- Joined
- Feb 26, 2014
- Messages
- 229
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- 18
I've been trying to find a carrying case for a while now... My lasers have just been sitting in their bubble wrap envelopes they came in 
I went to the mall the other day and they had a cigar store. I walked past it once without even thinking. The second time I walked past it, I realized they would have boxes I could convert into a laser box! So I went in, asked where the used boxes were, and they guy ended up giving me one for FREE! And this is how the thought of a DIY box came to me.
The mentioned cigar store is called "The Tinder Box" and this particular one was in Durham, NC, but they have locations everywhere. Check their international site for a store locator: http://www.tinderboxinternational.com/index.htm
For those who just want to see the end result, look here. How I built it is below :yh:
Here's the box he gave me. I actually got to pick it out and I picked this one because of it's size... Seems just about perfect for 2 lasers, chargers, batteries, and safety goggles.
I took it home and got to work. Peeling off the labels didn't work out so well, so I got some 60 grit sand paper and got to work sanding it. After about 45 minutes with the power sander, here's the result:
The lid did come off, mainly because I sanded off the paper hinge (pathetic. lol). So I ran to Wal-Mart and got a 97 cent set of hinges for use with small boxes and such. The screws were too long for the box so I got the Dremel and had to grind them down. Also, the box is held together by staples, so I had to give it a little wood glue.
After the hinges were put on and all the wood glue dried, I hit it with some matte black spray paint.
Next, since I wanted to take advantage of my vinyl cutter in this project... I made some sweet decals for it!! A big "Adam's Lasers" on the top, beams on either side, and a warning label on the front. All made by me
After the decals went on I sprayed some gloss clear-coat to give it a nice gloss finish and protect the decals. It actually ended up hurting the decals... The stupid stuff dripped all over the "D" in danger
Anyways, I got over it, and started to work on the foam interior. I originally had NO CLUE what to use for the foam, and didn't want to pay the high prices for Pelican pick'n'pluck foam. So I went to the fabric/foam store down the road and all they had was 1" foam (too think since my box is exactly 2" and I wanted to have thin foam on the lid). However, I explained to the lady what I was doing (didn't mention high powered lasers) and she suggested headliner foam. She said it's the stuff they use for the interior ceiling in cars. They had all kinds of colors, with the grey foam backing. It looked like it was about a quarter-inch thick, and I thought maybe i could just layer it, so I got a yard (36x60") for around $8.
Next I started layering the foam. It took a while to cut each piece to fix exactly, and they still aren't perfect. But once I got the as close as they were gonna get, I hot-glued them down and stacked them up. I stacked them up until there was only room for one more, then I cut that last one and glued it to the lid.
1 layer of foam
3 layers of foam
Once I got all the layers stacked I started cutting holes for my lasers to fit in. This was much more difficult than I expected, but it ended up only taking about and hour and a half. I tried regular scissors, an Xacto knife, and sewing scissors... The sewing scissors (the pink ones in the picture) beat the others by a long shot. I did have to cut layer-by-layer so it looks pretty crappy up close but once the lasers are in there it looks alright. Cutting those holes is a lot harder than you would think
first 2 layers cut
test fitting
the sewing scissors
That's it - the box is done for now! I will be using the empty space on the left for my goggles when they come in. Hopefully they fit
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this ultra-long post with a massive amount of pictures. I love my new box
I have considered selling these... Of course if I sold them I'd use better craftsmanship and more attention to detail because I'm not gonna sell someone crap. I'm not for sure right now but if there is interest let me know :yh:
-Adam
I went to the mall the other day and they had a cigar store. I walked past it once without even thinking. The second time I walked past it, I realized they would have boxes I could convert into a laser box! So I went in, asked where the used boxes were, and they guy ended up giving me one for FREE! And this is how the thought of a DIY box came to me.
The mentioned cigar store is called "The Tinder Box" and this particular one was in Durham, NC, but they have locations everywhere. Check their international site for a store locator: http://www.tinderboxinternational.com/index.htm
For those who just want to see the end result, look here. How I built it is below :yh:
Here's the box he gave me. I actually got to pick it out and I picked this one because of it's size... Seems just about perfect for 2 lasers, chargers, batteries, and safety goggles.
I took it home and got to work. Peeling off the labels didn't work out so well, so I got some 60 grit sand paper and got to work sanding it. After about 45 minutes with the power sander, here's the result:
The lid did come off, mainly because I sanded off the paper hinge (pathetic. lol). So I ran to Wal-Mart and got a 97 cent set of hinges for use with small boxes and such. The screws were too long for the box so I got the Dremel and had to grind them down. Also, the box is held together by staples, so I had to give it a little wood glue.
After the hinges were put on and all the wood glue dried, I hit it with some matte black spray paint.
Next, since I wanted to take advantage of my vinyl cutter in this project... I made some sweet decals for it!! A big "Adam's Lasers" on the top, beams on either side, and a warning label on the front. All made by me
After the decals went on I sprayed some gloss clear-coat to give it a nice gloss finish and protect the decals. It actually ended up hurting the decals... The stupid stuff dripped all over the "D" in danger
Anyways, I got over it, and started to work on the foam interior. I originally had NO CLUE what to use for the foam, and didn't want to pay the high prices for Pelican pick'n'pluck foam. So I went to the fabric/foam store down the road and all they had was 1" foam (too think since my box is exactly 2" and I wanted to have thin foam on the lid). However, I explained to the lady what I was doing (didn't mention high powered lasers
) and she suggested headliner foam. She said it's the stuff they use for the interior ceiling in cars. They had all kinds of colors, with the grey foam backing. It looked like it was about a quarter-inch thick, and I thought maybe i could just layer it, so I got a yard (36x60") for around $8.
Next I started layering the foam. It took a while to cut each piece to fix exactly, and they still aren't perfect. But once I got the as close as they were gonna get, I hot-glued them down and stacked them up. I stacked them up until there was only room for one more, then I cut that last one and glued it to the lid.
1 layer of foam
3 layers of foam
Once I got all the layers stacked I started cutting holes for my lasers to fit in. This was much more difficult than I expected, but it ended up only taking about and hour and a half. I tried regular scissors, an Xacto knife, and sewing scissors... The sewing scissors (the pink ones in the picture) beat the others by a long shot. I did have to cut layer-by-layer so it looks pretty crappy up close but once the lasers are in there it looks alright. Cutting those holes is a lot harder than you would think
first 2 layers cut
test fitting
the sewing scissors
That's it - the box is done for now! I will be using the empty space on the left for my goggles when they come in. Hopefully they fit
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this ultra-long post with a massive amount of pictures. I love my new box
I have considered selling these... Of course if I sold them I'd use better craftsmanship and more attention to detail because I'm not gonna sell someone crap. I'm not for sure right now but if there is interest let me know :yh:
-Adam
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