I'd like to make foam toolbox inserts, the kind where each tool has a foam
pocket shaped to fit the tool. Usually, that would be made with a scalpel, foam,
and patience, or foam precut into little cubes.

I am looking for a shortcut, and have come up with following idea: place the
tools on a flat surface, cover with plastic sheeting, possibly pull it close
using a vacuum, box sides suitably, and spray with expanding foam. Let harden,
even the top side, flip over, trim any undercut and remove tools. Possibly cover
nasty yellow crumbly foam with pretty felt. (A similar method is used for custom
packaging:
http://www.sealedair.com/eu/en/products/protective/instapak/instapak.html).

It sounds cheap, easy, simple and effective.

However, from own experience (and reading about canoes), polyurethane foam can
be nasty stuff...

Does anyone see downsides to this, aside from the hell of picking and scraping
polyurethane foam off the tools should the plastic sheet break? Any
improvements, caveats, better ideas?


Thomas Prufer