tool drawer foam ideas
- Thread starter sofob0909
- Start date
charlie_nj
Well-known member
$420 for the 40 x 20 size? You'd have to be smoking 420 to pay that kind of money for some foam.
nate379
Banned
It's expensive and a PITA. We have to do it at work because the stuff we work on goes to the flightline.
GSSFC
Well-known member
Holy expensive!
Tim
Tim
nate379
Banned
The price doesn't load for me but we pay around $50 a sheet if I'm not mistaken. It's worth it to save a million dollar engine.
$420 for the 40 x 20 size? You'd have to be smoking 420 to pay that kind of money for some foam.
SO's website is weird. The price will say N/A on the first page, but if you click the item, it will give you the price.
The military always uses this stuff too, dont they?
nate379
Banned
We do for sure. (Air Force) You can get it on big rolls too 8ft tall by whatever feet long. I think 20 or 30 ft. Just more of a PITA.
Also Snap On will do laser etching and foam cutouts too. I had one toolbox done. They sent a program over and I just laid out the drawers and sent them the files. Was $0.50 a tool cutout I think.
Also Snap On will do laser etching and foam cutouts too. I had one toolbox done. They sent a program over and I just laid out the drawers and sent them the files. Was $0.50 a tool cutout I think.
nate379
Banned
Also it says $260 for 6 sheets and the kit for me which is $43 per sheet.
BoostAddiction
Well-known member
I don't remember what I paid, but it wasn't that much, and I like it for certain of my tools.
Obligatory pic:
I got it from toolfoam.com, IIRC.
Obligatory pic:
I got it from toolfoam.com, IIRC.
nate379
Banned
Holds up fine. Some of the boxes I had at work were around 10 yrs old and the foam was still fine in them. This stuff gets beat up too. 10 yr old Snap On box... drawers barely close, lucky if the wheels are round and there is a side that straight still.
It's just a real pain to setup the foam plus if you add or delete tools it's a pain then too. Also takes ALOT more space vs having tools in a drawer. If I did the foam in my box I would easily need a 2nd box the same size.
I have a good idea of what tools I have so I don't usually loose stuff. In the ~15 yrs I have been turning wrenches, I have lost a 10mm gearwrench, 10mm 1/4" socket, 1/4 ratchet and 1/4" extension and a 14mm 3/8" socket. The 1/4" stuff I left on top of the battery in my Jeep and I took it for a test drive. When I thought of it, it was long gone and never found it. The wrench and socket... no idea where they went!
It's just a real pain to setup the foam plus if you add or delete tools it's a pain then too. Also takes ALOT more space vs having tools in a drawer. If I did the foam in my box I would easily need a 2nd box the same size.
I have a good idea of what tools I have so I don't usually loose stuff. In the ~15 yrs I have been turning wrenches, I have lost a 10mm gearwrench, 10mm 1/4" socket, 1/4 ratchet and 1/4" extension and a 14mm 3/8" socket. The 1/4" stuff I left on top of the battery in my Jeep and I took it for a test drive. When I thought of it, it was long gone and never found it. The wrench and socket... no idea where they went!
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volvo420coupe
Well-known member
Ahhhhh.... FOD control, brings back Navy memories. I couldn't do the foam cutouts, because of constant upgrading and reorganization. but for the flat foam which SHOULD be in the bottom of EVERY mechanics toolbox drawers, it absolutely has to be glued down. The only thing more irritating than the metal to metal sound of tools being sent to an early grave in an unlined drawer, is looking in the drawer and seeing a foam mat all bunched up in the back doing nothing but looking ugly.
nate379
Banned
Yeah I do have the drawer liners. I don't really care if the tools are metal to metal but just hate everything sliding all around. The foam seems to help keep stuff in place for the most part.
Ray-CA
Well-known member
Could you use the foam mats that the auto parts stores sell for in front of the work bench? Looks like it comes in 4x4 or 2x2 squares with an embossed diamond plate pattern on it.
Ray
Ray
mikemolzahn
Well-known member
I'm curious about how using foam to organize tools can help to save an engine. What's the deal?
Ray-CA
Well-known member
I'm curious about how using foam to organize tools can help to save an engine. What's the deal?
If you have a missing tool (as shown by the empty spot in the foam) the engines don't get started and people don't go home until the tool is located.
Ray
nate379
Banned
Yeah exactly. Have wasted tons and tons of my time cutting out that fawking foam for toolboxes. Plus etching and inventories, etc, etc. Huge PITA.... and I was in charge of about 3 million in tools and equipment.
brockstar
Well-known member
My friend works for Snap-On industrial and tells about a jet engine company that uses card readers for controlling access to the boxes. Swipe your card (any card with a stripe can be used including a credit card!) and if you have been given access, presto drawers unlock. You can also log who has been trying to get in and out of the box. The whole setup is about $1500 per box.
He cuts foam with a Dremel and plunge router base. You loose about 25-30% of drawer space to foam. But the waterjet cut stuff is pretty cool looking.
We use foam in the shop for certain drawers that dont change too often, big wrench sets but drawers that change alot - drill bits, get just the bottom layer to line the drawer.
Does anyone else notice the way an unlined drawer sounds compared to a lined drawer? Nails on a chalkboard
He cuts foam with a Dremel and plunge router base. You loose about 25-30% of drawer space to foam. But the waterjet cut stuff is pretty cool looking.
We use foam in the shop for certain drawers that dont change too often, big wrench sets but drawers that change alot - drill bits, get just the bottom layer to line the drawer.
Does anyone else notice the way an unlined drawer sounds compared to a lined drawer? Nails on a chalkboard
nate379
Banned
You can. I'm sure you know by now that Snap On charges about 8x more than stuff is worth just because they can
66HertzClone
ALLIANCE MEMBER
While I would love to have the cut out foam, the time required and the loss of space that results changed my mind. I purchased a roll of yoga mat material from these guys, http://www.yogaaccessories.com/14-Extra-Thick-Deluxe-Yoga-Mat-Roll-40103-feet41_p_121399.html
I had three Lista cabinets with a total of 25 drawers to line, so I used up more than half of it. This size worked well for the Lista drawers since the drawers and material are the same width. I just had to cut the roll to the length needed.
I had three Lista cabinets with a total of 25 drawers to line, so I used up more than half of it. This size worked well for the Lista drawers since the drawers and material are the same width. I just had to cut the roll to the length needed.
mikemolzahn
Well-known member
When I was looking to foam my toolbox for a government contract I had applied for I searched on the web for a durable foam to put into the drawers and buy in a way to not have a lot of left over foam.... Believe it or not Snap-on with its varied sizes of sheets proved to be the cheapest source with the least amount of left overs. 
shocked me 
My War Wagon would have cost $1200 to foam....... Contract fell thru before I bought the foam
Mike
shocked me My War Wagon would have cost $1200 to foam....... Contract fell thru before I bought the foam
Mike
nissan_crawler
Well-known member
I just bought some plain white tough foam and cut it to fit. I got it from the yard store.
I use the gripper stuff made for keeping rugs from sliding on bare floors. It has a dry tacky feel - grips both to the tool box and tools. For hand boxes where tools tend to slide around, it saves a lot of finish wear. It's thin so no wasted capacity in your box. If it gets grungy, it's easy and cheap to replace. Comes in rolls, usually black. My wife didn't even mind that I used her purty light green ones in my Lumidor hand box, in fact she even cut them to fit for me!