I have been eying this big black storage case at Bunnings Hardware that looks perfect for transporting my LX90 to and from Dark Sites. Some of you may have seen it. It has a detachable lid with four yellow locks. Handles on the left and right. My only concern is lifting it with the LX90 in there.
This one from Stanley tools looks much nicer, however I have not found it in Australia. I have found smaller versions but not this big beast. http://www.stanleytools.com/default....Mobile+Job+Box
Perhaps someone knows where to get one in Australia and can tell me.
Either way what I need is Foam suitable for Telescope storage to go inside. What is the best source for this in Sydney? What particular type is suitable for optics? Approx how much should it cost? What type of glue should be used if any to fix the foam to the case? I have heard some glues can combine with the foam to produce gases that could be bad for the optics.
I have used both polystyrene and closed cell foam to line wooden boxes that I built for OTA’s and mounts. I now prefer closed cell foam. Closed cell foam is chemically blown so it does not absorb water like a sponge with its open pores.
In Brisbane I found a foam dealer who stocks different types of foam and ended up choosing the dense black version. 25mm thick for my mount and 10mm thick for my OTA.
The shop had a special glue (=expensive) that was formulated to prevent kids from glue sniffing and the owner suggested leaving the finished box open for a day or two just to make sure any lingering fumes from the glue evaporated.
In the end, I left the box outside, under the patio for over a week and I have not had any problems.
Good luck with the project.
Cheers
Dennis
PS – the next grade down from the high density black foam was a blue coloured foam that felt spongier between my fingers.
PPS – I used a very sharp retractable blade knife and a steel ruler to cut the foam.
There is a shop called "The Foam Booth" in Chatswood...on Penshurst street.
While they will cut foam to the size you need it (think rectangle)...I am not sure if they can do "fancy" cuts or not...I have used them to source foam for eyepiece cases etc. From memory, they are not particularly cheap but I got what I wanted when I wanted it...
As a fall back, you might call around to some of the Astro shops and see if they have any leftover foam laying around...you never know what might be laying in one their back corners.
They sell a wide range of foam and closed cell foam. IIRC, the closed cell foam is of 2 types:
EVA and PEVA (I think?).
One is tougher and in the higher densities, is used as body armour.
The other is more suited to absorbing shock.
Both are resistant to oils, chemicals, etc and do not absorb water.
I purchased a sheet of 1m x 1.5 m x 10mm of the tough one for my mount box and IIRC it cost me around $50. I would imagine you should be able to source this stuff locally?
Cheers
Dennis
Last edited by Dennis; 16-05-2007 at 06:26 AM.
Reason: Fixed typo
Thanks guys, I was thinking of taking in the Foam cuts from the original box to see if they could cut out a similar shape.
I also did a search through the threads and heard someone mention Clark Rubber , as a source I wonder if thats right name. The name sounds familiar to me but I thought they were a shoe maker.
I also did a search through the threads and heard someone mention Clark Rubber , as a source I wonder if thats right name. The name sounds familiar to me but I thought they were a shoe maker.
Regards
Clark Rubber does stock camera foam which is the black, high density open cell stuff.
They have it in varying thicknesses from 25mm to 100mm and can cut to size but only straight cuts.
I bought some recently to line a couple of cases. It cuts well with a sharp knife or foam cutter or an electric (heat) foam cutter.
Smersh, I just had the same realisation today. I had a box for work 45x45x60 that would not fit in my boot. The stanley box's are 37" = 93cm x ~45cm x ~45cm. But it fits in the back seat.
In sydney, for small amounts, Clark rubber and Foam Booth have the right foam, but rather expensive. I was looking at the same problem myself, found a mob called Adfoam who sell the stuff in sheets more or less 2m x 2m and 5cm thick for around $100, which works out cheaper per cubic foot by a substantial amount. I just received some samples from them today(extremely fast delivery) They are at 9 Ford St, Greenacre, phone (02)9742 6900. They also sell 300 litre bags of offcuts for about $15, the ultimate el-cheapo way around packaging.Hope this is of some use.
On Cloudy nights there was a discussion recently about polyurethane based foams releasing a destructive gas that damages lens coatings. Apparently polyethylene is more benign as a material and has long been preferred for camera cases.
I went into Clark Rubber at Erina today to try to source some polyethylene foam, and they looked at me as if I was from Mars. They had some of the thicker heavier camera case foam, and it was about $25 per square foot, which seemed rather too much to me, compared with other options. They had no clue what the foam was made from.
I also went to Camera House at Erina, and they can order in foam from Pelican for the Pelican size cases. I am waiting for a pricing, but expect it will be rather excessive, given that the size case I have would cost about $350 new.
Polyurethane foam does oxidise - just leave a piece of the yellow foam from Clark Rubber in the sun for few weeks and it turns brown. I assume the black camera foam would do this as well but it's a bit difficult to see.
I have a stack of this black foam and some unused boxes that I was intending to use for eyepieces etc. I thought about using the closed cell polyethylene foam but had trouble tracking down a retail source.
I bit of browsing turned up http://adfoam.com.au Besides signs, they also make foam packaging and inserts. They also sell Pelican and Storm cases. [Doh! just noticed this in a previous posting in this thread]
Last edited by snowyskiesau; 02-01-2008 at 03:00 PM.
Reason: Added text,
perfect for transporting my LX90 to and from Dark Sites.
Hi Netwolf,
FWIW, I made a plywood box for my 8" LX90 with wheels and a handle so I don't have to pick it up. Check out these photos. The cross braces are lined with 6mm thick dense black foam from Clark Rubber that's glued to the plywood. She's snug as a bug in there. The .pdf is a cad drawing.
Nice one Dave
I have a sheet of 12mm ply and some spare time so I might get stuck into making a case for my ED80. Still have the original fibre board case on my Celestron 8 so it might be a candidate for a new box as well.
Just need to work out how heavy the boxes will be.
Make sure you check this first
