Ah yes that is a really good thread! Sometimes it is hard to keep track of them all.

Here is an idea from Charles Pillsbury III over at Puppet Hub.  He suggested using the packs of flags they use to mark phone or gas lines that you can get at Home Depot. They are shorter but he said they hold up a bit better then hanger wire. They are cheap so it would be a good thing to buy if you needed rods for a workshop with kids I think.

Ok this is kind of silly but I just saw an ad for this on TV. https://www.buygyrobowl.com/  I don't know how many times I've knocked a container of straight pins off the table and thought wouldn't this be nice to keep them from spilling all over the floor when I do.    The only thing is that it is kind of big and would take up space on the work surface. It is kind of a cool product though.

I wonder how effective this bowl would be at preventing spillage if the whole thing got knocked off a table.  During the fall, the whole thing would be in free-fall, so it's gyro-mechanism wouldn't work.  Function aside, I think the bowl is cool.  I wish I could get one in Canada!

As a parent and now grandparent I can tell you it would be nearly useless with a REAL kid. It's clever function will only work if the kid holds it by the blue ring and doesn't mess with the gyroscopic action, or shake it up and down. I KNOW my 19 month old grandson would TOTALLY spill all over with this.

Not sure if this would work or not. LOL.
For straight pins, I use the magnetic holders.  If it gets knocked off, they stay on the holder.

Try buying magnetic photo sheet (the kind you can print on)to put under your  pin container that way if they spill the magnetic sheet will catch them. Maybe not all but it will help with the mess. you can get them at hobby lobby or Walmart.

Does anyone have any special tricks on cutting foam? I haven't been able to find 1/2" foam in my area. Although 1" is readilly available. So I cut out my pattern and patiently split the foam to 1/2" thickness. Isn't there some kind of special tool for this. Besides a razor Blade?

I think razor blades are pretty standard.  Cheap and easy to get at any hardware store.  I suppose a medical scalpel would work too, but they aren't as easy to come by and are probably a little pricey at a medical supply shop.

For foam, I find that every craft and hobby store doesn't have 1/2 inch foam.  However, if you have a foam supplier nearby, they will have anything you need.  I have two near my place and I can get anything I need cheaper than at the hobby shop. 

I've never been able to find an easy household way to cut foam in half like you are wanting to do. An electric carving knife and make it a bit easier but it is still tricky.  In the big foam shops they use a huge band saw on a huge flat table. They can adjust the height of the blade and then run the foam past it.