Great example of how NOT to do custom foam. Your local upholster/foam store will have foam sheets at most depths you need. Just trace them out and cut each layer instead of trying to hack up pick and pluck. If you really really must hack up pick and pluck then don't do it this way. Pull out big strips and cut them with a long utility knife in one slice. They will friction back in fine and if you need more support you can glue them.
Get a camping sleeping bag foam mattress and use a wood router to cut a custom foam insert for your MacBook. I did this and the foam is the perfect density to hold the laptop firmly. The foam can be cut to different depths for components to stack up. If you need them thicker you can use a heat gun to weld them together first.
take the foam out that will go underneath the laptop. stand it on its side and cut with a long knife. much easier. might have saved you a good deal of time. did this same thing for transporting my PS4.
I did something similar with hard foam for fitting into a case. For a little cleaner look just cut all the way through the foam, turn it over and put the thing you are fitting in and then lay the cutout back in it. Cut off anything that is sticking out higher than the surrounding foam, preferably with a knife that reaches from side to side and make sure you keep it level to not cut back into the outer foam. If you cut into the bottom it is not too big of a deal as it is not seen. For the drives just repeat. To keep it all together put something across the bottom that would stick to both like tape. Not sure what would stick well to this foam however I have seen where people have covered the foam with the rubber dip used for putting handles on things to make the foam more moister proof so it could work to link the cut pieces back together so it would not be possible for the bottom part to come out of the surrounding foam.
I run the same set up with a 17" MB Pro...have done for the last 3 years. I highly recommend the Lacie Rugged External...HDD's - flat & daisy chained under the laptop. I would avoid trimming with a knife like that... its messy. Pluck it all the way through. If you do it will leave 1-2cm of foam at the base which is plenty. Also, leave a cut-out (80% of laptop width) at the back for airflow and space around the drives as the gear heats up, and the fans will run when the lappy is hot.
You know you could just pull out the foam cubes that outline the laptop so you would be left with a smaller fully intact rectangle foam and the large "hollow" one as well.
Just to let you know, if you're concerned about carrying around your mac power cable, I got this product called a Quirky PowerCurl. It allows you to wind up your charger cables even with the extension. The best part is that it's really cheap! I just got it and it works great.
If you want to clean it up a little just go to a fabric store and buy some nice thin fabric that you like and cut it to fit the cutouts in the foam. Line the bottom of the laptop cutout with it. I'm sure either some fabric glue or even just a nice tuck job and this whole thing would look much better. Once you do that this would probably look excellent, since you then couldn't see the cut up foam at the bottom of the cutout. I have seen this done with the fabric to cover the bottom of a cutout and it looked really nice. As far as the case goes, in reality it can be a nice as you want if you could find a nice briefcase with the right dimensions you could go as nice as you want.
The proper way to cut the foam is "Hot Wire cutting". That way you get a nice clean even cut layer. Look at RC Airplane hot wire cutting that how I did mine. Looks professional.
As far as I know foams with 2 layers are technically not possible because the cutting knifes cannot come horizontal, only vertical. Otherwise the foam is been cut thru. The solution: Cut out the whole space. Cut from this foam two beams, flaten them to your desired measure of height and glue them left and right in the hole. Put the book onto it and you have space beneath (for example for your hard disk)
A MUCH EASIER WAY would be to cut the recess for the notebook from top surface to bottom surface of the pick and pluck foam leaving you with two large pieces of foam. Imagine a donut and a donut hole. Macbook Pro is 1" thick? Level the center portion of the foam (AKA donut hole) approx 2/3 of the thickness of the Macbook Pro. Now stuff the donut hole back into the donut with the untouched surface facing up. Repeat for the external HDD's by making a donut hole within a donut hole. Now you have a nice case and nice foam that's perfectly level.
Good packing for vital gear! BUT airlines allow you only one carry on and I'm guessing you'll take your camera bag with all its gear. Will you send your Pelican as checked luggage? What do you think of camera bags with a pocket for your laptop?
Ok the correct way. For example. Get a thin metal wire. Wrap it around 2 popsicle sticks. With a 2x4 piece of wood in the middle. Form a “H” shape. Connect a 9 VOLT BATTERY TO WITE. The foam will melt and cut evenly. Nice and clean cut.
In fact, we do not need to bag laptop only to protect the laptop .. Behind the laptop screen a large area can be exploited by the factory such as laptop pocket ( Case ) For easy transfer of laptops from one place to another.. and Behind laptop pocket ( Case ) containing: 1- Two Portable hard disk size 2tb 2- Power adapter 3-Internet modem
Its horses for courses. For some people a backpack is fine; for others a case like is the solution. I usually use a ThinkTank backpack with a pocket for a laptop, but its not always what I need.
