Best foam idea ever!
New guy here, and with a lead in like that, I'd better be good.
This is an idea I looked at a few years ago, but it was too expensive, so I bagged it.
When your wife goes to florist, they will make her a cute arrangement of flowers in a nice vase with a green block of foam in the bottom. If you touch this foam with your fingers, it will immediately crush, and you'll have grainy foam residue on your fingertips.
I don't recall the technical name for it, but if you say "florist foam" everyone will know what you mean.
Florists can only get it in green block shapes, and in small blocks at that. However, foot doctors also use it for making molds of your arch, which they then send to some company to build your custom arch support. That comes in a 2"-3" thick rectangle shape.
As it turns out, there is some chemical you can paint it with that will turn the surface to a plastic-like finish.
My thought was to get this in 1" thick sheets (and stack several for deeper drawers), cut them to the drawer size, carefully set them in, then simply press the tools in the place and to the depth that you want them. Stick a thumb in on one side and a finger or two in on the other to give yourself a grab point. Lay in all the tools you want (pre-arranging without the foam is a good idea), then CAREFULLY take them out with the thumb and finger points you've created.
Apply the chemical sealer, and you now have an effectively blow-molded case that fits
exactly your tools,
exactly the way you want them.
IIRC, a 1" thick 4'x8' sheet ran about $300, so with the stacking for the deep drawers, I figured my boxes would end up running about $1,000.
For drawer liners!
ain:
If the big boys did this in bulk as a kit, there would be no tracing and cutting, just lay-out and press fit. And the price would come way down.
Anyway, that my best foam idea ever. :thumbup: