Cutting "Sintra" board

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Need to make some cuts on some 6mm (1/4") thick “Sintra”, aka PVC closed-cell foam board. Have made some cuts on 1/8" board with a “Stanley” razor knife, cuts were accurate, but cut was difficult to keep at a right angle.

Supplier recommends cutting with a table saw, band saw, circular saw or router. Anyone have experience cutting this stuff with aforementioned power tools?

Thanks and regards, Peter

2

Peter,

I’m not sure this would work with the PVC foam board but I used a hand held circular saw to cut vinyl siding, except that the blade was installed backwards in the saw. I was told that this would cut without chipping/splitting the vinyl and it did work. I used a fine tooth plywood blade. Also, keep the blade depth to just over the material thickness. Just an idea that you might try.

-Bob

3

Would a jig saw work?

4

Hi Peter:

You may want to send Ray Dunakin a PM to get his suggestions on cutting Sintra board. He has done some amazing work with it.

Here is his thread on his garden railway. About 1/4 the way down page 2 he starts to show the construction of his Dos Manos freight station using Sintra. Unfortunately I don’t think there is any reference to how he actually cuts the Sintra but however he is doing it, he does a good job:

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/246487.aspx?page=2

Dave

5

Hi Peter. I usually just use an X-acto knife to cut Sintra of 6mm thickness or less. On a few occasions I tried using a jig saw (aka saber saw) with a “plastics” blade. That worked pretty well too. The only stuff I’ve had trouble with is the 13mm thick Sintra. Too thick to cut with knife, and it tended to melt and seal back together behind the blade when using the jig saw.

6

Gentlemen, Thanks for the replies and advice. Took the Sintra by the horns today and had success in getting the square and accurate cuts I desired.

Safety first, on with the goggles, apron and dust mask. Then tried cutting with a small portable bandsaw with a 14 TPI blade. Even with a rip fence the cut was only maginally accurate and somewhat rough.

Next up was the table saw and a faceshield added to the safety equip. Rip cut with a 180T veneer blade was more accurate and smoother than the bandsaw, but extra care was necessary as the Sintra is light and tends to lift. The Sintra is also slippery and this made accurate cross and mitre cuts difficult.

So, made the mitre cuts with a mitre saw and the same 180T veneer blade. Was able to hold the Sintra securely and the cuts were quite smooth and extremely accurate. Experienced no melting with any of the cuts, blades were sharp and kept feed rate high.

Thanks again and regards, Peter

7

Hi Peter,

Show us what you are working on!

Dave

8

Dave, Well, nothing so grand as what Ray can do with Sintra board. But a reduced depth background apartment building based on the attached web photo of a Myrtle Beach motel.

Thanks and regards, Peter

9

That’s cool! It absolutely says ‘Florida’ all over it. Perfect use for Sintra board.

Have you thought about how to do the railings? I can see 3D printing coming in handy here.

Dave

10

Dave, My layout theme is pacific northwest, but I like the structure’s 50s-60s Populuxe architecture. and yeah I think the Sintra board is going to work good.

Have given thought to the railings, but 3D printing is over my head. I’ll have to leave out the palm trees, lol.

Thanks, Peter

11

I’m surprized no one posted this ‘‘How-To’’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC1LdVVLafw

There are a list of other How-To’s on the material, cutting, gluing etc.

Take Care! [:D]

Frank