This is the only disadvantages of the pelican cases. I was very disappointed when I saw that their cases don't have the cubes cut down in two layers. how haven't they thought of this??? beats me.
Hey Matt I would have just cut out the entire section needed & then gone to a craft store & to pick up an 1/2'' piece of foam for the bottom with holes for the HD's and the place the Laptop on top of that. But that's just me. LOL
lol sort of makes it look like a military launch computer is being carried around. the aluminum laptop is fine in a padded bag. wud prefer to use pelican case instead for lenses, dslrbody, or lights
So this solution is safe from static discharge or static electricity in general? i bought a chinese brand MIEJA pelican case for my MSI gt70 and carved it out pretty well.
lol when I saw you had a nude photo gallery I thought you meant nudes of yourself, I was horrified until I saw the photos , but good job on them, very good.
That’s how not to do it. a) cut the bottom out, slice like a piece of bread, and TURN UPSIDE DOWN. b) organise it so you can see at a glance if ALL the stuff is in there.
Don't you find that when trimming the foam, plenty of nasty, very fine foam dust gets everywhere - and this is bad news for laptops and photograpic gear that we traditionally store in this type of padded case? Is there a sure-fire way to remove it all, when trimming has been completed
If you don't, sometimes the MBPro's will have fans pumping, even in standby and it wouldn't take much to shut the lid, stow the bag, and unbeknown to you your laptop will be cooking itself. Hope that helps :)
laptop in backpack ok...but pelican cases is good for people who working in field my friend is geodesist he is one who show me peli fist time and iam archaeologist and this bags is savemoney machine when i dont know pelican cases in past every year my tech gear was death after 1 year now is np
I hope you're reading this comment. Check your volume peaks !!! it's horrible and really starting to piss me off. I'm using 100$ headphones and it's the same thing with other earphones so it isn't from my side.
This is a ludicrous approach. All you needed to do was to pluck out the foam all the way through, and then install a foam shim cut to the same dimensions as the opening, with your hard drive pockets cut in it (and a thin layer of foam, or even quality cardboard, over the drives). Not only clean, quick, and cheap, but also easily adjustable in the future. Now you have done a dirty, unprofessional job that took way too long, and isn't easily adjustable in the future. Additionally, there's no buffer between the drives and the bottom of the laptop. If the case takes a heavy knock from the wrong direction, the drives could easily slam into the bottom of the computer. Bad work all the way around; this video should be taken down.
he fact that you even remotely think that a shotgun wont penetrate that shows you don't live in USA lol.. any regular shotgun with bird shot (the weakest shot) will easily penetrate through both sides and many more.
Great example of how NOT to do custom foam. Your local upholster/foam store will have foam sheets at most depths you need. Just trace them out and cut each layer instead of trying to hack up pick and pluck. If you really really must hack up pick and pluck then don't do it this way. Pull out big strips and cut them with a long utility knife in one slice. They will friction back in fine and if you need more support you can glue them.
Get a camping sleeping bag foam mattress and use a wood router to cut a custom foam insert for your MacBook. I did this and the foam is the perfect density to hold the laptop firmly. The foam can be cut to different depths for components to stack up. If you need them thicker you can use a heat gun to weld them together first.
take the foam out that will go underneath the laptop.
stand it on its side and cut with a long knife.
much easier. might have saved you a good deal of time.
did this same thing for transporting my PS4.
I did something similar with hard foam for fitting into a case. For a little cleaner look just cut all the way through the foam, turn it over and put the thing you are fitting in and then lay the cutout back in it. Cut off anything that is sticking out higher than the surrounding foam, preferably with a knife that reaches from side to side and make sure you keep it level to not cut back into the outer foam. If you cut into the bottom it is not too big of a deal as it is not seen. For the drives just repeat. To keep it all together put something across the bottom that would stick to both like tape. Not sure what would stick well to this foam however I have seen where people have covered the foam with the rubber dip used for putting handles on things to make the foam more moister proof so it could work to link the cut pieces back together so it would not be possible for the bottom part to come out of the surrounding foam.
I run the same set up with a 17" MB Pro...have done for the last 3 years. I highly recommend the Lacie Rugged External...HDD's - flat & daisy chained under the laptop. I would avoid trimming with a knife like that... its messy. Pluck it all the way through. If you do it will leave 1-2cm of foam at the base which is plenty. Also, leave a cut-out (80% of laptop width) at the back for airflow and space around the drives as the gear heats up, and the fans will run when the lappy is hot.
Well done. Exactly the video I was looking for.
You know you could just pull out the foam cubes that outline the laptop so you would be left with a smaller fully intact rectangle foam and the large "hollow" one as well.
It hurts watching this video.
