Where to get tool box shadowed?

[B18c_tuner]

I'm looking for some one local to have my tool box shadowed. So who would you guys recommend here in southern Cali?

 

[ADSR]

you don't want to do it yourself? I'm sure it's not going to be cheap having someone else do it. They're going to ask you how you'd want your tools laid out anyways. You might as well do it.

 

[kustom53]

Snap-On dealers will do it if they have access to the shadow box...do it yourself though and make sure you're happy with the way the tools are laid out! I think my Snappie guy said it was 100-150 bucks a drawer...100-150 reasons why I spent an afternoon in my garage with a razor blade, pencils, and a few different colors of Styrofoam.

 

[chipper]

I got to tell ya I've done a few drawers of mine its not fun and its time consuming so that equals big bucks in my mind if i were you i would do it myself its not hard it just takes time

 

[ADSR]

Snap-On dealers will do it if they have access to the shadow box...do it yourself though and make sure you're happy with the way the tools are laid out! I think my Snappie guy said it was 100-150 bucks a drawer...100-150 reasons why I spent an afternoon in my garage with a razor blade, pencils, and a few different colors of Styrofoam.

Holy ****! That's a whole new business idea right there. **** it up and do one box of 10 to 15 drawers a day and you'd be laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[SteveCh]

Actually, someone who will pay a hundred bucks per drawer (or a hundred fifty) has way too much money to care what it costs.

 

[Sick Puppy]

I'll do it for $75 a box lol

(oh wait, I'm in Australia )

 

[rslaback]

I'm thinking that there is a job opportunity here for someone who has access to a cnc router and enough 3d cad experience to model up some different tools and developing a library. After that it would simply be laying out the drawers from premade models from the library and then cutting.

 

[gagreen]

foamforyou.com will waterjet foam for you if you buy it from them and they have about the best prices on foam

 

[ckblum]

Finding the foam is the hardest part. The company I work for wanted us to shadow our tools, they just kept buying 1" think light blue polyethylene (PE) foam. I had a hard time finding it myself, most places like Home Depot or Lowes don't carry it. PE foam is the stuff that's solvent, grease, oil and fuel resistant. The most common I see is light blue, white and turquoise, the ugliest colours you can match to a set of red and yellow handled tools.

I actually hated having it all shadowed. I had fun wasting time at work shadowing my box when we were slow, but once things picked up I found it's more irritating because you lose space, and end up wanting to move things around when you start working. Opening 3 different drawers to do one task when I would normally have all the tools fit in 1 drawer gets real old real fast.

 

[B18c_tuner]

I think I will go with foamforyou.com as far as the foam. But am still not sure exactly where to get the foam cut. I figured since I'm spending money for the foam might as well get it professionally cut for a proper look. I've looked into methods of doing it myself but I find it would be a waste of money if I couldn't get the tools to fit/ sit properly in place. As far as the box I'm using, it's just a cheap cantilever box. So the cost would be small for sure. As far as space goes I'm planning on putting just your absolute basic tools so space is not an issue.

 

[ADSR]

I think I will go with foamforyou.com as far as the foam. But am still not sure exactly where to get the foam cut. I figured since I'm spending money for the foam might as well get it professionally cut for a proper look. I've looked into methods of doing it myself but I find it would be a waste of money if I couldn't get the tools to fit/ sit properly in place. As far as the box I'm using, it's just a cheap cantilever box. So the cost would be small for sure. As far as space goes I'm planning on putting just your absolute basic tools so space is not an issue.

Make sure to post the pictures on here, bud!

 

[Gotmayhem]

Mind if I ask why you're shadowing? I know some jobs require it but some people do it for their own purposes as well.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

big waste of space

 

[R.Anderson]

What a waste of money, time, and space I think. I also dont have the space and time and just can not justify spending that amount per drawer. Rather put that money forward better tools.

I have seen some people use 1/4" plywood and 3/4" to shadow there tools looked sharp.

Second rslaback thinking on a good business oportunity with a cnc machine.

