Looks good - nice job.

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on LinkedInShare on Pinterest

Great stuff

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on LinkedInShare on Pinterest

Instead of laying fabric loose over foam, I found a way to create a cloth MOLDED TO FIT insert thats soft, light, and perfectly fitted.  See this photo from a 22cal DW forum photo thread. 

See how the pistol is sunk into the cloth?  Its actually a molded tight fit.  No chance anything will move around inside this case when its closed no matter how much you shake it. 

What you will be doing is placing your components on the bottom of a box, leveling them, covering them with a cloth of your choice then pouring expanding foam over the cloth and sealing it up.  As the foam expands and presses the cloth down around the gun, it molds and sets solid leaving a form fitted cloth base.  It takes a couple trials to get the hang of it.

How?

1. You will need some 2-part foam.    Look on the internet for FROTH-PAK in the small size – they are about %50 to $80 but enough to do 3 or 4 cases.  For a practice run, I recommend using cheap one part spray foam from your local hardwar store, but this will loosen up and shrink over time so its not a good permanent solution.
2. Make a 2x4 frame with the same inside dimensions as your breifcase of choice.  Use screws you can remove from the outside later.  Use fillers, corner stock or tape to round the corners if needed but make sure its as identical as possible to the outline of the case interior.  Slightly larger is better (1/4" or so) to create a tight fit.  Otherwise you will be glueing the finished insert into your case.
3. Get a piece of blue or pink styrofoam that is bigger than your frame.  Lay it on the floor.  Arrange your gun and parts on the styrofoam in a reversed/mirror image of the final layout.  (Picture the pink foam sitting on TOP of your gun in the finished pistol-pak, even though we are working upside down for now.) 
4. Now scratch some fine marks in the foam to outline the components.  Now you will need to hammer down the foam (or pluck, pick, knife it away) to get the parts to sit level on the foam.  Doesnt have to be pretty, because this wont show up in the final product.  In other words, for the pistol body to float level end to end, the cylinder will have to sink completely into the pink styrofoam.  Use clay blobs underneath parts if you need to raise portions so they are sunk deeper into the final fabric. 
5. Once the depth is OK, use masking tape to secure the parts from moving on the flat styro board.  Keep the tape tucked in around parts tightly at 90 angles so the cloth can tuck around the parts close.  The tape lines will not show in the final product.
6. Now place the frame down on the board with all the parts in place like we are going to do a plaster cast of your gun.
7. PRECAUTIONARY: Use SARAN WRAP to wrap any parts if you are concerned about chemicals, moisture, or wet foam bleeding through the cloth onto your gun.  Polyurethane is impossible to remove so be careful here, especially with wood stocks.  Keep it tightly taped to maintain profiles and details in the final molding.  
8. Cut your cloth to fit inside the frame with plenty extra to go up and over the sides.    FINISH SIDE DOWN against the gun, lay the cloth inside and gently tuck the cloth around the parts.  Use a pen or stick to concentrate on the corners and tight spots.  Get it as well fitted around the gun and frame corners as possible with slack wherever possible.  This is where picking a cloth with some stretch works wonders.  The stiffer the material, the more wrinkles you will have, but they lend their own character.  I used blue velvet on mine which doesnt stretch much at all and it looks pretty nice. 
9. You should now be looking at the backside of the cloth inside our "box" draping up and over the sides with your gun at the bottom UNDERNEATH the cloth, nicely outlined like a tucked-in bedtime toddler.  DO NOT anchor the cloth at the sides, so it can freely pull deeper inside as the foam expands.
10. Now get a piece of wood that can cover the top of the frame and support some weight.  Get some newspaper and cover the floor if you care about spillage.  Set aside one sheet of newspaper.  We will be foaming the inside, then covering it with paper, covering that with the lid, and weighting the lid so the foam can press down on the fabric around the gun parts as it expands.  Get about 20-30 lbs of weight, a bucket of sand, bag of softener salt, whatever.
11. Now apply the foam.  No matter what type you are using, you must squirt within 1/2" of the fabric to ensure the stuff contacts crevaces, pockets, and inside corners and angles around the gun - without leaving gaps, bridges or air pockets underneath.  Keep the nozzle IN the foam, not over it.  Go back and forth until you get one complete layer on the bottom.  Then quickly add foam over that to fill almost even with the top.  Quickly drape a newspaper sheet on the top as a sacrificial release barrier so the foam doesnt attach to the weighted cover.  Cover and wieght it quickly and do not disturb.  If you are using two part foam, this process has to be done rediculously fast, but it will be cured in about 10 minutes flat (and gets real hot).  You will surely be throwing away some practice peices but they will show you areas to be improved.  I cannot stress how fast you must be for 2-part foam.
12. Single part foam takes at least overnight sometimes days to cure when its this thick.  You should spray bottle a light mist of water in between layers of single part foam to help it do its humidity-activated cure.
13. Once dry carefully take everything apart.  Pry around the edges with a putty knife or unscrew the frame.  Trim the excess cloth and paper away.  Remove from frame and fit into your case.  You may have to press and crush some corners down if you did too good a job making it too tight for the gun.

That's it.  I only wish the foam was cheaper.

Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on LinkedInShare on Pinterest