looking for custom foam cutting

[badicedog]

Hi guys, need help finding someone who can cut foam on a pelican 1750. I'm in So. Cal/Orange county area. Thanks

[DougJ]

[slappomatt]

there is a HUGE thread over on ARFCOM about how to make your own foam hot wire cutter and cut your own foam for super cheap. lots of examples too. lemme see if I can find it for you.

ETA found it This is it.

[Ballistic043]

i cut my 1750 with one of those long utility blades.

you can do it yourself, but you have to remember to keep your lines straight and your angles precise. its more difficult to do this with a hot wire unless you have a guide, similar setup to a table saw.

[supersonic]

I bought one of the Proxxon tables and it is, by FAR, superior to any other method I've tried and/or seen. A little pricey, but you can rent it out (or do the work for "tips") & it is completely adjustable in every way:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n26UOoUOuKg

[jimmyleost]

I just cut my own foam for my guns. I build the cutter from AR15.com and was able to do a decent job. I'm no pro. This was my first time.

It would cost you a lot less if you did it yourself. I was getting quotes in the neighborhood of $150-200.

Here's a link to the foam I cut and the foam cutter i built.

LINK

[jamesob]

i have an upholstery shop and have a bosch foam cutter, lucky me.

[gravedigger]

Would anyone be interested in a custom CNC carved dense foam insert for their pistol or rifle? I am considering purchasing a CNC machine that will carve foam (or wood, or plastic etc.) with great precision. My thought is to photograph a silhouette of a gun, and let the machine make a glove fit impression in the material. This would include cutouts for accessory lights, scopes and anything else that makes the shape of YOUR gun different from factory.

[badicedog]

Thanks

[ac427cpe]

if you go the wire route, just be sure it's in a well vented area... polyurethane foam emits toxic fumes when burned/melted (why you always see people cutting polystyrene with them )

[fast_dave]

What's all the fuss?

1) Outline on the foam what you are cutting with sharpened chalkboard chalk.

2) Use an electric knife (like what Doug J pictured). You can get a NEW ONE at K-Mart for $10 (buy your chalk there as well).

3) When cutting, DO NOT CUT on the outside of your outline, but rather on the INSIDE of your outline (you want a tight fit).

I've successfully cut 4 Pelican Rifle/Shotgun cases using this simple and reasonable method as recommended to me 15 years ago by Pelican Case.

PS - use the electric knife once a year on Thanksgiving to carve a turkey - something the hot wire method can't accomplish ;-)

Here's what I use - a Black and Decker Brand/Model - because you grip the actual body of the knife as opposed to a handle:


HTH,
fast_dave

[.308Maku]

This job took all of 20 minutes with a snap-off blade utility knife fully extended.

[CSACANNONEER]

Contact reloadyour9 on this forum. IIRC, he does foam for a living.

[supersonic]

This job took all of 20 minutes with a snap-off blade utility knife fully extended.

If you want perfect ("non-jagged") cuts, you have to use a hot wire. Yours looks fine with the weapons installed, but how do the cut edges/walls actually look like? For the perfectionist, this won't do. But that's just me.

[sacshooter1]

Perfect lines cut in foam? Really, why would someone care about how someone's lines look cut into their foam. I cut mine with a electric knife and I am willing to bet that it holds my AR just as tight as someone who used a hot wire gadget. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my guns, but I never really thought about the straightness of my lines in my gun case until this forum. But that's just me I guess.