Inletting Foam

[mjr693]

Hi Guys,
How do you inlet foam in a case to accept a pistol.
I have seen some very neat jobs on here and was wondering what the trick is achieve a neat job.
Cheers
Mike

[trick cyclist]

Hi Guys,
How do you inlet foam in a case to accept a pistol.
I have seen some very neat jobs on here and was wondering what the trick is achieve a neat job.
Cheers
Mike

Equally important, to me at least, where does one get the foam from in the first place? My CP88 case is typical of the breed, with crumbly knackered sponge insides!

[angrybear]

Find an upholsterer (great shop in Exeter called "Langens Foam")

best way is to use 3 layers top-bottom & middle cut the pistol shape out of the middle bit (with a scalpel/Stanley/razor blade) & then glue that to the base which is in turn glued to the box & the other bit glued to the lid.

[Murphy]

Hot wire cutting technique.

You don't need to buy one lots of homemade plans on the internet.

Some really good.

[Airsporter1st]

Equally important, to me at least, where does one get the foam from in the first place? My CP88 case is typical of the breed, with crumbly knackered sponge insides!

Search on E8ay for 'packaging foam'. There's a wide choice available, including 'pick and pluck' which has small squares precut for you to remove and create the desired shape with no further cutting required.

[Brian.Samson]

Electric carving knife, although they're hard to come by these days (I don't know why?)

[PhatMan]

mjr693,

IIRC, it used to be suggested to saturate the foam with water, then place in a freezer for a few hours to freeze.

The ice gives rigidity to the foam, allowing it to be cut without the usual tearing and grief

Have fun & a good weekend

Best regards

Russ

[NewPaul]

Electric carving knife, although they're hard to come by these days (I don't know why?)

I second that, makes a lovely clean cut.

[Mark A]

mjr693,

IIRC, it used to be suggested to saturate the foam with water, then place in a freezer for a few hours to freeze.

The ice gives rigidity to the foam, allowing it to be cut without the usual tearing and grief

That is genius! I would have never thought of doing that.

[Brian.Samson]

I second that, makes a lovely clean cut.

My ex-father-in-law used to own a foam converter company. Basically they cut foam for everything, from furniture to high quality packing etc.
For small one off jobs and a bit of trimming, they used to use electric carving knives.

If it's good enough for the professionals, it's good enough for me

[trick cyclist]

Search on E8ay for 'packaging foam'. There's a wide choice available, including 'pick and pluck' which has small squares precut for you to remove and create the desired shape with no further cutting required.

Thanks, I'll try that as mine is disintegrating as I look at it! Good advice from Angry too.