Custom case on a budget.

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BigBL87 said:
So, here's my last 2 cases. The electric cut out tool, with the provided bit, cuts just about 3/4 of the way through the kaizen sheet when fully extended, if you wanted to you could adjust the depth shallower to fit your needs. I should have worn a mask (lots of foam dust, still coughing that crap out) but it definitely gave me a straighter, neater cut than the snap off blades, which work fine in their own right.

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No doubt. I did this one with one of the snap off blades that was long enough to cut all the way through. Definitely not clean like a factory cut, but functional.

Amazon put this Pelican 770V at $120 shipped. Couldn't resist at that price. It's a great case. I might try the electric carving knife next time. Impact in Pelican Vault V770.JPG
 
Walkalong said:
Amazon put this Pelican 770V at $120 shipped. Couldn't resist at that price. It's a great case. I might try the electric carving knife next time.View attachment 896759
Click to expand...

I did use a carving knife to cut out the insert, definitely faster than the snap off blade. If you're cutting all the way through, I'd definitely use a carving knife. If not, the cut out tool is pretty nifty.
 
So, zombie thread redux.

Thanks to my wife ordering a pair of shoes she didn't really need, I was able to wiggle a little extra hobby money and ordered this case, which I mentioned earlier, and another sheet of foam:

https://www.newark.com/duratool/22-24160/weatherproof-case-polymer-black/dp/83X6736

My gameplan is to try to go with a similar design to the first pistol case, but expanded to hold all of my pistols. With an extra 4.5" of width, I think it'll be absolutely doable. I'm also going to take alot more time mapping out the space needed and will probably make the slots narrower as most only need to be about 1.25" wide to fit the slides. Also going to be making a case for my new spotting scope, so should be quite a bit of practice.
 
I ended up ordering this case off of Evike (because my wife is awesome and sees how bored I am, haha) and am going to custom cut some leftover foam to make a case for my Savage Mark II FV. Only long gun I don't have a custom case for is my Mossberg 500, but that hasn't seen the range in almost 2 years and if I ever do haul it out I'll just use one of the cheap Plano rifle cases I have left over.

https://www.evike.com/products/74557/

Just to see if anyone has some better/more creative ideas for design, this is what I've mapped out. The handgun outlines are just generic ones for reference, but gives a general idea. The left most slot is for my P-07, which requires a wider cutout for the slide. All of the others SHOULD fit a 1.25" slide/barrel cut out. The handguns going in it are:

CZ P-07
CZ-75B
S&W M&P 22 Compact
S&W Shield
Springfield Loaded 1911
Taurus 65
S&W Model 15-3
Ruger LCP II

Case Design.jpg

Whichever slots have the revolvers will get a slight relief cut for the cylinders, which will be quick and easy to do. The rectangle on the upper right is a cutout for the LCP II, it will go there barrel down with the grip sticking out the same way I have my current Plano case set up. The grid is 1" squares for reference. I wouldn't mind adding one more slot in case I break down and buy a Ruger Wrangler 22 revolver, but not sure I have the room to work with. I could try widening the grip cutout section a little on each side and see if that gives me the space to add another slot. Anyway, if anyone can come up with a more efficient use of the space I have I'd love suggestions. One thing I am considering is seeing if the barrel slots can be sorter and put the LCP up top, giving me a little more side to side space. The revolvers are the worst offenders as far as length goes.
 
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Got the case from Newark. Thing is friggin' huge. I would have preferred less height but for the width and length I wanted it was my only option. Here's it with my Plano AW case for comparison.

20200420_181913.jpg
 
So, I guess this thread has diverged from being long gun specific, but here is a 3D mockup that I was able to make with MyCaseBuilder's design tool. HIGHLY recommend using it if you ever try an insert like this. I'd prefer to have one more slot in case I add another handgun (likely a Ruger Wrangler at this point if I do), but I'm thinking if I do I can add another slot like the one on the top right the one for my LCP II, and use that for my Shield. That's what I did with the Plano case and it worked pretty well.

Case Mockup 3D.jpg
 
Here's the case for my Mark II. I wouldn't abuse it by any means, there is not much foam between the top of the scope and the inside of the case. About another inch of height would have been better, but I worked with what I had available. Definitely sufficient for driving out to the range and back. I do have enough extra foam that I may try to rearrange it and see if I can get more foam protecting the top if the scope, but no rush on that since I still have the scope case and pistol case on the docket.

20200429_175037.jpg
 
Armored farmer said:
I see this thread is about a year old now, is anyone still watching?

I am interested in building a discreet case for one of my pistols.
The depth of foam needs to be 3.5" thick at the most.
24x16x3.5

@Rembrandt do you recall where you got the white foam?

The charcoal case club material isn't cheap!
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I haven't seen the foam I use (kaizen, polyethylene, etc.) thicker than 57mm. What I'd do, personally, is use a 57mm (2.25") kaizen sheet and a 30mm (1.125") sheet stacked and adhered together with a foam adhesive. That gets you close enough to 3.5" that it should work.
 
Armored farmer said:
I ordered foam this am from:
https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/

It was the cheapest I could find, still over $50!
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Ya, I've ordered from probably 4 or 5 different places over the times I've bought foam. The kaizen in particular seems to come and go at different sites and the price really varies, the shipping is usually what gets you. I've bought from eBay, Newegg, HomeDepot off the top of my head. I strongly prefer kaizen as long as the size works as it means I don't have to cut all the way through like standard foam.

The last time I ordered standard foam, though, this is what I ordered:

https://www.foambymail.com/PE2-_1/polyethylene-foam-sheets-2-2lb.html

Can't remember which project it was for to save my life... one of my 52 inch cases I assume based on the size available... maybe for my Savage Axis? Anyway, price was reasonable and a little less than the stuff from CaseClub.
 
Same goes for me, meh. I used the closed cell foam from a packing crate from some new lab equipment. I think hot wire is the way to go as a knife is way too much effort, but I can't justify the cost since I rarely need to do this kind of project.
Bartojc said:
Looks better than any cutouts I’ve done . Mine look like a 5 year old did it with a dull pocket knife. Functions ok so I don’t worry.
Jeff
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Pelican Case Customization 210425 316.jpg
 
Nature Boy said:
@Bartojc

You motivated me to try this myself so I ordered the foam from Amazon and whacked it up to fit my Browning BLR. I used an electric carving knife, bread knife and xacto. I’m pretty happy with it.

View attachment 893950

It also motivated me to clean up my workbench in order to have enough room so thanks for that as well :thumbdown:

View attachment 893951
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Do you have a link to the foam you used?
 
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