Foam lining an eyepiece case

[mikeDnight]

A few weeks ago my son gave me some Styrofoam blocks from a package he'd received, so i held on to them until I found a use for them. Well, the other day I decided to re-line an eyepiece case with the eyepieces set vertically rather than my usual horizontal layout. So here's a pic of the kind of foam im talking about.

The next problem was to decide how best to cut holes in the foam. In the past I've tried using knives and drills but the end result is usually less than perfect. This time i used an old chrome eyepiece barrel, which I heated gently over the flame of the hob, then experimented on a spare piece of foam to see if the process left a burn mark. The result was a clean, burn free hole, with the same diameter as the eyepieces I use.

Next I cut the larger block to fit my box using a carving knife. This kind of foam cuts easily and gives a neat edge! Then after fitting the foam I melted holes through the foam in the desired places. I think it looks pretty neat! 

[MarsG76]

Good idea... nice and neat... 

Even room to add more eyepieces.

 

[Doc]

I'm impressed why didn't i think of that 

[F15Rules]

26 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

A few weeks ago my son gave me some Styrofoam blocks from a package he'd received, so i held on to them until I found a use for them. Well, the other day I decided to re-line an eyepiece case with the eyepieces set vertically rather than my usual horizontal layout. So here's a pic of the kind of foam im talking about.

The next problem was to decide how best to cut holes in the foam. In the past I've tried using knives and drills but the end result is usually less than perfect. This time i used an old chrome eyepiece barrel, which I heated gently over the flame of the hob, then experimented on a spare piece of foam to see if the process left a burn mark. The result was a clean, burn free hole, with the same diameter as the eyepieces I use.

Next I cut the larger block to fit my box using a carving knife. This kind of foam cuts easily and gives a neat edge! Then after fitting the foam I melted holes through the foam in the desired places. I think it looks pretty neat! 

That looks great Mike, do you know where you can buy that kind of foam?

Dave

[Ben the Ignorant]

I have also saved the foam for the same reason but I didn't know about the heat-cut, thanks for the tip.

[wookie1965]

That looks brilliant all I need now is some Styrofoam. 

[Floater]

Beautiful! ??

[Alan White]

A nice neat job.

Note to self, find similar foam, copy.

[RayD]

Great idea, looks very neat.  

Don't forget to ventilate the room well and/or wear a mask though guys as the fumes are toxic 

[mikeDnight]

2 hours ago, F15Rules said:

That looks great Mike, do you know where you can buy that kind of foam?

Dave

Sorry Dave, I've no idea where to buy it. I do have one spare block that measures 15" by 10.25" externally, and 13" by 8" internally. If you can make use of it I'll post it on to you. Just PM me if you want it.

[Louis D]

18 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

A few weeks ago my son gave me some Styrofoam blocks from a package he'd received

That's actually closed cell polyethylene foam if I'm not mistaken.  There are also hot knives available for cutting foam.