"Tools for Cutting Resin Models" Topic

I get the occasional resin model that needs some tender love – that is, where there is a bit of resin where there shouldn't be.

Hacking at it with an Xacto blade isn't optimal. The Dremel is too powerful.

What I think I want are some small blades, like a (very small) chisel, and a right-angle tool. Do they make these?

X-Acto makes some of those kinds of specialist blades and similar companies make them too. I find art supply stores often have a good selection. Look for wood working type blades, they often have odd shapes.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Others make small craft saws too.

You want a razor-saw, which has very small, fine, teeth. There are different blade thicknesses for cutting thin, or thicker stock (some come with multiple blades).

They do make mitre boxes as well, out of aluminum, and also plastic, for 90 degree, and angled cuts.

I wouldn't chisel resin, since it may be brittle enough to crack.

Filing, sanding, and dremeling (grinding or sanding wheel, or a cutoff tool will work as well). Consider a battery powered Dremel, which is usually a bit safer to use for small stuff.

Wrap a toothpick or chopstick in sandpaper and have at. You can carve the wood to appropriate cross sections too. X-Acton makes a micro saw blade for their #11 handle.

Files are my first approach.
Remember to brush the resin out of the file often.

The more glassy the resin, the more you need to move to sanding.

For a low-speed version of a Dremel, you can get one of these handy little chucks that fits into an electric screwdriver:
link

Then you can use the same sanding drums you might with the Dremel.

There are fine tooth saw blades for the larger Exacto handle

John

I have set of small files I use on 15mm figures, or is it too much material to be removed. I do take the small flat file as a saw to cut through figures.

Was out in my shop and forgot about my exacto saw as j Webster wrote, I mostly use it for bases or wood projects. I used it a lot for the cassions I made.

Very good to know guys.
I have always (still) leary of resin. I have never bought any but now very seriously looking at some SW models I have found and wondering;

Whats the best way to clean / prep them?
Or do I even need to?

How about cutting and of course, whats the best way of glueing them together.