A guide to build a really cheap Eurorack case for starting to play with modular synths.

It took me more or less an afternoon so it's quick to build and no special tools are needed.

First of all, I've found some curtain rods in a shop near home and I discovered that they were just right for M3 screws (standard used in eurorack stuff). It's actually 2m long and with this length is possible to obtain a 2 row 3U 97-98hp case (Each rail is 49cm long). Moreover there's a bit of space left between the two rails, I'll put in the near future some 1U stuff like utility modules.

Check out Doepfer's spec website, really useful for eurorack standard : http://www.doepfer.de/a100_man/a100m_e.htm

This is how much I've spent on this:
-Curtain rails 13 euros

-Angled supports 2 euros

-Various screws 2 euros

-Mdf panels 10 euros

-Brown paint 6 euros

-transparent paint 8 euros

As you can see it's really cheap indeed. A normal 2 row 3U 84HP case (without the 1U space like mine has) would cost at least 100-200 euros. Mine is only about 30!! Moreover, it's really good-looking and funny to build!

Step 1: Preparin Rails

As you can see there's not so much to do and to explain.

I cut each rod49cm long to make the rail and then I put a metal angled support like the on in photo and screwed all together (Note: I scrapped the end of the rod to obtain enough space for the support).

Step 2: Building the Wooden Case

I then fixed the external rails to the mdf case and glued all together. The case is made out of MDF. I waited about a day and mounted the remaining rails in the correct position (Note: they have to be 12.8cm far from the external rails).

Step 3: Final Corrections

After waiting the glue to dry, I took some modules I own and put them on the case to see if I mounted rails in the right position. Then I drilled some holes on the rail to slide into it my M3 bolt. The hole will be covered by a module so it won't be visible.

I finally painted the case with brown color (sorry I didn't take a photo on that).

"A bit of history of the briefcase". The funny thing is that my grandpa was an IBM computer mantainer in 1960. He used briefcases to transport HDDs and technical stuff he used. After leaving work in 70s he left those briefcases in the attic and he forgot about them for ages.

A year ago I discovered them in my grandpa's house and decided to fit in those a cool modular setup. I actually own four of those and they're all gonnna be modular synth cases.

Therefore that's why there's a little space between rails, I built this case to fit perfectly in the briefcase shown in photo