I wanted to make foam inserts to make keep the things I put in my Systainers that have no matching Festool liner.
FastCap is selling a product by the name of Kaizen Foam. As a Process Management Consultant, I have a very large problem with the name “Kaizen” which means – “A Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc.” The foam itself is NOT “Kaizen” It is just a tool it won’t make you understand “Kaizen”, just like a pad of paper doesn’t make you Faulkner… it is what you do with that makes a difference. What the foam will help you do is organize and protect tools, and let you see what you are missing. Why not call it Jesus foam??? So you can become a better carpenter…. I do hope you see the humor that is meant here….
The Foam comes in three thicknesses – 7/8” or 20mm, 1 1/8” or 30mm and 2 1/4” or 57mm. It also comes in three color combos – all black, all white, in 57mm it also comes in “What I call Oreo quadruple stuff” – black top and bottom and lots of white in between. The sheets are 2' x 4'. You can get 6 inserts that will fit the normal Systainers out of each 2’x4’. If you have a MAXI Systainer you can get 3 inserts out of one 2’ x 4’ sheet. Or a combo of these.
I ordered 4 sheets of 57mm “What I call Oreo quadruple stuff”.
I have to say the FastCap website is NOT correct in what it says. The layers ARE much thicker than the advertised 1/8”. Also they are NOT EASY to peal apart.
Images from the site show the following
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Here is what I found when my 4 sheets of 57mm Sandwich (Black with white middle) showed up.
The shows the 57 with 13 layers… there is the call out that the black outer layers are 5mm. The site shows 13 layers. What came was 2 black and 7 white layers.
001 the white layers are closer to quarter inch not the advertised eighth inch but not in itself not a deal breaker
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002 It does not easily peal apart sample 1
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003 It does not easily peal apart sample 2
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004 It does not easily peal apart sample 3
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005 It does not easily peal apart sample 4
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The only work around is if the cut out is near the edge I can reach in from the side and cut at the level (depth) I want. The limit is the length of the blade.
I ordered the long tipped maker but it was backordered for weeks… you really want a pattern marker with a long tip if you want to get a good tracing of the. When the makers did arrive, the blister packaging was cut open and the caps on the tips were loose…so they were dried out. A week later I got some that were not opened and worked.
I have cut a lot of foam inserts for photo gear and other stuff over the years. Having a thin maker makes this much easier to do. If FastCap is back ordered, I suggest you check your office supply store and buy a few.
006 You get one thin tip and a more normal sized tip on the marker
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007 The thin long tip really gets you close to the tool
[attachthumb=#]
The density of this foam gives you a choice of tools to use to cut it. I first started with the razor knives and for tool outline cuts I find them best. The fastest way to cut the perimeter of the insert is solved by the Festool 6” jig saw blade 493656 (S 155/W). For circles collect different diameter pipe, conduit and hole saws. Pick a bit smaller than the circle you want and pick up use a torch to heat up the pipe or a hole saw and you get very nice holes. It takes very little heat to cut through the foam… so easy that I would like to know the melt temp of this stuff is. I would be a bit concerned about putting any hot tool (No Festool tool gets hot) on the foam. I haven’t tried this but I would think if you back out a 3 inch screw fast that will get hot and it drops on the foam… it might just sink in.
008 Cutting tools
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009 The Festool blade that makes cutting foam or sheet insulation easy with smooth edges and no crumbles that cling
[attachthumb=#]
010 Very clean smooth cuts with the Festool blade
[attachthumb=#]
Figuring how to fit stuff, takes some time and thought. I found laying the stuff on top of the systainer or on top of perimeter cut insert and then looking at it for a day help me fine tune the organize. Remember not all things need have their own single space. Some things just fit in better in boxes. What I like about the black and white foam is that you the white make seeing what is missing easy, also it just make the box brighter inside.
011 Clamps and stuff for my MFT3 Qwas dogs and rail dogs
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012 Parts for the MFT3 and didn’t have my marker yet to mark for the clamps
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013 More MFT3 stuff added rail champs for my out feed rail
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014 How Festool make inserts
[attachthumb=#]
015 Nail gun in MAXI Systainer when closed you can pick this thing up by the side handle and nothing moves
[attachthumb=#]
016 How it sits with bottle of oil and water filter for compressor
[attachthumb=#]
017 Pull it out and the white shows you can see how rough the layer tear out
[attachthumb=#]
018 I used double sided tape to hold the block on the smooth areas of the lid
[attachthumb=#]
Conclusion:
Would I buy more? Yes, but if I can find an easier/cleaner pealing layered foam I would not.
Will it hold up? I think so but I would not let any hot tools touch it and would make sure I don’t ever set the Systainer near a hot radiator or gas heaters on a job site.
I feel a bit let down by FastCaps advertising because the product does not match what they say on their site.
I wonder if the all black and all white are the same foam as what the sandwich is? From the pictures it looks different. If it would peal apart like they say… maybe I should have bought 4 whites and one black and just pealed a black later off and made my own black and white foam. It would be fun try but I don’t want to spend the money if it ends up being the same. The pain of buying from a website and not being able to touch it.
I find it a bit ironic that “Kaizen” foam has so much room for improvement.
I have many FastCap products and they have lived up to the website. It just seems the foam is not their best quality control.
