How to Make a Budget, Impact-proof Case

in this instructable, i made a cushioned carrying case for my airsoft rifle from items i found around the house...

i used an empty case for a collapsible lighting unit _{and cushioning...tools i used are: a Leatherman, a Dremel tool (with various applicable attachments), an Exact-o knife, pair of safety glasses, a ruler, and a hot glue gun.}

this step isn't always necessary; if you have a nice case without molded innards, you can skip this step. i found it appropriate in order to maximaize the storage capacity.

i used a carbide tip with the dremel to score out the stamped anchors securing the facade of the molding. i then used a cutting cookie attachment in conjunction with an exacto knife on the soft parts to get some clean cuts.

brute force seemed necessary to rip out inside frame.

after all is said and done with gutting the case out, i used a ruler to estimate how much cushioning i needed for each wall of the case. i used a sharp knife from my leatherman along with an exact-o knife to cut slivers of cushioning approximately 0.5" thick. after each cut, i eyeballed the piece to the wall of the case; it didn't have to be exact because sponge is form-fitting.

once i was satisfied with the pieces i had cut, i laid in the spongy padding one by one after i applied the glue onto the sides. fortunately, my glue gun has 2 temperature settings...i used the lower of the two in order not to damage the padding. you can buy a cheap mini glue gun at the dollar store.

after neatly adhering the pads into the box, you'll soon see some progress to the initial internal cushioning.

the key for this step is to keep a consistent width when cutting the pads.

after the initial padding of the box was complete, i then used an airsoft rifle as an example to what this box can be used for.

as you can see, i also found some weather stripping and placed it around the edges to create somewhat of an airtight seal...it'll keep dust and debris out as well.

the approximate cost for this project for me was $0.00 because i found everything within my house; however, if you decided to do something like this you can find a box like and some padding just about anywhere someone might be throwing it away (i was about to). glue gun (dollar store) $1.00, hot glue sticks 50 ct (dollar store) $1.00, generic arts and crafts knife (exact-o) (dollar store) $1.00, weather stripping (walmart) $1.88. you don't really need a leatherman or a dremel...so your running total could be less than $5.00.

i didn't do it yet, and i'm still thinking about it, but you can also modify the molding you cut out of the case to create an outer shell to fit miscellaneous objects like power cords, gaming console control pads, batteries, etc. inside of it...and maybe attach it with velcro...? just an end thought.

eventually, i will be making a bunch of different customized padded framework to fit my gaming consoles, laptop, pistols, and rifles