Hi Alan, I don't know how you must travel to your luthier, and by which vehicles. Giving away the lute case as luggage can be problematic, especially when flying. Perhaps you can make a kind of solid chest for your lute, e.g. made from plywood, with padding of polyfoam, expanded styrene or something else, even paper. Of course the lute must be fixed inside by a strap or by the padding. You should make it water tight with adhesive tape from outside or with silicone rubber sealer from inside. If you can carry the lute with you, even a cardboard box with padding would do. You can protect it against rain by covering it with adhesive foil. In every case a carrying belt would be useful. If you must give it up as luggage when flying, the box should be very solid!
Dana Curry has written about a do- it- yourself - lute case, apt for flying: [1]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/publications/index.html see under Non-LSA Retro-Publications This lute case is made from aluminum! But perhaps you can pick up some ideas from there. Best wishes Karl -- References 1. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/publications/index.html To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
