Sponge Rubber

This dense, durable, extremely resilient black sponge rubber (properly called open cell SBR sponge rubber) is suitable for many purposes in instrument making. We sell it in sheets or strips 1/2" thick. It’s the best material to use as pads under marimba bars and other free bars. As padding and damping material, providing noise-free mounting and minimizing unwanted transmission of vibrations, it can’t be beat. You won’t find this material at your neighborhood foam shop, nor is it the same stuff that’s used in weather stripping. It’s substantially denser, more durable, and springier than commonly available foam rubbers, and its ability to recover and retain its shape and springiness after repeated or prolonged squashing is far superior. At $9.50 a square foot it may seem pricey – but then again maybe not so much so: a square foot cut into half-inch strips yields 24 linear feet of padding strips; enough to make a good-sized marimba or two. That turns out to be pretty close to the price you’d pay for the same dimensions of weather stripping at the hardware store.

We’ll send it to you in the form of 4" by 36" strips (= 1 square foot each) unless you request otherwise. You can cut this material with good, sharp scissors, a sharp utility knife and straightedge, or a band saw.

EMI item #180

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Price is per square foot. Under "quantity," indicate the number of square feet you want.