[reeseboisse]

...Tempur-Pedic to be exact.

A while ago, I modified my Grado comfies by putting a 1.5 inch hole in the center, to try to make quasi-flats. I screwed that up though, and now the hole looks somewhat ratty, and I'm pretty sure they could be more comfortable.

So, I decided to make my own pads. I remembered seeing advertisements for the Tempur-Pedic beds, and noticing that they would send you a free sample of the stuff if you asked. So I did, and it came in today. Now, I was told by friends that the size of the sample looked decent on TV or whatever, but now that I have it in my hand and have measured, I realize that yes, there is enough to make 2 headphone pads, but just barely, and there is no room for error.

As such, I was wondering how you guys would go about making these things.

For reference, the size of the sample is 4"x3" by just over 1.25".

 

[hempcamp]

I've never made headphone pads out of foam, but I have done some upholstery before that required some funky shapes.

What I did was make templates out of plexiglass and then I clamped the template down as tight as possible over the foam, squashing it nearly flat. Then, I pressed the template cut-out (the scrap) over the middle part and carefully used a sharp X-acto knife to slice along the gap where the template cut was made. Does that make sense?

You also might be able to make a primitive "stamp" with a pipe the same diameter as a Grado pad. Sharpen one end of the pipe with a rotary tool, then carefully and firmly press the pipe down onto the foam over a semi-soft surface. Once the foam is all the way smashed, place a block over the top of the pipe and give it a few hard blows with a rubber mallet. This should make a nearly perfect circle.

Cutting out the part for the pad "grippies" (the half-deep hole in the middle of the ear pad for slipping over the cups) would be a bit more tricky. I guess just an X-acto and lots of patience would do the trick.

--Chris

PS -- I wouldn't use memory foam for Grado pads myself. It squashes up too easily which decreases the volume of air in between the driver and the ear. In my opinion, nothing is better with the Grados than Todd's flat pads.

 

[chiefroastbeef]

if you game over your foams, pm me up and i'll sign up to get a free sample, so you go round two

 

[Born2bwire]

Space-age technology devoloped by NASA and what do we do with it? Make headphone pads...

If you can't get the Xacto knife to cut into the foam well my next guess would be a pair of good shears. Problem with the knife is that it won't compress the foam when you cut but hemp's suggestion should fix that for you.

 

[Stephonovich]

Quote:

Space-age technology devoloped by NASA and what do we do with it? Make headphone pads...

And the problem with this is?

I can't really see why you'd want to use Tempur-Pedic for headphone pads either. Sure, it's cool, but with the grip a headphone exerts on your head, it's gonna squish a lot. Compressed foam isn't all that soft.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[tommyatkins]

I usually use a hot wire but that memory foam might not be dense enough.

 

[reeseboisse]

Quote:

Originally posted by Stephonovich And the problem with this is? I can't really see why you'd want to use Tempur-Pedic for headphone pads either. Sure, it's cool, but with the grip a headphone exerts on your head, it's gonna squish a lot. Compressed foam isn't all that soft. (-:Stephonovich

I've actually bent the headband so that it exerts very little pressure on my head. Just enough to keep it from falling off.

Heh, if you think this is bad, you should see what I did to pad the headband.