Toolbox shadow foam
 

I want to in-lay or "shadow" my tools with a 1/4in layer of foam in the bottom of the drawer- then trace and cut out my tool shapes on a 1/2 layer of another color. Like military/aviation industries.

Can anyone recommend a company that I can order closed cell foam in sheets or short rolls, that isn't stupid expensive? I just want two different colors of foam, in 1/4" and 1/2" thicknesses, maybe 4-6 lbs densities.

The kits that some companies sell for this particular purpose is ridiculously expensive for a few pieces of foam. And the other places that may have the foam don't sell to the public or only have it in black, or 100' rolls.

Thanks!
Nooj

The Foam Factory is where I have ordered all my foam. They ship really fast and the quality is great.

Vince

Wal-Mart and other stores sell exercise mats which would work for your project

Thanks for the replies fellas. I'll look at the foam factory and see what they have. I haven't seen the mats at Wally world- but I'll check 'em out next time I go.

Anyone else do this with their boxes? I know the boxes we had in the Air-wing had the red foam. They wrote the serial numbers next to the tools- but you could easily put socket or wrench sizes or something like that with a sharpie (if the foam's light enough for the marker to show up). I just always thought it was sharp looking- and killer easy to locate and determine what tools are missing.

Nooj

I like the idea!

It also reminds me of a photo I saw in an Australian car magazine a few months ago.. it showed the toolkit out of a 1929 Bugatti. The tools and spare spark plugs etc were set into wood.. I'm going to do something similar for the truck I'm currently building.

http://www.duncanmargetts.com/blog/w...titoolkit8.jpg

Dunc.

i am in the Air Force, so i have plenty of experience with this tool shadowing stuff. It does make your box look really nice, but if you have a lot of tools, it takes up a lot of room as well. I had mine at home fixed this same way, but i used the 1/2 blue insulation foam from Lowes, it was very cheap, cut easy with a dremal and was very strong in the box.

A lot of places do it any more. In factories it is part of what they call 5S (five-s) It has to do with cleaning , organizing, blah, blah, blah. But putting the tools in foam is now the "big" thing to do. So large in fact that there are now companies out there, that if you give them a list of the tools that you have, the drawer sizes, they will CNC cut foam to your tools or you can submit drawings for them to make it to.

A bit off topic, but...
 

I have seen the 5-S stuff in action. Properly done, it does actually work. Works well enough that in the industry I work in (window and door manufacturing), my employer is still going steady and is busy all year, while some other local companies barely work 24 hrs per week.

IMO, however, a better option than using all that foam would be to just work on a better layout for all the stuff you have. I've "preached" this before. I have seen some people who have the huge boxes, and have over half of it filled with needless items. Old carb parts, pinion seals for a '49 Olds, you name it. Some others have a single older "mini" roll-away cabinet and they have only the stuff they need in it.



In a while, Chet.

I have seen 5S in action also. We throw away new parts only to order them again in six months....great program :rolleyes: .

Vince

That's why I said, "Properly done". I've seen excess good stuff tossed out too. Great bargains can be had if you know which dumpter to be at.... :thumbup:


In a while, Chet.

Neato- I've gotta go to Lowes today. I'll try to find that stuff you're talking about. Is it the insulation panels (1/2" rigid foam) that you insulate stuff with?


Right now I've got 4 big tool boxes, and a couple small ones... And they're all (for the most part) empty- no tools in 'em. So, I'm not worried about having extra junk in them- I'm just trying to find a way to keep it organized so I don't get extra junk in them in the first place. :mwink: I'm not the only one who will use these boxes- so having everything shadowed wouldn't leave much room for error when putting everything back (you know how it goes when friends and neighbors use tools- then you can't find anything!)

Nooj

Yep, its the rigid foam panel stuff, i believe it comes in 4X8 sheets, so it will do alot of drawers, it might have been the 1" that i used, either way i cut the "shadow" half the thickness of the panel, holds tools tightly, and make everything pretty! RacerJ

Any pics of your boxes with the foam? I dunno if I've ever seen it and I've been looking for a way to better organize my box.

Check THIS page for an idea of what it'll look like. Not really IN a toolbox- but you can imagine :D

Nooj

fancy, easy to use your tools when they are in that stuff? or mainly for looking at?
Reason I ask is I'd like to have something that looks that nice, but be able to grab tools fast when I need them.