underneath the body. That was pretty annoying.

[Dfyngravity]

put the case on a table, prop the lid open (enough to get your hands inside), get a small paper clip, fold the ribbon in the middle and put the paper clip on it to hold it, then get a needle and thread and sew along the very tip of the fold so you only lose a fraction of the length of the ribbon. Now you have a ribbon that should fold inward. Give it a try, if it doesn't work just take the thread out. I have attached a picture so you can get a visual.

[journeybear]

Oh man, that looks like work! :disbelief:

And even worse, it sounds sensible ... :)) ;)

[jim simpson]

I vote for the latest suggestion - good photo!

[Ivan Kelsall]

I'm assuming that you mean this little strip of material that ALWAYS seems to stick outside the case ?. Simply remove it completely. In it's place,use a length of 1/4" x 1/4" wood,nicely sanded to a smooth finish,about 8" long as a 'stay',to prop the lid open. If you cut the ends of the 'stay' to a wedge shape,the points will stop the 'stay' from sliding. When removed,place the 'stay' under a folded duster in the top compartment,to stop it floating around.
Whilst i haven't done this myself,the idea has often ocurred to me to do it,
Ivan:mandosmiley:

[Michael Eck]

I'm assuming that you mean this little strip of material that ALWAYS seems to stick outside the case ?. Simply remove it completely. In it's place,use a length of 1/4" x 1/4" wood,nicely sanded to a smooth finish,about 8" long as a 'stay',to prop the lid open. If you cut the ends of the 'stay' to a wedge shape,the points will stop the 'stay' from sliding. When removed,place the 'stay' under a folded duster in the top compartment,to stop it floating around.
Whilst i haven't done this myself,the idea has often ocurred to me to do it,
Ivan:mandosmiley:

The function of the ribbon isn't to prop the lid open. It's to keep it from opening all the way and popping the hinges.

[barney 59]

Anyone ever try ironing it--remember those? Iron a fold into it so the bias is for it to tend to go in instead of out. I have an old Harptone case and the ribbon is next to the hinge at the top (narrow end) the ribbon is only about 1-1/2"s long if it folds the wrong way the fold is still behind the lip of the top and you can't see it.

[barney 59]

I'm assuming that you mean this little strip of material that ALWAYS seems to stick outside the case ?. Simply remove it completely. In it's place,use a length of 1/4" x 1/4" wood,nicely sanded to a smooth finish,about 8" long as a 'stay',to prop the lid open. If you cut the ends of the 'stay' to a wedge shape,the points will stop the 'stay' from sliding. When removed,place the 'stay' under a folded duster in the top compartment,to stop it floating around.
Whilst i haven't done this myself,the idea has often ocurred to me to do it,
Ivan:mandosmiley:

They make nice hinged brass hardware to do just that and it would work nicely on a rectangular case--and act as a strain relief-- not so good on a curve.

[Ivan Kelsall]

The function of the ribbon is to allow the case lid to 'lean back' slightly & stay open.If you remove it,the lid usually opens all the way.There's no added strain on the hinges which are made to 'open all,the way',but it certainly does take up more room.
Barney,i know the item that you mention,but that needs attaching to inner edge of the case lid. My idea is a simple 'prop' that needs no fixing.
A better idea in the first place would be to place the ribbon(s) where the ribbons on my Mark Leaf case (now sold) were.That way they naturally fold away when you close the lid. With a bit of ingenuity,the existing ribbon could be removed & 2 new ones fixed in place as per the ML case,
Ivan

[Ivan Kelsall]

I just had a look at the Weber Fern case.It has no ribbons at all.The hinges are made in such a way that the 2 'bumps' shown in the pic.,act as a stop to prevent the lid opening fully - a good idea,
Ivan ;)

[David Miller]

Try this....

Leave the ribbon in place.
Attach a rubberband or narrow piece of elastic to the center of the ribbon, where you would like it to fold
Attach the other end of the rubberband or elastic to a point in the case such that when the case is open, the elastic is slightly stretched. (Not too much or it will close the case back up on you!)
Now, when you go to close the case, the elastic will pull the ribbon into the case and... voila!

I do this kind of fix on things like the power cord on the back of your refrigerator - dresses the cable up off the floor when you push it back to the wall, but still lets you move the fridge out when needed.

