Hey guys, I’ll be making some hills out of foam next weekend(If I can get my backdrop done this weekend). I don’t want to go out and buy a hot wire foam cutter because I don’t need somthing fancy, and last time I checked they where pretty expensive. So, how do make your own? I think you take a nine volt battery and attach it so some wire that get’s really hot really fast.
Nothing beats a good surform rasp. They are pretty cheap at your local hardware store. Its a bit messy (as is anything else with foam).
Dependind on the type of foam, you might can do it with a bread knife.
The pink extruded foam.
I use those retractable box cutters with the 6" long replacable blades. The kind where you can snap the end of the blade off so you always have a sharp tip. I’d be worried about a battery having a melt down if you just wired the terminals together.
I was thinking about that. Basic wiring:you need to have a resistor, or the wire will melt. I’ll probably check to see if I can get a cheap foam cutter from my LHS.
If you just want to do some basic shaping and drawing lines, a cheap soldering iron will work. Just don’t try and melt 4x8’ sheets in half with it. You can get a cheap iron with a spade tip for about $5 at a Big Lots type of store.
The foam gives off noxious fumes when melted!
I have been cutting foam with the break-away type utility knives (5 for a buck @ dollar store), a filleting knive (keep a honing stone handy)and a sawzall for big mountains and also a couple of surform rasps for 20 years.
Watch all 9 of these videos…it gives you the technique for working with foam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1D4KBB_GC4
You can thank me in the morning.
David
I’ve used an electric knife (like the one you carve turkeys with) with good success. It leaves a very smooth cut. The downside is that the motor will get hot so you can only work 15 minutes at a time or so, depending upon how much you strain it. But there is no smell and no messy cleanup.
I’ve used a wood handsaw when cutting through 8 sheets of 2" foam glued together. It makes a fine mess.
I never thought of using an electric knife to cut foam. I’ll have to try that sometime.
Surfoam works. love the idea of an electric knife (thats using some ingenuity) for you Canadians a “box cutter” is an utility knife.
I just set a bread knife on the stove burner for a minute, to heat it up. Make a couple quick cuts and reheat it. Works fine. Of course, if you’re married, you may have to go out and buy your own breadknife.[:D]
Someone makes a battery powered one for cheap, cheak the web, mine cost all of $3.00 and works great.
Drywall saw for big rough cuts. A coping saw for intricate cuts so long as the bow of the saw will fit over the chunk of foam you’re cutting. A hacksaw blade with tape wrapped around one end to protect your hand. It’s flexible and that can be an advantage (or a disadvantage if you’re trying to make a perfectly straight cut. A grapefruit knife. (It has a curved blade with teeth on both sides to cut the fruit away from the skin.) It’s great for cutting in riverbeds. A utility knife. To make nice straight-edged holes for Peco turnout motors, I outlined the hole with a utility knife then used a wood chisel to undercut the material and remove it.
Try AC Moore, check spelling, I seem to remember z real cheapo battery powered anmd may be a AC powered one. Ask a sales person to help you. I passed them several times and did not see them. If no AC Moore, check local craft shops, maybe even Wally World. Good luck.
Just don’t zap yourself trying to use a home-made one…
Phil