Dense foam for rattle free organization?

[JB30]

In the process of building a custom box to hold all my plates, bowls, cutlery, etc.

The plan is to fill it with 3” foam of some kind and cut custom slots for everything.

Hoping for something denser than the type of foam used in pelican cases. Needs to be fairly dense / rigid to keep shape for all the cuts I’m intending..

Any suggestions?

 

[rayra]

You'll be losing a lot of storage volume to that.
Look at the semi-rigid open cell green foam used for flower arrangements. Not the closed cell water retaining crushable variant. The former type will hold its shape pretty well.

Another option is bubble wrap, or using towels you'd be taking anyway, or going with paper plates. Depending on your trash preferences.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Not clear to me why you want something denser than the Pelican-type stuff, but there are options. First, go to local upholstery supply and see what you can lay your hands on. The black foam like the Pelican stuff comes in various thicknesses, starting at maybe 1/8" or 1/4" and goes up to the thick stuff. Take a page from the old-school camera cases and build compartments from thin plywood or plastic sheet (get lexan or other 1/8" polycarbonate from a plastics wholesaler). Use something like 3M 77 spray adhesive to line the compartments with whatever foam thickness works for you. Or, you can go completely overboard and lay out your stuff in whatever space you are filling, wrap the stuff tightly in plastic shrink wrap or Saran Wrap and then foam everything into place with aerosol insulation foam from Home Depot. The foam will overflow the container, but don't touch it or mess with it until it cures. After cure, slice off the excess, pull your stuff out and unwrap it. then paint the foam with something like elastomeric house paint to seal everything and make it easy to hose out after trips. The foam-in-place is probably overkill, but it locks everything precisely in place and prevents any kind of movement. Used a lot for shipping fragile and/or expensive equipment.

 

[mrfoamy]

MrFoamy says: Keep it simple. Use bubble wrap.

 

[JB30]

Appreciate the replies. I know I’m wasting some space, but this is for a box that stows up against the ceiling of the Jeep when not in use, and then swings down 90’ so that it’s vertical - above the fridge. Basically acts as shelves when deployed.

So, a) it’s space that wasn’t being used anyway, b) I’m trying to rid my life of rattles, and c) call me crazy but I enjoy building / organizing stuff like this.

Basically it’s a take on tool chest foam organizers, but thicker. Was just having trouble sourcing the right stuff.

 

[Wilbah]

You might stop into Granger and see if this is stout enough...(or maybe something else they carry). I think upholstery places will have softer foam.

GRAINGER APPROVED Water-Resistant Closed Cell, Foam Sheet, Polyethylene, 1/2", 24", 18", Charcoal - 5GCR9|5GCR9 - Grainger

Looking for GRAINGER APPROVED Water-Resistant Closed Cell, Foam Sheet, Polyethylene, 1/2", 24", 18", Charcoal (5GCR9)? Grainger's got your back. Price $11.30. Easy online ordering and next-day delivery available with 24/7 expert product support.

m.grainger.com

 

[JB30]

Followed the trail of tool chest organization and found a product called Kaizen foam:

Kaizen Foam - FastCap

www.fastcap.com

Arrives in the next couple days, but looks like it’ll do the trick.