Gun box commission

I use some low stick masking tape to cover the entire surface and then draw the pattern on the tape.

Then use an exacto knife to cut at least 1/2” into the foam. Then I use a very sharp knife (Long and skinny)
to follow the existing cuts.

Good luck.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

not sure what you mean by foam?

I use the pink, dense styrofoam insulation sold at the building yards.

Using a light, get the shape of the gun from the shadow and trace it out. Taking a photo can work too. Trace the outline and transfer to the “foam”. Followed by a router with various bits.

You can also buy a catalyzed rubber. Its like thick soup….......after catalizing, cover the pistol/gun in saran wrap and push it half way plus into the rubber. let it cure and pull the gun out. the rubber will shrink slightly and them you can shave the top off the mold followed by “flocking”..............perfect.

Good Luck

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

I do almost exactly what Gary is describing, but I like to use a straight razor rather than a knife.

-- making sawdust....

Depends on the type of foam, Betsy. There are hot wire carvers out there that work well on some types of foam.
Roman, I have been wondering how to do that exact thing as opposed to attempting to carve out a french-fit. Do you have a source for the catalyzed stuff?

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

One idea is see if your local high school, tech school, or junior college in the area has a laser engraver.
If so they might be able to take a scanned image and outline it CorelDRAW or some other program and use the laser to cut a very good shape.
Its worth looking into…

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’m actually intrigued by the catalyzed rubber idea. Roman – I checked the Rockler and Woodcraft sites and did not find it. Where do you buy catalyzed rubber at?

Thanks

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

A loaded jewelry box, how quaint.

I used a special type of styrofoam similar to what flourists use to arrange flowers is a vase. I got it from an orthotic company that uses it to cast molds for foot othotics. It is a very soft styrofoam that keeps it’s shape once it is pressed into by… what ever object you want to mold, in their case feet. The trick is getting is getting it hardened. I tried coating it with varnish wouldn’t soak in deep enough to harden the whole thing. So I cut the varnish by 50% with naptha and tried soaking it till drenched but the varnish would ooze out like a wet sponge before it was dry. Hand cut a cardboard box the exact size of the finished box and line it with plastic and placed the molded styrofoam in and poured the mix but the plastic stuck to the varnish and the varnish oozed into the molded section of the foam; messy. Final solution: coated the box with melted parafin or beeswax and poured the remaining warm wax into the molded section of the foam and let it harden. Then soaked the foam with the thinned varnish and let dry(several days) I thought it worked a hardened molded shape that can be sanded, painted, or sprayed with flocking. sheer genius right?. Well when I tied to work it it broke and inside was still gooey, never got enough air once the outer shell hardened. Maybe some type of drying agent in the mix would help. Got the same results using watered down yellow glue, center never dries. Anyway this is what not to do. I like that catalyzed rubber idea, let us know if you find where to get it and if it works.

-- DocK, WV

This really turned into an interesting thread. I would like a source on the catalyzed rubber, too.

-- Maplewood, MN

I too am interested in the catalyzed rubber concept. Great thread Betsy!

-- Chris

There is another probably cheaper way to do it. Use expanding foam from a big box store.

Cut a piece of wood or cardboard 1/2 the thickness of the gun laying on it’s side.
Place the gun in the opening. Put some velvet or whatever material you want to use
followed by a sheet of thin plastic like food wrap. This is to make sure that the foam doesn’t
go through the cloth.

Put it all into the bottom of a box, spray in the foam and close the box. After it’s hardened
cut it out of the box and trim the outside to fit your box.

The foam will expand to perfectly fit the gun. You might want to put some spacers on the gun
to allow for someones fingers to get around it after the foam is set.

I would wrap the gun in plactic just to be save.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I was thinking the big box foam. It’s too bad that you can’t buy just small amounts. I’ve found that when you squirt a little it foams up fairly fast. But if you do it with a lot it keeps on foaming for a couple of days. The insides takes a while to harden.

I would think about covering the gun in saran wrap etc. put the gun in a box the same shape as what you need. Put sand around it upto the 1/2 way point. Put another plastic sheet on top of the sand and the gun and then put your foam around all of it. If you can put a lid on it the foam will conform to the shape needed.

When you take it apart the foam will cover about 1/2 of the gun

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Being a gun person myself, I know that a gun CANNOT sit in any type of foam for a long time.

It can ruin the finish.

I would check with a local gunsmith and ask for suggestions. You might also put in a package or two of silica for absorbing any moisture that might get in the box.

-- Bob K. East Northport, NY

Bob – That is part of the reason I said to put plastic (food wrap, saran wrap) between the cloth
and the foam. The keep the foam away from the gun.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I think he means long term storage after completion. The foam gives off gas for a long time.

-- Maplewood, MN

I am talking about long term storage. Even foam that is used in factory made cases is a problem long term. I found out the hard way.

A possibility is to cover the foam with felt.

I would still check with a gunsmith.

-- Bob K. East Northport, NY

Thanks everyone for their suggestions. I am going to call the local gun shop to see what they say and then go from there. If not for this gun box though, these ideas raise good possibilities for other projects.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

I’d use the pink or blue insulation foam personally and find a well-ventilated area with which to work -

Buy a “hot-knife” and just carve out the foam. You find that stuff at hobby stores and florists shops. It looks like a twisted wire clothes-hanger with a battery pack stuck on one end. Or you could use a carving knife like this one cross fingers this works – http://www.micro-mark.com/ Or search their site for a hot knife. Cover with felt and ? Works right?

A very hot soldiering iron works too, or a heated knife used like a brand (sit in the kitchen and use the propane burners for something other than cooking). Just watch the fumes – wear those chemical goggles, and the job will go smoothly.

Whiskey.

OK – I hate this when I wake up in the night thinking about something like this and I can’t make up my mind if it makes sense or not.

I just realized that the gun came in a plastic case that is molded to hold the gun and the two clips. Why can’t I use that form and build around it. I could reinforce the form on the bottom with anything, even sand I suppose—- then maybe flock the plastic. On second thought sand would not be good – it would draw moisture and I would guess that’s not good for a gun. But I could probably come up with a solution to that.

Or, another wild idea, use the form by pouring the catalyzed rubber into the form – thereby creating a copy of the gun in relief format – then cut the “rubber gun” out on the scroll saw following the outline of the form. Then I would have a rubber form to put in the box. Or maybe pour the rubber into the bottom of the plastic form – which would make a perfect outline of the gun and I would not have to cut anything.

I don’t know does any of this make any sense? It’s 2:30 in the morning and I’m thinking about guns and foam and forms that’s what doesn’t make sense!

Thanks all.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

DocK, I tried the same thing with that orthotic company’s foam. Thought it was a great idea. Turned out to be not such a great idea. I’m interested in the catalyzed rubber idea.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Well – I’ve talked with a number of gun shops today. The consensus is that you should not use anything around the gun to hold it in place other than wood pins. The general opinion: Foam – absolutely not; Expandable foam = very absolutely not; catalyzed rubber = maybe, but probably not; insulation foam = nope wouldn’t try it.

Pretty much anything that we would typically use in a jewelry box to hold things in place are no good for a gun mount.

Everyone agreed that wood dowels of some sort to keep the box in place is the way to go.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!

Please let us know how you will finish this. I’m interested for myself.

-- Bob K. East Northport, NY

I’ll keep the forum posted Bob. Hopefully the project will be a good one.

-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!