Shadow Foam

[wookie1965]

I've just bought some for my eyepiece case after seeing it on the Colin Furze channel only thing is how can I cut circles in it for my eyepieces if any one has any idea I would be grateful. 

Paul 

[Alien 13]

For cutting circles use hole cutters like these made for wood.

 

The important thing though is to run the drill in REVERSE and you will get a very clean hole.

The hole cutter will normally have to cut through all the layers of the foam but you will be left with a disk inside the cutter which can be prized out and sliced to go back in the hole if wanted..

Alan

Edited December 24, 2022 by Alien 13

[vlaiv]

 

[Penumbrella]

I bought a cheap multi pack of cookie cutters from papa bezos for that very job. Worked just fine. Sure others are available but this set spanned the sizes I thought I might need. 

PINGEUI 12 Pieces Round Cookie... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09W9F67L4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

 

[apaulo]

i used a hole saw , i removed the drill bit and used it in a drill switched to left hand rotation.  makes a nice clean cut, but make sure its on lefthand .

[PeterW]

I use a very extended extendae blade knife…. But probably do a much worse job than the alternatives.

peter

[Captain Scarlet]

You could also use those hole-cutters for wood without a drill, simply turn them by hand

[PeterW]

… hope you bought en eyepiece the right size for your hole saw…

Peter

[F15Rules]

Hi Paul,

I used an old chromed 1.25" eyepiece barrel which I heated up on our ceramic hob. I made sure I wore log burner/fireplace gauntlets and carefully pressed the hot contact end of the eyepiece barrel into the foam at the spots I had marked  for the placement of the ep's..the foam then melted in the circular hole shape I wanted, til it looked like this..

[JeremyS]

9 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Hi Paul,

I used an old chromed 1.25" eyepiece barrel which I heated up on our ceramic hob. I made sure I wore log burner/fireplace gauntlets and carefully pressed the hot contact end of the eyepiece barrel into the foam at the spots I had marked  for the placement of the ep's..the foam then melted in the circular hole shape I wanted, til it looked like this..

Very nice Dave. You can get the missing bits here: https://www.wdscomponents.com/en-gb/machine-hardware/handles/case-handles/c-405

[DaveL59]

12 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Very nice Dave. You can get the missing bits here: https://www.wdscomponents.com/en-gb/machine-hardware/handles/case-handles/c-405

surely something in brass/bronze would go better with the darker wood, Jeremy? 😉 

[Cleetus]

1. Use a fine black marker pen and draw circle using eyepiece barrel. 

2. With a very sharp craft knife cut slightly inside the circle.

3. Sit back and admire your results.

 

[Ratlet]

Well timed thread this.  Got a large slab for Christmas.

I'm going to take the cowards way out and cut my eyepiece slots sideways.

[Cleetus]

Wasn't sure whether to go vertical or horizontal but the same principle applies re cutting. Much better than pluck foam.

[DaveL59]

Pretty sure I've heard others have used a suitable diameter can/canister, cut to give a sharp edge and used that to make the holes. Do be careful tho if the suitable canister is an aerosol as even "discharged" they will have some residual pressure. Don't rush cutting foam, slow and steady will always get better results. A hot knife might work well if you can get one to suit the job at hand.

[jjohnson3803]

I use hole saws and as mentioned above, run my drill anticlockwise at low speed or turn them by hand.  Depending on the type of foam, using heated cutters can release toxic or at least irritating fumes, so user beware.

IME pluck foam comes apart after minimal use.  Some people hot glue the blocks together, but why bother when there are other inexpensive options available?

But to each, their own.

 

[wookie1965]

On 24/12/2022 at 23:00, F15Rules said:

Hi Paul,

I used an old chromed 1.25" eyepiece barrel which I heated up on our ceramic hob. I made sure I wore log burner/fireplace gauntlets and carefully pressed the hot contact end of the eyepiece barrel into the foam at the spots I had marked  for the placement of the ep's..the foam then melted in the circular hole shape I wanted, til it looked like this..

Hi Dave I had a old laser collimator I could use for the 1.25" but I had to use a old cycle bell for the 2" turned out quite good. 

[F15Rules]

Looking good, Paul, nice job!!👍

Dave