Cheers,
Steve
FastCap is selling a product by the name of Kaizen Foam. As a Process Management Consultant, I have a very large problem with the name “Kaizen” which means – “A Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc.” The foam itself is NOT “Kaizen” It is just a tool it won’t make you understand “Kaizen”, just like a pad of paper doesn’t make you Faulkner… it is what you do with that makes a difference. What the foam will help you do is organize and protect tools, and let you see what you are missing. Why not call it Jesus foam??? So you can become a better carpenter…. I do hope you see the humor that is meant here….
The Foam comes in three thicknesses – 7/8” or 20mm, 1 1/8” or 30mm and 2 1/4” or 57mm. It also comes in three color combos – all black, all white, in 57mm it also comes in “What I call Oreo quadruple stuff” – black top and bottom and lots of white in between. The sheets are 2' x 4'. You can get 6 inserts that will fit the normal Systainers out of each 2’x4’. If you have a MAXI Systainer you can get 3 inserts out of one 2’ x 4’ sheet. Or a combo of these.
I ordered 4 sheets of 57mm “What I call Oreo quadruple stuff”.
I have to say the FastCap website is NOT correct in what it says. The layers ARE much thicker than the advertised 1/8”. Also they are NOT EASY to peal apart.
Images from the site show the following
[attachthumb=#]
[attachthumb=#]
[attachthumb=#]
Here is what I found when my 4 sheets of 57mm Sandwich (Black with white middle) showed up.
The shows the 57 with 13 layers… there is the call out that the black outer layers are 5mm. The site shows 13 layers. What came was 2 black and 7 white layers.
001 the white layers are closer to quarter inch not the advertised eighth inch but not in itself not a deal breaker
[attachthumb=#]
002 It does not easily peal apart sample 1
[attachthumb=#]
003 It does not easily peal apart sample 2
[attachthumb=#]
004 It does not easily peal apart sample 3
[attachthumb=#]
005 It does not easily peal apart sample 4
[attachthumb=#]
The only work around is if the cut out is near the edge I can reach in from the side and cut at the level (depth) I want. The limit is the length of the blade.
I ordered the long tipped maker but it was backordered for weeks… you really want a pattern marker with a long tip if you want to get a good tracing of the. When the makers did arrive, the blister packaging was cut open and the caps on the tips were loose…so they were dried out. A week later I got some that were not opened and worked.
I have cut a lot of foam inserts for photo gear and other stuff over the years. Having a thin maker makes this much easier to do. If FastCap is back ordered, I suggest you check your office supply store and buy a few.
006 You get one thin tip and a more normal sized tip on the marker
[attachthumb=#]
007 The thin long tip really gets you close to the tool
[attachthumb=#]
The density of this foam gives you a choice of tools to use to cut it. I first started with the razor knives and for tool outline cuts I find them best. The fastest way to cut the perimeter of the insert is solved by the Festool 6” jig saw blade 493656 (S 155/W). For circles collect different diameter pipe, conduit and hole saws. Pick a bit smaller than the circle you want and pick up use a torch to heat up the pipe or a hole saw and you get very nice holes. It takes very little heat to cut through the foam… so easy that I would like to know the melt temp of this stuff is. I would be a bit concerned about putting any hot tool (No Festool tool gets hot) on the foam. I haven’t tried this but I would think if you back out a 3 inch screw fast that will get hot and it drops on the foam… it might just sink in.
008 Cutting tools
[attachthumb=#]
009 The Festool blade that makes cutting foam or sheet insulation easy with smooth edges and no crumbles that cling
[attachthumb=#]
010 Very clean smooth cuts with the Festool blade
[attachthumb=#]
Figuring how to fit stuff, takes some time and thought. I found laying the stuff on top of the systainer or on top of perimeter cut insert and then looking at it for a day help me fine tune the organize. Remember not all things need have their own single space. Some things just fit in better in boxes. What I like about the black and white foam is that you the white make seeing what is missing easy, also it just make the box brighter inside.
011 Clamps and stuff for my MFT3 Qwas dogs and rail dogs
[attachthumb=#]
012 Parts for the MFT3 and didn’t have my marker yet to mark for the clamps
[attachthumb=#]
013 More MFT3 stuff added rail champs for my out feed rail
[attachthumb=#]
014 How Festool make inserts
[attachthumb=#]
015 Nail gun in MAXI Systainer when closed you can pick this thing up by the side handle and nothing moves
[attachthumb=#]
016 How it sits with bottle of oil and water filter for compressor
[attachthumb=#]
017 Pull it out and the white shows you can see how rough the layer tear out
[attachthumb=#]
018 I used double sided tape to hold the block on the smooth areas of the lid
[attachthumb=#]
Conclusion:
Would I buy more? Yes, but if I can find an easier/cleaner pealing layered foam I would not.
Will it hold up? I think so but I would not let any hot tools touch it and would make sure I don’t ever set the Systainer near a hot radiator or gas heaters on a job site.
I feel a bit let down by FastCaps advertising because the product does not match what they say on their site.
I wonder if the all black and all white are the same foam as what the sandwich is? From the pictures it looks different. If it would peal apart like they say… maybe I should have bought 4 whites and one black and just pealed a black later off and made my own black and white foam. It would be fun try but I don’t want to spend the money if it ends up being the same. The pain of buying from a website and not being able to touch it.
I find it a bit ironic that “Kaizen” foam has so much room for improvement.
I have many FastCap products and they have lived up to the website. It just seems the foam is not their best quality control.
Cheers,
Steve
