TigerJon | 04 Aug 2015 5:57 a.m. PST |
I have a large piece of 2" blue foam in my garage I'm wanting to cut into hills, but do not have a good method for cutting it. I have access to a Woodland Scenics foam cutter, but it can only cut so deep. I was considering Foam Factory's 4" cutter, but for nearly $40 USD, the reviews are less than stellar. I'm curious to hear any ideas. Thanks. |
Saber6 | 04 Aug 2015 6:04 a.m. PST |
hacksaw? that is what I used to cut a 4x8 in half |
Kelly Armstrong | 04 Aug 2015 6:09 a.m. PST |
4' metal straight edge (or relatively straight wood) and large razor knife. Cut at least half way through, support cut line on edge of table, break it off. If you want crisper lines, cut it all the way through. Using most foam cutter (industrial ones being the exception)on full 4'x8' sheets are slow, cumbersome, somewhat wobbly, and stinky. |
haywire | 04 Aug 2015 6:10 a.m. PST |
DIY Foam Cutter link I am a bit crazy (hence the nickname) so I just have a transformer attached to two wires attached to the nichrome wire. I use it like a garrot. Not really safe, but gets the job done. |
Wackmole9 | 04 Aug 2015 6:14 a.m. PST |
HI I uses streak knife to cut my foam. Had a bad experience with the foam cutter. For the large pieces I sometime uses my tablesaw to get clean , straight cuts. |
Pictors Studio | 04 Aug 2015 6:14 a.m. PST |
An electric knife will work too. |
shaun from s and s models | 04 Aug 2015 6:32 a.m. PST |
a sharp kitchen knife, but ask the wife first! |
Jeff Ewing | 04 Aug 2015 6:47 a.m. PST |
I used a bread knife with pretty good results -- the serrations make for easy cutting. |
John Treadaway | 04 Aug 2015 6:56 a.m. PST |
I bought something like the product Haywire suggested on ebay and assembled it with a power supply scavenged from an old PC. Worked a treat for cutting big slabs for our Captain Scarlet game werelords.com/scarlet
John T |
Psycho Rabbit | 04 Aug 2015 7:08 a.m. PST |
I find the disposable razor knives to be the most effective. found pretty much anywhere. link Rabbit |
JohnBSnead | 04 Aug 2015 10:56 a.m. PST |
Serrated knife and then a heavy duty rasp/file for the inclines. Understand that it makes a big mess, but works. |
Mako11 | 04 Aug 2015 12:08 p.m. PST |
Yea, a razor knife, aka box cutter tool. Foam dulls all blades pretty quickly, so I suspect that's a better option than using a kitchen knife, unless you have a sharpener for it. Cutters also make less of a mess than saws and rasps/files. |
TheBeast | 05 Aug 2015 11:22 a.m. PST |
For the DIY foam cutters, and I've a couple old train transformers around wanting to play, do you find moving the wire up and down keeps things moving? It's all about the heat, and it's easy to push too fast, allowing the plastic to touch and cool the wire. Doug |
Russ Lockwood | 06 Aug 2015 1:11 p.m. PST |
For me, I use a handheld jigsaw. Cuts through 2" insulation foam quickly, easily, and you can go around curves just fine. I didn't need slopes, but in the past I've used a hand-held 12-inch sawblade if I needed the slope anything. Rough, but it works. I bought a jigsaw earlier this year for $50 USD at Home Depot -- not the cheapest one and not the most expensive one. Works just fine. |
Baranovich | 06 Aug 2015 8:18 p.m. PST |
I have used a combination of saws, from larger ordinary straight saws like you would use for cutting 2x4s in carpentry projects, Xacto razor saws, and then just plain box cutter utility blades. The 2" depth does present a problem, however if you are cutting it up for making hills and are not concerned with cutting straight lines, you have more flexibility. I have found that when cutting large, round shapes for things such as hills that if you cut about half-way or more through on one side, that you can simply then bend it and it will snap along the curve you have cut. I try to cut out round shapes close to the edge, so that I can cut inward from one of the straight edges of the foam and attack it from several angles. If the pieces that you cut and then snap off have some pointed or jagged edges, it doesn't matter because you will be sanding down and shaping the hill anyway, and all you need is the rough disc or oval shape of the basic hill. |
tshryock | 07 Aug 2015 12:27 p.m. PST |
I second the jigsaw suggestion. I have a longer blade for the thicker foam. |