[dionicia]

Hi.

I am trying to come up with an easy way (no soldier guns or soldier gun hacks please) to cut a piece of foam that is 2 feet by 2 feet wide and 6 foot long.

I am thinking of using a electric knife since the hot knife I bought melts better than it cuts and I am terrified of 800 degree devices such as a soldiering gun.

I would really like to buy something and not have to create it. Sadly, no hobby supply stores around here either.

Any thoughts???

 

[Dreadnight]

First of all, who's your supplier?? I'd love to get my hands on a 2x2x6 foot piece of foam!!

Anyway, Hot Wire Foam Factory makes a tool that is essentially a hot blade. It is about eight inches long, so if you go all the way around the outside of your foam block, I figure that's still going to leave you about eight inches in the middle uncut. use a regular wood saw to get in there and cut that final core piece. Hot Wire has a website...

 

[BudMan]

Cut my sheets with a sawzall then clean them up with the bandsaw and beltsander. That's for the straight cuts. A jigsaw would work too. If possible, cut the backside so as not to leave track marks from the tool.

 

[trishaanne]

I'm facing the same problem. I have a hunk of white styrofoam, 8 feet tall, 31/2-4 feet wide and 3 1/2-4 feet thick. I'm planning on carving it into a crypt, but it's still just sitting there. I was thinking an electric knife as well. I'm going to keep my eyes open to see what suggestions show up....I've been putting this off since April and now I'm running out of time.

 

[dionicia]

First of all, who's your supplier?? I'd love to get my hands on a 2x2x6 foot piece of foam!!

I was fortunate enough to get it from a kind haunter in Tucson. It was 2 feet taller but I couldn't open the garage door and it wouldn't fit upright in my haunt.

 

[airscapes]

If you have a 12v 6-8 amp battery charger you can make a hot wire cutter that will handle a 4' piece of foam. Just build a large band saw table top style and add a dimmer switch extention cord to the batter charger to controle the heat. Not sure where too get the wire, mine is only 24" high and I use a steel guitar string about .010mm.
Note: a 2x4 and an a 4" angle brace can be used for the upright.. there is really not that much tension on the wire, mine is way over kill...
http://65.78.32.161:666/home_made_tools/hotwire_cutter/index.html

 

[Sickie Ickie]

I'm low budget. I use a regular hand saw to saw through thick foam.

Also, the hardware store sells a steel wire garrett type of thang that can be looped around pvc and "sawed" back and forth to cut it. I'd look into that for a low cost, no heat option.

 

[dionicia]

Thank you Sickie. I bought a saw day before yesterday and lopped the top 2 feet off of the block. Good thing we have a shop vac. I would have been sweeping until the cows came home.

 

[Sickie Ickie]

Don't ya love static cling? LOL

Shop vacs are Goooooooood thangs to have !