Eyepiece case and Foam insert

[Striker]

I ended buying the aluminium Case from Bunnings....

I also found a place called Dyaman Foam who provide and cuts the foam to your exact specification....they have 50 different types of Foams and recommended the high grade and high density black/grey foam they use on Labs for delicate and expensive equpiment.....So I gave them a template of the configuration I wanted and it will be ready by Monday.....

Costing

Bunning Aluminium Case $25
Foam set up cost $30
Foam supplied and cut $12.50

All up it is costing me $67.50 but that is a custom foam cut case and I am very happy with the price.

They also mentioned if I need anymore of the exact same foam cut configuration their will be no set up costs just the $12.50 total....that is something that everyone else could take advantage off...

Buy a case from Bunnings + $12.50 and a little postage and you have a good quality eyepiece case......

I will post pictures once received early next week but the configuration I used is 5 x 2" eyepieces boxed and as many 1 1/4 eyepiece circles bolt cases they could fit in the room they had left...approx 4 or 5 1 1/4......

Just something to think about......$12.50 is a great price...thats both upper and lower foam panels......you would just have to live with my configuration, but you could always modify if not exact....No case would be a perfect fit especialy when you are still purchasing diff eyepieces.....

[ving]

i got my foam from clark rubber cut to size on the spot. I went for medium density with a high density top layer. works well :)

[Striker]

I went to clark rubber and they wanted to charge me a fortune..not only that they dont have the correct tools to cut nice circles and squares...was going to cost me more to go through clark rubber then to custom make...?

[Jimmy]

im doing the same for my etx70. i cant find hardcases anywhere. they are very expensive. where is this Dyamam place located?

[Striker]

Brisbane......

http://www.dyman.net.au/

But wait till I see the product and I will post pics...but all you need is a case from bunnings $25

[ving]

didnt cost me much at all... cant remember how much tho. I cut the holes myself tho. was easy enough :)

[Striker]

I have received my foam inserts for my eyepiece case....

I cant complain about the cost and the customer service at Dyman foams Brisbane.....they were terrific and for a small job and such a big company...I was surprised at the effort and service they all went to....

The only complaint I have.....and its not that big...is when they use the wire cutter they need an entrance and exit point on the foam.....they then glue this section together...the glueing could have been a bit neater.....I can see some glue residue on the face of the foam that could have been finished off a little better....but otherwise I am very happy with the cuts and the quality of the foam.

Here is a picture

In this case I can fit 5 x 2" eyepieces and 6 x 1 1/4 or alter a little and fit other access like filters and etc.....they gave me extra foam to use if I needed.....the foam is a tight fit so that is good aswell.

[iceman]

Very nice Tony!

[Striker]

Looks a bit empty......any nagler's donated to the Striker eyepiece fundraiser would be much appreciated.......lol

[frogman]

Ok Now what ?????

[frogman]

How the hell am i suposed to cut the holes in ? i have the correct size hole saw type bit but using it by hand it chews the foam not too badly bt i would rather a clean "cut"

[iceman]

I just use a cerrated knife from the kitchen.. it gets a bit jagged around the edges but I live with it :)

Where did you get the case + foam?

[frogman]

Foam from Erina UMMM clarke rubber

case is my sisters old beauty case. !!!! FREE !!!

[Striker]

They say to wet the foam and put it in the freezer...once frozen you can cut easily with nice edges.....

[frogman]

Too late .... cut a "cross" into the foam and started to pluck the foam away till i got the right fit hey it looks aweful but hey as long as it does the job !

This post has been edited by rumples riot. Please do not use that language again.

[Striker]

Frogtwat.....It looks like you need some more foam in the lid.......you dont want any gaps between the foam at all....

Just stick another piece behind either the lid or base foam...you need it tight.....

[frogman]

case with excess foam dosent look too bad eh ?

[acropolite]

Looks like a good idea guys, a word of warning however. Don't be too rough on the cases, despite looking very solid they're in fact a little on the flimsy side. I use them for my tech tools and manage to destroy them at the rate of one a year (but I still keep buying them). Don't under any circumstances sit on them, or put anything heavy on them. They don't like being run over either but that's another story....:face:

[atalas]

Hi all

I bought pluck foam from Clark Rubber !

Louie:D

[Striker]

Pluck is great...thats definately the way to go...its great...didn't think they sold pluck foam from Clark Rubber?

[rumples riot]

Nice case Tony, and good deal with the foam. Looking very neat.

[Striker]

ummmmmmmmmm....Paul...I have gone to a different case now....that's 2months old that pic...needed to update....lol....I have gone to pluck foam now....lol

I will post a pic once I get my 12mm Nagler.....

After having both types I must say I love the pluck foam.....

[atalas]

Hi Tony

No I din't either,but I thought I would look anyway and there it was!
can't remember how much it was .

Louie:cool:

[Vermin]

Another option that avoids the need to re-glue hotwire cuts is to get channels cut laterally like this:

[janoskiss]

That's one well stocked EP case Vermin!

[ballaratdragons]

Tom, what method did you use to cut the channels? or did you get it done somewhere?

[slice of heaven]

Silica gel to soak up moisture.
Nice tip!

