After a quite extensive search, I have found a case that I am happy with.  I wanted something as compact as possible.  I found this ADG shotgun case at Academy.  Its outside dimensions are 36"x11.5".  The only thing I did not like about it was the foam.  It had the egg-crate on top and bottom which worked just fine with my upper and lower only but not everything else I wanted in my case.  The search for new foam was on.

I looked around and was about to order some foam online when I spotted some used sleeping mats at a surplus store for $5 each.  After measuring them, I found that I could get four pieces out of one mat.  I bought two (actually three...you can never have too many mats) and cut them into case-sized pieces.  

I glued three together and made my cuts for everything that I wanted three layers deep.  I then glued on the 4th layer and made cuts for a few more pieces.  I tried to use a jig saw with a smooth knife blade for the cuts but found that simply using a slide blade did a better job.  I just had to make sure I held the blade perpendicular to the foam.  

I did botch a couple of cuts that you can see in the pics.  After putting everything together and installing in the case, I found that the cutouts for the mags needed to be one layer deeper.  Those cuts were not as smooth as the others because I tried to cut them without removing the foam from the case.  I also found that any snags in the foam could be burned back with a lighter to look a little better.

Enough talk...on with the pics.

The outside of the case (36x11.5)...


Everything in place...


A few more angles...




Empty case...

Good job. It really looks nice

how much for the case? You have a link to where I can buy one?

looking good.

Quoted: how much for the case? You have a link to where I can buy one?

IIRC the case was around $55-$60 at Academy.  It is made by ADG but I saw a case in a new Cheaper Than Dirt catalog that looked a whole lot like this one.  It appeared that in place of the ADG logo there was a CTD  logo.  The one in the CTD catalog was the same dimensions and about the same price.

Well done. However, it still looks like the mags are a little high comparative to the weapon and rest of your gear. Fit is secure?

Well done. However, it still looks like the mags are a little high comparative to the weapon and rest of your gear. Fit is secure?

Quoted: Well done. However, it still looks like the mags are a little high comparative to the weapon and rest of your gear. Fit is secure?

Fit is very secure...the egg-crate foam on the top collapses to snug everything into its hole.  It is not closed-cell like the bottom.  I am tempted to replace the foam in the lid with the sleep mat but for now it will stay as is.

That is really professional looking.

That's hawt.

bjwar10,

  What did you use to cut the foam? Hot wire cutter or what? Thanks

Using a GI sleeping mat is genius.
It looks damn good.

Quoted: bjwar10,   What did you use to cut the foam? Hot wire cutter or what? Thanks

I simply used a slide blade.  I did go through several blades though...when I found that I was having to use a sawing motion or the blade would snag a little I replaced the blade.  The most difficult part was trying to keep the blade perpendicular to the foam.

I tried a jig saw with a smooth knife blade but was not getting a very good cut.

Quoted: Using a GI sleeping mat is genius. It looks damn good.

Thank you sir...

looks great, might be lookin into doin the same thing i think.  great thinkin

What did you use for glue? Brand/Type? did it cure completely or is it still tacky between layers? Would hate to get it all over my gear.


~Ken

Good job

Quoted: What did you use for glue? Brand/Type? did it cure completely or is it still tacky between layers? Would hate to get it all over my gear. ~Ken

I used 3M spray adhesive from Michael's (IIRC).  It does remain a little tacky if the layers are pulled apart.  That is why I cut and glued the layers in the order that I did.  

Everything in the case is at least 3 layers deep so first I glued the top three layers together.  I then put my stencils for anything that would only be three layers deep on to the foam (I used straight pins to hold the stencils in place) and cut it through all three layers.  I then sprayed the bottom of the 3rd layer and attatched it to the 4th layer.  Since I did not spray the entire 4th layer, the adhesive was only going to be in the areas that were covered by the 3rd (boy, this is getting confusing...kind of hard to explain.).  I then put the stencils for the items that were 4 layers deep on to the foam and cut them through all 4 layers.  I did not glue the 4th layer to the bottom piece...friction is doing a fine job of holding it in place.

Like Mfinger said in his tutorial...plan, plan, plan.  I spent several days moving the stencils around until I finally decided on the layout and then another couple of days thinking about how I could cut the foam so I would not have to deal with the adhesive, etc.

One thing to note about the mats...they want to continually try to roll back up.  After cutting the pieces to size, I put them on my workbench for several days with a couple of 2x8 boards on them with a tool box sitting on them.  I also made sure that when I glued the layers together I turned them so that they were trying to roll into each other...what I mean by that.  The top piece was turned so that the ends would try to curl down.  The next piece was turned so the ends would try to curl up.  Thus, the two pieces would push against each other and stay flat.  After gluing, I put the boards and tool box back on the foam and let it sit overnight.

Sleeping mat for case foam, very good idea, I would have never thought if that.  Glad you thought of it for me.

Quoted: Sleeping mat for case foam, very good idea, I would have never thought if that.  Glad you thought of it for me.

Always glad to help.

i'm a big fan of do-it-yourself.that is the best do-it-yourself job i've seen.looks like it was cut by a machine!

wow great job

Looks greatheadbang.gif

Quoted: Quoted: how much for the case? You have a link to where I can buy one? IIRC the case was around $55-$60 at Academy.  It is made by ADG but I saw a case in a new Cheaper Than Dirt catalog that looked a whole lot like this one.  It appeared that in place of the ADG logo there was a CTD  logo.  The one in the CTD catalog was the same dimensions and about the same price.

I bought the CTD case, and you are right.  It is the ADG case.  The tag on it says ADG Sports, but the logo in the middle is Cheaper than Dirt.  Its a nice case for the price.