 

[B18c_tuner]

Mind if I ask why you're shadowing? I know some jobs require it but some people do it for their own purposes as well.

Plain and simple. I have the money to do it. And I can care less what people think on waste of space, waste of money, etc. The bottom line is I'm gonna be using it and no one else on this board will. As far as better tools, Snap-on is the best as far as USA made tools are concerned. But thanks for the info guys.

 

[Chamkila]

DONT DO IT YOURSELF, YOU WILL FAIL, AS I HAVE MULTIPLE TIMES.

but then again you might have more patience then me. Good luck, you can search using my name and see how miserably i failed

 

[ckblum]

That's funny, I'd say do it yourself instead of paying big bucks for someone else to use a computer.

It worked out just fine for us, I just got sick of reshadowing drawers whenever I got new tools (I'm still an apprentice so my collection grows often), or reshadowing for a better layout. In reality you need a real big box to shadow everything where you want it with no limits on how much fits in which drawer.

They do make the foam in different colours, I was told the colours indicate the density. As for cutting it out, if you are good with your hands (assuming you would be since you're on a shop orientated forum) just use a small blade exacto, or if you want you can use a router if you don't mind the mess.

This really isn't rocket science, it's when people start putting 3 digit prices on this that it gets ridiculous. Even more so if these are home tools.

 

[SteveCh]

One of the mechanics at my airplane partner's shop showed me his new tool chest and how he had shadowed it, if that's the correct term. He had use this foam that you can tear out these small pieces, cylindrical pieces about the size of a spaghetti noodle. Or perhaps smaller, it's been a year or so. You would lay the tool on the foam and outline it with marker pen [or he did], then lift the tool and carefully pull the fibers withing the outline. It looked as if the foam had been cut, it was very clean. It also looked crazily time-consuming. No idea what it was, I assumed [being a shade-tree DIY sort of mechanic] that it was some common foam everyone else knew of. But there didn't seem to be any cutting of foam involved. He bought it from the tool truck guy.

 

[B18c_tuner]

One of the mechanics at my airplane partner's shop showed me his new tool chest and how he had shadowed it, if that's the correct term. He had use this foam that you can tear out these small pieces, cylindrical pieces about the size of a spaghetti noodle. Or perhaps smaller, it's been a year or so. You would lay the tool on the foam and outline it with marker pen [or he did], then lift the tool and carefully pull the fibers withing the outline. It looked as if the foam had been cut, it was very clean. It also looked crazily time-consuming. No idea what it was, I assumed [being a shade-tree DIY sort of mechanic] that it was some common foam everyone else knew of. But there didn't seem to be any cutting of foam involved. He bought it from the tool truck guy.

This sounds like a very good alternative. If anyone can shed more light on this type of foam it would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking for the clean cut look.

 

[gagreen]

Foamforyou.com will cut it for you. I dont know the process but they can work off a cad file or .... They email quick and are helpful. You can do it yourself pretty easily if you take your time and keep sharpening your knife. Don't use a razor or hobby knife. You'll burn em up and they leave a jagged edge along the cut that is not appealing at all. Use a narrow knife with a sharp point and blade. You can get a paint pen and trace your tools or you can lay them out and just do an initial cut around them going all the way thru on the second pass. Keep the knife straight up and down so your angle doesn't change from one side to the other. I did my whole box this way and never had a panel I considered a fail. Time consuming, absolutely, worth it, most definitely. Nothing like knowing at a glance.

If you go with foam for you do a 6lb polythylene in 3/4 for cutting. Go with black and get a lighter foam in blue white or pink in 1/4 for the bottom gives a nice contrast. You can attach the cutout piece to the contrasting thin piece using a heat gun to melt the two together. Makes it really slick

Here is a little pic of mine I used the craftsman sheets and a knife to do mine



Just shoot an email to foamforyou and see what they need to cut it out before you get it. If that is too much of a hassle look around locally for someone with a laser or water jet machine. Lots of places have them and can help you out if you are willing to pay for their time and machine set up.

