Need Advice for Custom Cut Foam

[Chris L]

What kind of Pelican case are you looking at that costs $400 - $600? If it's just for storage around the house, I would forego any case with foam (foam absorbs/holds moisture = no bueno for guns) and get a safe.

If you are looking for something to transport guns to and from the range or elsewhere take a look at something like the Pelican 1750 long case, I have a Hardigg Storm 3300 (now owned by Pelican and essentially the same as the Pelican 1750) that can comfortably hold two 16" ARs with optics, and it cost about $215. I cut the foam myself after tracing the outlines of my ARs on poster board and using the outlines as templates.

 

[HokieKev]

House of Foam quoted me somewhere around $150 a year ago just for the foam for a 42" plano gun guard rifle case, no cutouts for guns or anything. I'm sure they do great work but i'd rather buy two more cases with the pluckable foam for that price.

Was that the cost of a blank sheet of foam you would cut yourself to the cost for them to cut it to certain dimensions for you?

 

[HokieKev]

Hot wire foam cutter.

Did you get a particular brand or model?

 

[HokieKev]

If this is this something like a 105mm howitzer ammo crate that's around 32"x10"x5" internally, do what most have been saying, and cut it yourself.

Buy a 2" high-density foam roll at a fabric store, cut into rectangles, then carefully cut an outline of the rifle into the middle sheet. Get some spray adhesive, tack the bottom and middle layers together, and you're good to go. It should cost around $30 and your time.

Having done this before, I advise that if you can, don't center the barrel and buttstock in the case. Leave a little bit more on the side with the barrel.

That is a neat idea to find cheap foam at a fabric store.

Why do you leave more space on the barrel side. Don't you want the weight/center of gravity to be near the middle of the case?

 

[SuperMag]

Foam is cheap.

And a razor-sharp sharp filet knife is perfect for making your cutouts.

"Careful not t'cut'cherself, Mordechai!"
-Glenn, in the film Raising Arizona

 

[aquashooter]

The idea of using an electric carving knife was already mentioned. I used one to cut out my underwater water camera equipment cases. I traveled all over the Caribbean and occasionally watched my cases bounced off conveyer belts. Never had a problem.

 

[nedsurf]

I went to House of Foam at least a decade ago when they were near the cross street market and that magic shop. They did well for my needs. I never have been to their new location on Harford Rd. I think they share the same building with everyone's favorite gun shop in that area.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

Hot wire foam cutter.

If you have one, can I borrow it? Or would you rather supervise me using electricity?

 

[rico903]

I went to House of Foam at least a decade ago when they were near the cross street market and that magic shop. They did well for my needs. I never have been to their new location on Harford Rd. I think they share the same building with everyone's favorite gun shop in that area.

Yes they do. Same people as Poptronics/House of Foam downtown.

 

[wrc]

That is a neat idea to find cheap foam at a fabric store.

Why do you leave more space on the barrel side. Don't you want the weight/center of gravity to be near the middle of the case?

When being carried around and in the trunk, my rifle muzzle crushed more foam than the buttstock did. I didn't want it bouncing against the case itself.

If it isn't a close fit, I guess it wouldn't matter much.

 

[CypherPunk]

At FOSE/GovExpo, there were at least three custom foam shops including the ones I have used in NoVa and Gaithersburg. There was another that was a VistaPrint type internet based company that seemed to have a turnkey system for online submissions and provided custom results.

I bought a cheap electric carving knife and was satisfied with the results. Ymmv.

 

[BigSteve57]

I went to House of Foam at least a decade ago when they were near the cross street market and that magic shop. They did well for my needs. I never have been to their new location on Harford Rd. I think they share the same building with everyone's favorite gun shop in that area.

HAH! Never knew they existed. I need to re-do a couple of rifle cases where the foam has degraded due to heavy use, moisture, cleaning solvents etc... . I looked online and the foam seemed expensive enough that I didn't want to order without seeing/touching it.
Thanks.

 

[Landwarrior]

Be careful on the type of foam you purchase. Some foam will melt/disintegrate in the presence of petroleum/solvents. I learned the hard way buying a cheap case to transport/storage some fishing reels. I was lucky that I noticed the problem a few days after placing the reels in the case.

 

[BigSteve57]

Be careful on the type of foam you purchase. Some foam will melt/disintegrate in the presence of petroleum/solvents. I learned the hard way buying a cheap case to transport/storage some fishing reels. I was lucky that I noticed the problem a few days after placing the reels in the case.

That's exactly what happened to the existing foam I'm replacing.
You can see it where the end of the barrel and the action touched the foam over the years.

What type of foam should be used?

 

[Publius]

Perhaps the OP has not seen these... YouTube has some videos on cutting the foam:
video 1

video 2

In this video the guy recommends Plasti-Dip, which is a rubber spray that allegedly makes the foam last longer from gun abuse. I have not tried it, but I will.
rubber coating video

 

[CypherPunk]

Also, it's not good to encase your rifle in cheap foam until the barrel has fully cooled.

 

[rico903]

House of Foam/Poptronics has several grades of foam so you can pick the weight/density you want. Foam is more expensive than I thought. Used them to redo my sofa cushions and have been very happy.

 

[HokieKev]

Hey Guys,

Working on several projects at the moment but the easiest one I am working on right not is a altering a old wooden artillery/motor ammunition crate into a rifle crate. (I have checked the dimensions it is just perfect for my M4 carbine) Let's be honest I can't afford $400.00, $500.00, $600.00 for a pelican case.

So this is the next best option?

What I'm curious on is where the best place to get custom cut foam for the interior.

What's the best as far who I should go, who has the best pricing, the best procedure (send a tracing in, cut it yourself from a foam block yourself etc.)

Should be a fun project and hopefully relatively inexpensive. Because I don't see foam being too ungodly expensive but I have been proven wrong, time and time again.

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

I was inspired by this post and decided to do a little research and cut some foam on my own. I'll post a few notes and pictures on the process I used in case someone else is thinking about doing something like this. There are a lot of youtube videos of course - but I found many of them kind of amateurish.

 

[HokieKev]

Cutting Foam on your own

I decided to cut some foam for gun cases and tried to find the best way to do it. I settled on buying the following supplies:

1) Foam from Foam by Mail

http://www.foambymail.com/PE2-_1/polyethylene-foam-sheets-2-2lb.html

2) Hot Wire Foam cutter

Proxxon 37080 Hot Wire Cutter THERMOCUT

3) Spray Adhesive

3M 77 Super Multipurpose Adhesive Aerosol, Clear

 

[HokieKev]

I decided to cut some foam for gun cases and tried to find the best way to do it. I settled on buying the following supplies:

1) Foam from Foam by Mail

http://www.foambymail.com/PE2-_1/polyethylene-foam-sheets-2-2lb.html

2) Hot Wire Foam cutter

Proxxon 37080 Hot Wire Cutter THERMOCUT

3) Spray Adhesive

3M 77 Super Multipurpose Adhesive Aerosol, Clear

Pictures enclosed.