foam cylinder sources?

[tishkayaker]

Where can I purchase 1/2" foam cylinders? I have found a number of sources for precuut 1/4" foam cylinders but would like to find lengths of the material that I can cut to size. Any help in finding this stuff will be appreciated. Thanks!

[ducksterman]

One type of source would be backer rod ..from say Lowes or Home Depot...insulation area...it's usually gray.

[Eric-WD]

If you are using it for bass bugs poppers etc, you can purchase black round foam at the home depot or other home improvement stores.

It is used as buffer between different pours in concrete.

I'm not sure what it is called, it comes in different sizes

Eric

[Joe Billingsley]

Here's some at Feather Craft. Don't know the lengths, though.

http://www.feather-craft.com/wecs.ph...&target=172699

Joe

[CoachBob]

buy 5/8" closed cell foam sheets from softtiles.com
buy hollow punches from harborfreight.com

[Normand]

try searching some of the sponsors web sites. i know one of them has what youre looking for.

[Lotech]

It seems I've read somewhere about someone who took a leather punch and punched them out flip flops. Might work for your application as well. I think it may have been Jim Hatch.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/lighterside/part182.php

[CoachBob]

Rechecking the sites I mentioned (and you really can't beat this value anywhere):

Soft Tiles at http://softtiles.com/ has solid colored closed cell mats they describe as follows:
SoftTiles 2x2 Foam Mats are 2 foot x 2 foot 5/8" (4 sqft.) $5.80/Tile (1.45/sqft.)
SoftTiles 1x1 Foam Mats are 1 foot x 1 foot 5/8" (1 sqft.) $1.45/Tile (1.45/sqft.)
These are 5/8" thick and come in black, grey, white, brown, red yellow blue green.
They also have 1" two color tiles in red/blue, green/yellow and grey/black.
Now you do want to order a few to make shipping worthwhile.
You should get a large plug every square inch, so a 1x1 gives me about 80 poppers (because part of the size is lost to the interlocking edges and I always manage to mess up somewhere).

Harbor Freight at http://harborfreight.com/ has a 9 piece punch set in the following sizes: Sizes: 3/32", 1/8", 5/32", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2"
for $4.99.
If you're compulsive about using a drill they have a six piece set with a standard hex fitting for a drill in sizes: 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2" for $9.99.


Remember. Super Glue adheres closed cell foam to closed cell foam permanently and allows you to make layers of color.

When I figure out how to put photos on this site I'll show you.

[Bass_Bug]

Tish,

Some good advice here. The backer rod what Duck & Eric are describing is good for a number of reasons. It comes in several diameters (usable for flies and poppers) in lengths of 20 feet or so per package for about $5.
One BIG thing to keep in mind, is that you want closed cell foam, and NOT open cell foam. Open cell with absorb like a sponge, closed cell will not. If you use open and try to paint, you will have to coat with epoxy first to seal it, but still a good bit of that will be absorbed. This will lead to a a much heavier fly that you probably want. An advantage of 1 long strip of this is you can cut to fit, Or cut longer than needed to have more to hold on to then trim to size.

The foam mats Coach is referring is closed cell but it's a lot denser thus a lot heavier then the backer rod foam. As much as I like to find cheap materials in bulk like both these examples, sometimes the cost savings is not worth the trouble. Depending on the application, the middle ground is probably some of the packaged foam rods from fly supply catalogs.

Coach is on the right track for laying colors though. I've see Bee patterns made of the 'laminating' 3mm foam sheets in alternating layers of yellow and black, then punching out 'blanks to work with. A drawback to punching out blanks is the limiting depth of a punch no matter how thick the material.

As for the punches? I have the 'drill' version like Coach pointed out. Mine was bought as a plug cutter meant really for a drill press. Even though I do a little woodworking, I bought the plug cutters just for making foam bodies.

Now for my preference. A friend (from a now defunct fly fishing message board and a member here now as well) turned me on to a urethane foam product use by sign making shops. This is a rigid shapable foam (same stuff used in rigid insulation) that can be shaped with sandpaper, or as he likes, simple scotch pads. Look for it at home centers. Better yet look for broken or damaged pieces marked down at home centers. It comes in up to 2" thick sheets for insulation and sign shops can probably get it in any size. Look for custom sign shops in your area and see if they do dimension/carved signs. if they do they're using this foam and they have scraps (like my friend sent me). Oh, this foam and a plug cutter in a drill press makes perfect cylinders to work with.

[DarrinG]

Being a foam-fly flunkie, I have a set of custom foam punches.
A close friend custom made me a set of punches. he is a great craftsman and hand-made me these to fit right into a 3/8" drill.




I use foam from the soles of flip-flop shoes. They work fantastic. However, you'll get some funny looks from folks in the store as you're browsing flip-flops in all sizes looking at the colors and thickness of the soles.....LOL.