 

[B18c_tuner]

Thanks for the pics. Your shadow skills are great. I'm not sure if I can even do as good a job as you. But I will definitely send foamforyou.com an email regarding their cut service. Although I perfer to physically be there to set the tools on site before cutting the foam.

 

[R.Anderson]

Plain and simple. I have the money to do it. And I can care less what people think on waste of space, waste of money, etc. The bottom line is I'm gonna be using it and no one else on this board will. As far as better tools, Snap-on is the best as far as USA made tools are concerned. But thanks for the info guys.

I was talking about paying someone a 100-150 per drawer being a waste, I should of been more clear on that also with "better tools" I mean to say more good tools.

If I had the space and money I would go with their two tone and have it match the toolbox.
http://foamfittools.com/

snap-on may be the best but for the money in my opinion no not for me anyway, 6 piece standard screw driver set $80 on up .

 

[B18c_tuner]

Ok guys heres a small update. One of the foam companies I contacted sent me 2 samples today.

The one I will choose is the top foam (the one that will be "shadowed"). For the bottom I will be going with black foam from foamforyou in 3/4" thickness. As for which wood grain to choose let me know what you guys think (I'm leaning towards the lighter one myself since the box is black in color).

 

[urapnes]

Hey there, I have a CNC router and just the other night tried converted a photo of a screwdriver into a cut-program. Bottom line is that it worked. I used MDF, because that's what I had. PM me, I am in 91344. I am thinking of linex over wood as a more durable option.

Joel

 

[B18c_tuner]

Pm sent. Would it be possible to post up a pic of the prototype you came up with by any chance?

 

[James_B]

If I get a chance, I might try it on my own toolbox.

I have a Universal Laser Systems VersaLaser VLS 4.60 LASER engraver amongst my home workshop tools. Mine has a 24" x 18" work space, so it'll easily handle the size of inserts in my tool cabinet.

I suspect that if I aranged the tools on a matching size backing, and took a photograph of the layout, it shouldn't be difficult to transfer the data from the digital photograph to a cutting file for the LASER.

Option 2 would be to construct a simple vacuum table as large as the tool box insert, arrange the tools on the vacuum table and do a vacuum molding of the tool layout using thermoplastic sheeting.

 

[gagreen]

Thanks for the pics. Your shadow skills are great. I'm not sure if I can even do as good a job as you. But I will definitely send foamforyou.com an email regarding their cut service. Although I perfer to physically be there to set the tools on site before cutting the foam.

Hours and hours lol. I waited a few weeks just with the tools laid out on top till i found where I wanted them and took my time lol. I agree with being there to do the slight adjustments to make it just right.

Not to go off topic but your screen name made me feel like i should share an old eg I had

 

[gagreen]

If I get a chance, I might try it on my own toolbox.

I have a Universal Laser Systems VersaLaser VLS 4.60 LASER engraver amongst my home workshop tools. Mine has a 24" x 18" work space, so it'll easily handle the size of inserts in my tool cabinet.

I suspect that if I aranged the tools on a matching size backing, and took a photograph of the layout, it shouldn't be difficult to transfer the data from the digital photograph to a cutting file for the LASER.

Option 2 would be to construct a simple vacuum table as large as the tool box insert, arrange the tools on the vacuum table and do a vacuum molding of the tool layout using thermoplastic sheeting.

Laser it for sure if you got a laser. We used the laser engraver we had in the shop while I was in the air force to cut our foam. Among other things lol

 

[urapnes]

Here are some pics of the prototype.


Maybe 15 minutes of computer time and another 10 of cutting. Just playing around.

 

[urapnes]

My CNC will do 65" x 100" for those that are interested

 

[B18c_tuner]

The pictures aren't showing up for some reason.

 

[thaxboyd]

If you have a cheapo set of wrenches put them in the oven and then lay them where you want. They will melt in their profile then you can put your good wrenches in. You can also get a large soldering iron and melt away a traced profile. I used to work in aerospace assembly areas and that's what we used to do.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[urapnes]

the pictures aren't showing up for some reason.

 

[bhalv]

It can be done! http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167436