I finally broke down and bought a “hot knife” to use on my layout to contour the Pink foam slabs that I use.
What a difference, before using knives, saws, grinders, I would end up with all sort of debris as I worked on the layout, at the end it was always time for an vacuuming session.
With the hot knife, no flying debris, can work faster, only let down is the smell, however, as I can open a window and a couple of doors with the use of a fan I can air out the train room quite quickly.
I have to ask myself why did I wait so long. I urge you if you are working with the foam slabs get a hot knife, nothing beats it. Beware the fumes though.
To each his own. I use a “mini” hacksaw (one where the blade protrudes in front of the handle), a Sureform rasp, and small, hand held vacuum. It goes so fast – even stopping every now and then to vacuum – that any possible efficiency gain would still be relatively insignificant.
Add to that the fumes – which are there, and you’re inhaling them (unless you’re wearing a respirator – and the hot knife is just a non-starter for me.
You know Don, I have one and never used it. Main thing is the fumes can kill you, not that I was all that worried about that part. Open the garage door and it is not a issue. But my wife on the other hand! [:-^] She can smell everything! (garage is attached to the house) So I just suck up the pink foam, and give my ears a rest.
I did about half of the layout using various knives and saws and am just amazed at how much minute bits of foam there are after one is working at contouring. I would on some pieces take them outside for the rough cuts and save myself the misery of cleaning up, but once the final cutting and smoothing is required it is now time to work on the layout inside . I could not believe it when I changed the furnace filters in the fall how much pink dust in the form of crumbs there was on the furnace filters.
I will use the hot knife as much as I can, with of course the doors open.
I bought 2 before I started the layout, a wire one which is only good for trimming and smaller pieces, and a blade-type one which has worked better for sculpting and finishing. The bulk of the work I’ve done so far is with the inexpensive break-off knife which is very sharp and about 5" long when new. The big problem with the hot knives (in the basement even with the window open) is the smoke detecters go off after about 5 minutes.
If you’re looking for a hot foam knife, don’t pay more than about $15 for it at Harbor Freight. Theirs is exactly the same as ones being advertised for $79 or more from some of the hobby mail order places.
