Making holes in foam rubber for tube storage?

[Cornelius]

I'm having too many tubes without a carton now, and i'm pondering on how to best make a storage 'rack' for them...

Foam rubber would be nice, but how does one make nice uniform holes for the tubes? A heated wire?

Any other ideas on how to make a storage for tubes that also makes it easy to keep a system?

[flood]

i use large plastic food cartons. i usually box up as much as i can, but the tubes in the cartons see practically no movement once they're in there. those are the tubes i have no immediate use for.

a heated wire, perhaps wrapped around/attached to a soldering iron, should do the trick though. exercise the appropriate caution though.

[Andy Le Blanc]

I use pick bins for bench spares by type (they pile up any way) New are kept in their
own storage to prevent breakage and sorted accordingly.

[Cornelius]

Yes, both plastic cartons and pick bins would be ok for seldom used tubes.

I was just down in my wood-workshop and drilled lots of 22mm holes; 1.25" deep, in a piece of 1.5" x 4" plank; 14" long. Ended up with 52 holes... It turned out to be working rather good, but i drilled the holes too close to each other, so the walls between the holes broke several places...

A bit more space, and a harder wood than pine, i think...

[Structo]

You can buy the generic white tube boxes from AES for about 10 cents a piece.
But I know what you are talking about.

At my church we had a SKB type case for the microphones.
It had the standard grey foam inside but it was pre-cut into approx 1" squares.
To fit something you just pulled out the appropriate amount of squares until you had a hole large enough to fit the object.

Here is a tube caddy, it is expensive but can give you an idea how to make one.

http://www.tubedepot.com/tubecube.html

[drhulsey]

...how does one make nice uniform holes for the tubes?

Cork borers work well in soft materials. They can be obtained from laboratory suppliers. If the foam has some stiffness, foerstner bits can be used.

[Cornelius]

I've made a simple storage with what i had, and i ended up with drilling holes in a piece of pine.
[img:800:600]http://mwlmf.net/albums/tubestorage/100_2872.sized.jpg[/img]
[img:800:600]http://mwlmf.net/albums/tubestorage/100_2871.sized.jpg[/img]

The wood-drillbits i used left a nice conical hole at the bottom of the bigger hole, leaving a perfect space for the tip of the tubes. That's why i've put them upside down.

Perfect for frequently used tubes on the workbench.

[jaysg]

We have a number of hand punches at work...well, hammer punches. You have to cut against a piece of Delrin or ABS so that nothing valuable gets cut.

[Ears]

I've used razor blades to cut foam to shape for custom guitar cases. Horrible process, I don't recommend it!
Suggest you ask those who sell you the foam for a better way.

[Structo]

If there is a local place that sells foam, (my town has the Foam Man) they may be able to custom cut the foam.
Not sure what they use. Maybe a hot wire cutter or some other method.

[selloutrr]

tubesandmore sells egg crate and cardboard for tube storage CHEAP!
like they ship bulk tubes in.

have you thought about pick apart foam like pelican cases use?

i've worked with foam a few times and unless you are set up to professionally cut it is almost always less desireable then you were hoping for... drill bits grab it and it's boogered up.. heat melts it and it stinks... razor blades... the best for thin but never great on thicker pieces as they compressed differently so as you cut the piece was never perfect. I guess it all comes down to how perfect it needs to be and what you are willing to invest. as long as the tube is protected it's a success!


The pine drilled plank was a crafty idea!

[Cornelius]

I've considered hole punches as an alternative, but unless one manages to compress the foam straight down before punching, the holes are going to be rather funny...

I also tried to put my solder-iron to a piece of foam rubber, and i'm NOT going that way...

For the time being, i'll stick to my plank. It actually works out rather nice... Not very stackable for storage though... If i make more planks, i'll consider stacking them with'band-hinges', like toolboxes have. Should work ok...

Ofcourse, polystyrene could work out nice for storage; it should be easier to make holes with a circular hot-wire or a hole-drill, depending on the density and construction of the polystyrene.

Thanks for the replies so far.

[jaysg]

We have a number of hand punches at work...well, hammer punches.

duh...they're called 'round hole arch punches'.
http://www.csosborne.com/nok14.htm

[Cornelius]

We have a number of hand punches at work...well, hammer punches.

duh...they're called 'round hole arch punches'.
http://www.csosborne.com/nok14.htm

Some time in history; the english language went straight west...

Now, they're a bit more than an arch, aren't they?!

Sorry, couldn't resist...