Just to let you know, if you're concerned about carrying around your mac power cable, I got this product called a Quirky PowerCurl. It allows you to wind up your charger cables even with the extension. The best part is that it's really cheap! I just got it and it works great.
If you want to clean it up a little just go to a fabric store and buy some nice thin fabric that you like and cut it to fit the cutouts in the foam. Line the bottom of the laptop cutout with it. I'm sure either some fabric glue or even just a nice tuck job and this whole thing would look much better. Once you do that this would probably look excellent, since you then couldn't see the cut up foam at the bottom of the cutout. I have seen this done with the fabric to cover the bottom of a cutout and it looked really nice. As far as the case goes, in reality it can be a nice as you want if you could find a nice briefcase with the right dimensions you could go as nice as you want.
Fantastic idea Matt! Had never thought of anything remotely like that as a case.. Kudos to you!
yes
working on that!
Great work Matt, I'll be trying your idea on my laptop bag since I'm having a lot of hard drives.
carry on
seriously the best thing i've ever done
The proper way to cut the foam is "Hot Wire cutting". That way you get a nice clean even cut layer. Look at RC Airplane hot wire cutting that how I did mine. Looks professional.
Thank you
As far as I know foams with 2 layers are technically not possible because the cutting knifes cannot come horizontal, only vertical. Otherwise the foam is been cut thru.
The solution: Cut out the whole space. Cut from this foam two beams, flaten them to your desired measure of height and glue them left and right in the hole. Put the book onto it and you have space beneath (for example for your hard disk)
@RLFoto2 all airlines I know allow one bag, one laptop, a ladies handbag, a book, and a camera!
Great job
A MUCH EASIER WAY would be to cut the recess for the notebook from top surface to bottom surface of the pick and pluck foam leaving you with two large pieces of foam. Imagine a donut and a donut hole. Macbook Pro is 1" thick? Level the center portion of the foam (AKA donut hole) approx 2/3 of the thickness of the Macbook Pro. Now stuff the donut hole back into the donut with the untouched surface facing up. Repeat for the external HDD's by making a donut hole within a donut hole. Now you have a nice case and nice foam that's perfectly level.
RECOMMENDED!
what about your cables for the portable hard drives ?
I just put mine in my Kata Bumblebee 222-UL....works fine...
What year is your Macbook and is it a PRO? I didn't see the black around the screen.
The company i work at uses pelican cases for shipping PDA's. Very, very durable cases.
Good packing for vital gear! BUT airlines allow you only one carry on and I'm guessing you'll take your camera bag with all its gear. Will you send your Pelican as checked luggage? What do you think of camera bags with a pocket for your laptop?
14:30 broke his hardwood floor
It's a plastic cover over his hardwood floor
Ok the correct way. For example. Get a thin metal wire. Wrap it around 2 popsicle sticks. With a 2x4 piece of wood in the middle. Form a “H” shape. Connect a 9 VOLT BATTERY TO WITE. The foam will melt and cut evenly. Nice and clean cut.
line it with copper mess also.
In fact, we do not need to bag laptop only to protect the laptop .. Behind the laptop screen a large area can be exploited by the factory such as laptop pocket ( Case ) For easy transfer of laptops from one place to another.. and Behind laptop pocket ( Case ) containing:
1- Two Portable hard disk size 2tb
2- Power adapter
3-Internet modem
Hi Matt. Question: did the laptop get hot in when running inside foam? It seems there is not much ventilation around the laptop.
so when you brought you computer to overseas, do you hand carry it or put it on baggage? just wondering..
Its horses for courses. For some people a backpack is fine; for others a case like is the solution. I usually use a ThinkTank backpack with a pocket for a laptop, but its not always what I need.
Must have a lot of patience to put those foams off.
This is the only disadvantages of the pelican cases. I was very disappointed when I saw that their cases don't have the cubes cut down in two layers. how haven't they thought of this??? beats me.
Hey Matt
I would have just cut out the entire section needed & then gone to a craft store & to pick up an 1/2'' piece of foam for the bottom with holes for the HD's and the place the Laptop on top of that.
But that's just me. LOL
ok, thought you would probably make foam inserts for a standard sized laptop etc. ;)
do you still use this pelican case on your trips or have you refined, redesigned how you transport your laptop and hdd's?
lol sort of makes it look like a military launch computer is being carried around. the aluminum laptop is fine in a padded bag. wud prefer to use pelican case instead for lenses, dslrbody, or lights
BTW, do you have any impressions to share, now that you have used this rig for a while?
Nice Drobo, are you happy with it?
if you're going to use such heavy duty carryin cases, why don't you have SSD's for your laptop?
don't use a cutter, the visual result in deeph is very dirty, just use your finger for separate the cubes !!!
Frédéric Munier But the foam isn't in cubes, but columns, so you can't separate part of the depth without a knife.
