Is it? I have a mini-hacksaw that I got for cutting stuff that I couldn’t do with my x-acto, but more and more I’m finding myself wishing that I could just quickly chop off flush cuts and straight angles.
anyone here build wood kits WITHOUT a chopper? can I just get a razor blade and make myself into a chopper?
No, it is not an essential tool. Good straight cuts can be achieved in many ways. Where the chopper really come into its own is when several pieces of the same length are needed. Once you have the length set it becomes really quick and easy to produce many parts the same.
I did not get one for the longest time and made several wooden structures without. Now I have one, I can’t imagine not using it.
Depending on the kit and number of cuts required, you could probably get by without a Chopper using an X-Acto knife, miter box and saw, single-edge razor blade, or utility knife, but a Chopper is much easier to use. The Chopper uses a single-edge razor blade that tends to bend over and cut crooked through thick material.
With the chopper you have the advantage of consistent sizes when you need a lot of the same length. The chopper also has hold down devices to hold the wood in place while chopping.
You can probably make your own version of the chopper with some thought.
http://forum.zealot.com/t115782/
http://www.nscale.net/forums/scratchbuilding/2006/02/01/chopper-series-nwsl-tools
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,416128
Rich
well right now the kit i’m building is the Muir Models “Appalachian Coal Mine”. I’ve already built all the bents, which are the main things with a number of the same pieces. The stuff I’m mostly cutting is like 5/32" and stuff like that, which is small, but juuuust too thick to easily cut with a new, sharp x-acto blade. Ive had good results with the mini-hack, but it makes lots 'o sawdust, and you have to factor in the blades actual width when determining where to cut. and its kind of hard to start because the teeth are big, but once you get going its fine.
“Is a Chopper REALLY necessary for building wood kits?”
No, not in the least. It is not “necessary” by any means. It is a tool, and a very good one at that, but it’s a tool that you can live without and still do fine modeling work. I use an industrial razor, the kind you can buy at a hardware or auto store in 5 or 10 packs and guide my cuts with a steel straight edge. Simple, cheap, available and they cut just fine. I dress up the edges with a sanding sponge and that is that. I gave up on the x-acto #11 a long time ago and just use it now for very fine detail work here and there, I have found the industrial razor to be stronger and longer lasting without sacrificing quality of cut.
That is how I do things, your methods may be different and that is fine, if it works for you and you are happy, then roll on my small scale brother!
Necesary - NO
HIGHLY useful - YES - I built the Muir logging camp and it saved me many hours of work and headache.
I built one. It works ok. I would not build another one.
If you like building wood kits, you will eventually get one.
It will NOT replace the razor saw for larger pieces.
I have scratchbuilt wooden structures and rolling stock without the use of a Chopper. I made my own simple type of chopping device that uses a razor blade. The tool that’s a must is the True Sander - this is the only way to get two or more pieces EXACTLY the same lenght. For scales O and larger, the Chopper is too small and a razor saw is needed to cut the larger stock.
I’ve been just using a box cutter and a couple of blocks of wood, one for the table and the other for a hammer. I’m getting ready to build a trestle bridge have been thinking about buying one, but I’m not convinced yet. I’ve bought so many things in the past that I only used once or twice.