I'm pleased Sorcha got it sorted. But JohnInKansas' comments about specialist packagers is 'right on the money' if one wants to go into such transport in a big way.

My brother (also a dance caller, lagerphonist and concertina player - duet in his case) has made a relatively comfortable living by making specialist boxes to transport works of art. The company rings him up when they want one and he has to make it to withstand penetration by forklifts and all that sort of stuff. I might add that I think someone who gets his rocks off making boxes will probably attract the attention of all sorts of amateur psychologists but they're excellent boxes and he lives in (rustic) comfort.

He got started partly by wanting a sturdy box for his concertina. He lived near a small factory (Aerolyte) that made scientific instrument cases to order. David Long did a 'special' for his concer, I got one as well, and since then Aerolyte has made cases for just about every type of musical instrument polayed by folkies in Australia. He even made one for my microscope for Tom Loy to use on Utzi the Iceman and it withstands savage attack from sledgehammers wielded by large blokes.

But none of them are as cheap as PVC pipe. Glad you got it sorted.

Cheers, Rowan