Cutting Foam For Pelican Case

[CarlGeorge]

I know the recommended method for cutting foam for the Pelican case is an electric knife. I don't have one. And the local thrift stores don't have any - at least not now.

What other methods have people used to cut the foam? And how did it turn out? Would you do it again using that method/tool? Hacksaw? I have a general purpose folding handheld small utility saw. I'm thinking something like a razor blade will provide a jagged cut....but maybe that's bad thinking.

Ideas?

CG

 

[Gabe22BR]

Electric knife

 

[Ranger007]

Electric knife

THIS!

 

[R.Morehouse]

Walmart has a Black & Decker one on sale for $13.00

 

[Jdne5b]

Do you have a jigsaw?

Bosch T313AW3 3-Piece 6 In. Knife Edge Special for Soft Materials T-Shank Jig Saw Blades https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001J0U1HC/?tag=accuratescom-20

 

[Gabe22BR]

Electric knife is the easiest to use.

your neighbor probably has one..
you will not dull or mess it up cutting foam.. I’ll mail ya mine if you can wait 3 days...

 

[Papa Charlie]

I have had very good luck just using a very sharp butcher knife. A boning knife works the best as it presents much less surface drag.

Here is my hard case set up for my F-Class rifle. All done with a butcher knife.

 

[sawcarver]

Ive used a fillet knife before it worked pretty good but the electric knife is awesome

 

[tmwinds]

Buy you wife an electric knife for Christmas.

 

[dmoran]

Myself use a bread knife. There thinness acts like the blades of an electric knife, but with the control of your hand.

 

[CarlGeorge]

Great ideas all. Thank you so much. Thank you for the kind offer @Gabe22BR .

A handheld bread knife may be given a test after I finish figuring out what I want the configuration to be. If that goes well I'll use that. But I'll keep looking for an electric knife locally. I bet with a little perseverance I can find one. And fortunately getting this configured isn't time critical. It's not like there are tons of warm days right now to head out to the range.

 

[mike a]

Here you go.

 

[Papa Charlie]

Another suggestion, when you lay out the foam, use a piece of chalk, that way you can change it around until you get it right without permanently marking the surface up. I must have played with different configurations for a week before I decided on the exact one I wanted. Usually, there are two layers in the bottom of the cases, remove the top layer for cutting and place on a piece of plywood and use a metal straight edge to help guide the blade.

 

[Dud]

I like Kaizen foam. It is easy to cut with a razor knife but you can also use heat.

It is stiffer than the cubed foam you find in a Pelican case so it will protect against big shocks better (if it is cut for a perfect fit). There are lots of tutorial videos so you can see how to do it before you try.

I have a couple more sheets coming from the Fastcap Black Friday sale.

 

[Tucker65]

I cut the foam for a double rifle case with a hot stainless steel wire on a makeshift table I made out of a piece of plywood. I made a wooden arm out of plywood that was tall enough, and would reach far enough to go 3/4 of the way across the width of the foam. The arm pivoted in the middle and I hung a weight on the opposite end from the wire to tension the wire while cutting. The wire attache to the arm and went through a small hole drill in the plywood and was screwed to a little block of wood underneath the plywood top. I used a small 3 Amp battery trickle charger and hooked the charger up to each end of the wire. I poked a hole in the foam someplace inside my cutout and threaded the wire through. After that connect the charger and turn it on. It short order the wire is red hot and you just move the foam around and cut the foam out around your layout lines. With the hot wire you get really straight cuts and can move it in any direction when cutting. I just used some stainless steel safety wire might have been .035 diameter. It broke a couple of times, probably from getting too hot, but I just cut another piece and I was good to go again.

John

 

[jimcasey01]

A hot wire, heated however, works great.

 

[muleystalker]

Go to Walmart and buy an electric filet knife, my last 2 I got for $8.00 @.

 

[Uncle Mike]

I have had very good luck just using a very sharp butcher knife. A boning knife works the best as it presents much less surface drag.

Here is my hard case set up for my F-Class rifle. All done with a butcher knife.
View attachment 1143326

I agree, but the key words here are "very sharp".

 

[bored184]

I went to Goodwill and got an electric carving knife for couple bucks. They almost always have one sitting on the shelf.

 

[ratguner]

https://mycasebuilder.com/