Foam board advice

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I am building a new layout with 3" foam board. I would like advice on the best way to cut out space for rivers and roadways. I have seen “Woodland Scenics” hot wire and their foam cutter bow & guide, are these good tools for this kind of project? Any experienced advice would be appreciated on this subject.

Thanks,

Gary

2

They are good tools, but you really ought to use them outdoors. They will release toxic fumes by heating the foam.

3

A knife works just as well. Make sure to have Sculptamold handy to fill in gaps and provide a finished surface.

4

Hot wire is fast but the fumes are a concern you should be aware of. Knives of small saws work but you have more of a mess with the particles that break off and become static electricity gremlins.

5

One if the best tools for forming foam is the Sureform tools. These are like carse files and are available in any hardware store or home improvement store (e.g. Home Depot). Also buy some cheap bread knives at the Dollar Store. Whenever you use a sureform tool, have a vacuum cleaner handy.
Ron K.

6

The best tool I found for carving foam indoors is those disposable hobby knives that have segmented blades. When the tip gets dull, you break off a segment, exposing a new tip. The whole blade is nearly 2" long when fully extended and has fair flexibility. If you bend it too far, it will snap off. If you have to bend it that far, you aren’t using it right. Use the blade to cut successively smaller pieces of foam as you carve deeper into the foam.

Here is a link to one kind of knife with snap-off blades:
http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PROD/X-ACTO-utility/BEP26

I have found similar but cheaper disposable knives at the dollar stores.

I haven’t used these items, but those long thin blades look like they would work well for carving foam:
http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/tools.html

Here is a photo of a Thomas-style layout I made for my grandson:

This clearly shows how the wooden tracks were inserted into channels that I carved into the foam. The channel is less than 2" wide. I cut straight down along the outer edge of the track, then, holding the blade at a sharp angle, I sliced a wedge-shaped section off of each side, leaving a center ridge. Then I progressively cut smaller pieces off the center ridge, using the flexibility of the blade to get the bottom of the channel smooth and flat.

For something as wide as a creek or river, cutting wedge-shaped sections out would be easy.

Hope this helps.

Darrell, quiet…for now