I am wanting to modify a DPM building to fit a unique space. I will need to cut some walls in half. My concern is the plastic seems quite thick and i have limited hand tools. Scoring and snaping seems unrealistic. A razor saw?
The reality is in the past i have had little luck making these types of cuts and ending with a satisfactory / reasonably straight edge.
Any guidance would be appreciated. Does anyone use their wood working tools for this sort of thing?
Thanks.
Yea, I have, a fine tooth crosscut saw that came with a mitre box, or try a hack saw.
Razor saw is also good.
I also use a flat piece of plywood, with 2 grades of sandpaper glued to it, and a piece of 2"x4" for a “fence”, to hold the piece square with the sanding board, and finish off the cut.
Mike.
I’ve kitbashed a number of buildings using DPM parts. I usually employ a razor saw for cuts, but note the saw doesn’t need to cut all the way through before you can snap the wall cleanly just as with thinner styrene. I keep a sheet of 150 grit sandpaper handy to finish up the edge.
Woodworking tools can work too, provided you can guard against melting the plastic due to the speed of the cutting edge (assuming you’re using power tools). An old-fashioned hand miter saw works great too.
This probably is not what you want to hear.
I used a large low speed band saw intended for cutting steel and “true” the cut with a variable speed 10" disc sander with a table and miter gauge.
Not woodworking tools, but metalworking. These work great for plastic kits.
Having a Nephew that is a welder is handy, thank you Nicole! If you have a Niece of suitable age, encourage her to date welders.
-Kevin
I appreciate the replies and you have given me some ideas to go with. Thanks. My daughter is not dating a welder, if she was i would have several other projects for him.
I’m telling you… having a welder in the family is the best!
He came in very handy when I built my paint booth.
-Kevin
Thinking in terms of measuring twice and cutting once, I suggest that you scan or photocopy the parts and make a template of what you want from them. Cut the pieces and glue to some heavy paper. I use cereal boxes. Make a test model from this and see how it fits. Then you will know what exactly to cut.
I have done this a lot when planning DPM Modular projects. I use the free DPM modular planning kit I downloaded from the WS/DPM site, a PDF file. It confirms what I think I want will fit the space as well as giving me a way to count the parts I need to order for the project.
My last DPM kitbash I used a Zona saw with a fine tooth blade to make the cut and filed it smooth with a jewlers file.
For the DPM buildings I found a “pull saw” worked best. I had one for wood trim work and pulling resulted in a straighter cut than the usual methods I had used. The saw came from Home Despot but most better hardware stores should have similar. Cutting with a margin and then finishing with a hand file seems the most prudent way to go forward. Hope that helps
Some of those DPM wall castings are rather thick.
Just be aware that the “score and snap” process does not work with injection molded plastic the same way as - or as well as – it does with sheet styrene or styrene structural shapes. Yes if you cut mostly but not all the way through it will snap apart on the line, but the injection molded plastic does not “snap” along a lightly inscribed cut line like the pure sheet stuff does.
Dave Nelson
I have gotten decent resulits, with a razor saw . By clamping the wall to something solid, and useing a piece of 1X4 to act as a guild /fence. Clean up with file and sand paper.
This issue is one of the reasons I shy away from DPM stuff
I love the DPM stuff, but the current prices cause me to shy away from them - I would’ve thought that the moulds would have payed for themselves many times over by now.
I have approximately three dozen of their structure kits, many still not assembled, but destined for the upper level of my layout, and some of their modular wall sections left-over from National Grocers…
This is the first DPM kit which I bought many years ago, but built only recently. It was pretty-well just four walls and a roof, but I added a few details from Tichy and Grandt Line, along with some scratchbuilt stuff…
For cutting DPM walls, I found that a hacksaw with a fine-toothed blade works well, with clean-up using appropriate files and different grades of sandpaper. A utility knife is also a useful option, at times.
Wayne
I model in N-Scale and when kit bashing I use a fine tooth X-acto saw and some times I use a metal straight edge ruler and a # 11 Xacto blade in the holder.
Using the ruler held down tight on the wall component I draw the blade along the ruler’s edge a couple of times to establish a groove, then I continue with the same but using the back side of the blade this will extract plastic from the groove as the groove depens, once the groove is made I disscontinue the use of the ruler and the blade being drawn backward will follow the grove.
Keep doing that until you cut through or are deep enough to snap the wall section into, then clean up the cut with an emery board or sand paper to remove any burrs.
Thank you for all the replies. I got busy with my wood working saw this evening.
Very impressive National Grocery buildings.
Thanks for your kind comment. National Grocers turned out to be a rather expensive project, but it was a lot of fun to build, and an interesting challenge to use the oddly-shaped parcel of real estate available for it…
Wayne