[Vermin]

I got it done at a place a couple of doors up from my work. Quite cheap.

There are channels in the lid too, but they were a bit loose on the 1/4" eps so I turned it upside down. Fixed the problem.

I may be thinning my collection out a little depending on what I end up using in my new scope.

At the moment I'm not using the 5mm Radian, 20mm Plossl or big barlow at all with my refractor.

[RAJAH235]

FYI, Silica Gel is avail. FREE at any SHOE store. Go in & ask them to save some for you. You don't even have to supply a box.
ps. Don't leave it too long to pick up or you'll end up with tons of it.
The 'K Mart' guy got carried away & I got 3 shoe boxes full!
:P :D L.

[janoskiss]

I have a silica gel bag in my EP case (tackle box) too. Will not stop EPs fogging up, but good to know the moisture has somewhere else to go, if I happen to close the lid on a bunch of dewed up EPs.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~janosk/misc/epboxlq.jpg

[ballaratdragons]

Steve, Geoff gave me a great tip in PM once: Never close the lid on fogged or dewed EP's. It turns to mold and actually stains the glass!!!

Let them dry before shutting them in, even with the Gel.

[janoskiss]

Ken, I try to do that, but once I'm outside I don't want to come back in (ever), but when I do I'm half asleep and often forget to do the right thing.. (Then I wake up having nightmares about the cats crawling up the OTA and licking the mirror clean)

[ballaratdragons]

I leave the EP case lid slightly open (half inch) overnight to let them dry. In the morning I close it up.

[iceman]

Me neither.. i'll have to have a look there now..

Some good tips in this thread too now, with the gel.. will have to buy some new shoes to get some gel.. :) :lol:

[Brendan]

Small hint for those of you using silica gel.

that stuff has a finite life, but can be recharged.

To recharge place contents of package on a biscut tray in the oven set at about 100C and leave for about 24hours.

we do this in the lab I work in for our desicators, works like a treat.

might have to repackage the gel after or use lower temp for longer if you want to keep the paper sachet.

[[1ponders]]

Brnedan, can the silica gel be microwaved to save on the baking time? I'd certainly not be keen to leave an oven running overnight.

[slice of heaven]

Good tip hints and warnings for the silica gel and ep cases.

Seems like common knowledge for some.

Thanks guys
Slice

[Vermin]

Once the oven reaches the desired temp. and with door is closed, the heating element will only come on for very brief periods to maintain the temp.

Not sure about µwave ovens. High settings would probably crack the granules as the water rapidly evaporates. Low settings are just high power bursts with off times in between, but might be worth experimenting with.

Some granules come coloured with cobalt chloride that changes from pink when saturated with water to blue when dry.

[Striker]

You can buy Silica Gel on Ebay...its only a few dollars...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43479&item=7504401880&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=19303&item=7145754473&rd=1

I think I would prefer to buy new ones then leave the oven on for 24 hours just to re-use such a cheap item.....it would cost you more in electricity then to replace with new ones....but thats me...

[Brendan]

well ive not tried microwaving them but i think vermin has made a good point.

sounds like opportunity to try a little friday arvo experiment :D

[RAJAH235]

Mike, you don't have to buy shoes to get the Silica gel. Just ask the salesperson to put some aside for you.
To dry the Silica gel simply place in a normal oven that is still warm, and leave o/nite. Some of the bags have a 'polymer' coating on the inside as moisture proofing.
I would not recommend a microwave. You'll break/crack all the granules by heating it too quickly.
As vermin has said, the gel has a colour indicator.
Tony, I have lots here if you want to buy some. :confuse3:
Another source is, any Business Machine Co. eg; CANON,Ubix,Minolta, copier/fax/printer etc etc. They will have heaps of it lying around. HTH. :D L.

[ballaratdragons]

My dad uses the gel sacks to keep his leather tools in good condition. On sunny days he sticks the bags on the shed roof to dry them out. He puts them on the roof in the morning and brings them in after lunch.

Just on a side note: The hot shed roof trick will also recharge normal batteries (AA, C, D etc) to about 30-40% charge. Works about twice before the battery is finally dead flat!

[iceman]

I know Laurie, I was just kidding.. using it as a good excuse to buy some new shoes :)

[RAJAH235]

:o :D L.

[Striker]

I can get thousands...my wife works in a shoe store.......lol

But thanks Laurie......

[ving]

good for someone on a shoe-string budget then tony? ;)

[Striker]

I received my 12mm T4 Nagler today....here is my new eyepiece case with pluck foam.......with my 12mm, 17mm, 31mm, and 4x Powermate.

Still room for more accessories.....hmmmmmmm what's next to buy....ah yes a 2x Powermate.......lol

I love the pluck foam....

[iceman]

Posts deleted, you know why.

[ballaratdragons]

Yep! Just trying to keep you busy Mike.

Tony, try using safety pins to pin the gel packs to the lid half. That way when you open the case the packs lift up out of the way. Just a suggestion!

[Striker]

I asked my wife to bring home a few Silica Gel packs...their only small...but check out how many she got me...lol

I will take some to tonights meet incase anyone wants some..

I estimate she got me around 300 bags.

Btw..thanks Ken...I may do that.

[thomo]

I got the one from Radio Parts too...