Hope this helps!

[Nate]

I had the thought last night of using a curling iron. My ex-wife used to stand for an hour every morning curling her hair with one. All you'd need is to give the ribbon a tendency to curl in instead of out, right?

If you're going to try to curl it back the right way, the easiest thing to use would be a pair of scissors. Just slack it up and curl the blade up and down around the back of the ribbon. This is how gift-wrappers get the pretty curly-q's on fancy ribbon for Christmas packages. I can't imagine that it wouldn't work.

http://www.firstpalette.com/tool_box/quick_how_to/Curly_Ribbons/steps_images_orig/CurlyRibbons_STEP2.jpg

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/2277247/Scissors_Full.jpg

[Tim2723]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. Nate's seems to be the simplest for now, so I might give that a try.

It strikes me that the problem comes from putting the ribbon on in the wrong direction to begin with (look at the natural curl in the photos above). You would think a $100+ case would have better QC.

Thanks again all, and I'll let you know how it works.

[TonyP]

I've trained all of my ribbons years ago. First take mando out of case and put someplace safe. find the middle of the ribbon where it would want to bend and lay flat when closed. Take a hair dryer, heating the ribbon, then fold the ribbon to that spot and clamp it with either the paper clip like shown, or I use Vise Grips with two pieces of metal. I have more of them laying around than paper clips :) Be sure to clamp on the place you want to permanently crease, not behind it and leave clamped until cool. Once you have that crease and it's in the right spot, no problem again, ever. But as usual, the devil is in the details, and YMMV.

[AlanN]

Quite the ribbon-meisters here.

I have a related peeve: my Travelite case will not stay lid-up open, which is annoying. Unless I position the handle underneath it and tilt the thing backwards, it tends to flop closed. Any ideas?

[mandroid]

N-AlanN, bring a pencil along , and use it as a prop to hold it open, perhaps ?

[AlanN]

Not a bad idea, thanks.

If I lift the stuff box lid and let the case top come down it, it remains open about 1/2 way. Not ideal.

[TonyP]

Personally, I don't know why case manufactures don't use the kind of hinge that's on the cheap aluminum tool cases that sell in OSH and Home Depot for like $20. They have a square ring built into the hing that when the case is opened, the ring acts as a stop and holds the top open. Very strong, and must be cheap. But I guess what we used to call "historical engineering"("we've always done it this way") says you have to use that stupid ribbon. go figgur'

[Tom C]

Mine always does that on my Travel-lite. I just close the zippers to the point where the ribbon sticks out between the closed zippers.

[mandolinplucker]

I had that ribbon thingy on my martin guitar case. If the case was sitting PREFECTLY level the case would stay open. If it was off level towards the back the whole case would tip over because the top weighs the same as the bottom. If it was off level towards the front the top would slam shut all by itself before the $2000 guitar is all of the way in. It was only a small ding in my guitar but it was enough to make me mad enough to get a pocket knife to the offending ribbon thingy. Now I can open it and lay the top all of the way back and it stays till I put the guitar in and close it. If it ruins the hinges I can buy a case a hell of a lot cheaper than a new guitar.

[Tim2723]

OK guys. I just tried it and Nate's idea worked like a charm. See his post nine up - the one with the pictures of ribbons - and do that. It took me longer to find a pair a scissors than to fix the problem I've had all my life.

Great job Nate, and thanks for posting that. Try it guys, it works like a charm!!

Mr. Moderator, you would do us all a favor by making note of this thread for those who ask in the future. This is the fix that actually works. Folks might want to practice on a bit of ribbon first, but this works perfectly.

It also slightly lengthened the ribbon by stretching it out. It might not be enough to fix the too-short ribbon problem, but it's worth a shot.

On behalf of all who have struggled with outies, thanks Nate!

[Ivan Kelsall]

Having had a brainwave,i used my wife's hair curling iron,put a 'bend' in the tape,placed it between the iron 'jaws', held it for a couple of seconds & Hey presto! - a permanent inward 'kink'. If you try this,make sure that you don't melt the tape - it might just be Nylon or another form of 'plastic',
Ivan

[Ben Milne]

Penn (http://www.penn-elcom.com/Default.asp?MC=1108030&GC=63) do a range of hinges that include stays... do away with the pesky ribbon forever.