Need case for old melodeon

I recently purchased a lovely little Hohner melodeon in the key of D, best guess from 1910 or 1920s. It came in the original box(!!) but needless to say that doesn’t offer much protection. I was told to get a Pelican case for travel which makes great sense if I check it through, but was hoping to find a smaller hard-sided case that would fit under the seat in front of me on a plane and be less obtrusive in a session. I’m enough of an occasional klutz that I’d still want hard-sided, though -- I don’t think a soft-sided case would offer enough protection against … me.

Unfortunately I live in Alaska, which means there’s nowhere local that I can really shop for this. And I have Googled the snot out of it, but can’t for the life of me find a case that fits the melodeon’s dimensions of 11“ x 11.5” x 6". I guess I can buy a slightly larger case and find some extra padding (or snacks?) to put in there with it, but I’d rather have a good fit. So before doing that, I figured I’d post here on the off chance somebody has a suitable old case sitting around, gathering dust, and wants to sell it; or can recommend where else to look for such a thing.

I haven’t had any luck on eBay either, although both my Google-fu and my eBay-fu are being somewhat complicated by the tendency to call multi-row button accordions a melodeon as well. Searching for “one row accordion case” doesn’t really narrow it down, and of course a hunt for “Irish accordion case” goes right back to the multi-row folks.

Many thanks!
Lisa

If you know anyone who dabbles in woodworking, you may be able to have one custom made for a reasonable price. Boxes are pretty easy to build. Even easier if they are going to be painted or otherwise covered. A little padding and fabric from the craft store, and Bob’s your uncle.

I’ve got a similar vintage Hohner and I’ve been meaning to make a case for years, just never got around to it.

Search on Esty. Everything and anything seems to be found there.

Thank you both! CleverName, some of my favorite local musicians are woodworkers, so that might be the way to go. Michael, no joy with the cases on Etsy, but they do sell some musical instruments there…?! maybe the rationale is that they’re no longer playable and meant for home decor.

I will admit to eyeing small hard-sided coolers in the store. They’re light and reasonably durable, so maybe with a bit of padding … only issue would be handling the inevitable disappointment when people go in looking for a beer and end up with the melodeon instead.

Another possibility is a case for LPs (vinyl records) - 12“ x 12” x n"…

My partner uses a backpack intended for carrying tools. It is much sturdier than backpacks sold for melodeons and has much better straps and was reasonably cheap but it’s a bit heavy in itself - every solution is a compromise. Backpacks of this sort are available online if you search.

There are customizable-foam filled tool boxes?

Thanks all! I have some great options to choose from (or hunt for) now. Until I can find something like this locally that’s in my ever-shifting budget, I’ll probably make do with a heavy-duty freezer bag as a soft case. Sounds silly, but a local accordion player says it works great as long as I don’t go full-on klutz.