Peter Smyth buy a pelican case, then youd know what he was talking about
So you can have traveling backpack... DAT BIG...
@khalilmair yeah I do, often via mobile phone though
If i send you the foam can you cut it for me???
It's not hard you can just use a knife
He made a right fuck up of his foam dont waste your time
seriously?
is that a 17 inch macbook pro?
So this solution is safe from static discharge or static electricity in general? i bought a chinese brand MIEJA pelican case for my MSI gt70 and carved it out pretty well.
Great vid. Very nice showcase and explanation.
Can an Alienware R4 17" fit in ?
Google Photography Laptop Case (aka Pimp Your Laptop Case) to see Chase Jarvis Laptop setup
what's your laptop size?
your laptop is 17" ? or 15 " ?
Marc B looks 15inch.
Google "mycasebuilder". Factory cut, special foam.
is your laptop a 15 inch or 17 inch? I am looking for a case like this for a 17'' macbook pro
The case is only about 15 inches
? so, your laptop is a 13 inch?
Tim D Probably. But you can find a bigger case for your macbook.
lol when I saw you had a nude photo gallery I thought you meant nudes of yourself, I was horrified until I saw the photos , but good job on them, very good.
Or if you have a laptop with an Ssd you can just leave it in sleep mode without any worry
good equipment, good web, good images. Congrats, you are a pro.
why not have the hard drives sitting side by side. that way you'd be able to recess everything into the foam and carry everything.
@wamasakyy got it
Hmmm... Maybe if you carry your laptop on your backtap next to you on the plane?... That was just painfull to see.
That’s how not to do it. a) cut the bottom out, slice like a piece of bread, and TURN UPSIDE DOWN. b) organise it so you can see at a glance if ALL the stuff is in there.
What I was wondering is: "Why does it come in a box?" :O
a back up
Don't you find that when trimming the foam, plenty of nasty, very fine foam dust gets everywhere - and this is bad news for laptops and photograpic gear that we traditionally store in this type of padded case? Is there a sure-fire way to remove it all, when trimming has been completed
I like the idea somehow
But it looks very clumpsy unless you are on a mission to iraq or something and what about the heat?
That keyboard though...
+TheOrignalGuyAndrews on his desktop...looks super dingy and old. it was a respectful observation. that he still hasnt gotten rid of it.
That's a lot of crap to go through.
wow u will go south east asia ? where you will go ? south east asia has many good foods ! i love thai food and viet nam
they designed the two pieces of plastic wings on the charger for a reason....
whaaats your companys name??? :DD
Wow
@inouelenhatduy July, check the get your gear out page on ThatNikonGuy website for all the details
It is not a bag it is a case
If you don't, sometimes the MBPro's will have fans pumping, even in standby and it wouldn't take much to shut the lid, stow the bag, and unbeknown to you your laptop will be cooking itself. Hope that helps :)
its quite a shame they're getting rid of the 17 inch model.
It would suck to lose it, maybe buy an external hard drive
laptop in backpack ok...but pelican cases is good for people who working in field my friend is geodesist he is one who show me peli fist time and iam archaeologist and this bags is savemoney machine when i dont know pelican cases in past every year my tech gear was death after 1 year now is np
lol wats the essence of portability and mobility much better use common laptop bag
Too much!
Yikes, that was cringe. Did you cut through your floor too? McJebus!
Who leaves laptops on sleep while in case?
put some external batterys under it!!!
I hope you're reading this comment. Check your volume peaks !!! it's horrible and really starting to piss me off. I'm using 100$ headphones and it's the same thing with other earphones so it isn't from my side.
Are you really Rolf Harris's nephew?
sorry i would pay some skilled to do this
+lesmoor kelly Almost any polyethylene foam fabricator can do this for a decent cost.
This is a ludicrous approach. All you needed to do was to pluck out the foam all the way through, and then install a foam shim cut to the same dimensions as the opening, with your hard drive pockets cut in it (and a thin layer of foam, or even quality cardboard, over the drives). Not only clean, quick, and cheap, but also easily adjustable in the future. Now you have done a dirty, unprofessional job that took way too long, and isn't easily adjustable in the future. Additionally, there's no buffer between the drives and the bottom of the laptop. If the case takes a heavy knock from the wrong direction, the drives could easily slam into the bottom of the computer. Bad work all the way around; this video should be taken down.
Are you serious ??
What a mess
he fact that you even remotely think that a shotgun wont penetrate that shows you don't live in USA lol.. any regular shotgun with bird shot (the weakest shot) will easily penetrate through both sides and many more.
you don't need to use a knife, just use your fingers for a very very clean job AND it can be as fast if not faster.
….
Painful
Wow you really butchered what is a really easy thing to do.
what a mess.
You are obviously not a mac user
Terrible
In heaer