So... I've dipped my toe only slightly into the scratch-build world (one small building), but when I did, I measured twice... marked carefully... used a metal straight edge and a sharp knife... and still ended up with slightly out of whack walls. I want to progress into some big urban buildings. How do you guys cut styrene sheets square? Is The Duplicator a good buy? Is that what it does? I would appreciate any hints you have. Thanks, Dan
Did you use a T or a 90 degree angle ruler? The times when I do not get a straight cut is when I am not clamping down the metal ruler tight enough and it strays as I score it. You only need to score it and bend to snap apart.
I use a small framing square (12 X 9) and will clamp it down to a board with the sheet in the middle.
I use a steel triangle, available at many craft stores such as Michael's, or online through dealers such as Dick Blick.
I also use a triangle and a sharp blade. For long cuts all you need to do is score it, then bend the sheet and it'll break cleanly along your score line.
The 'score and snap' using a straightedge and a square is standard method, I don't cut much of anything without a guide even as small as a micro-trains height gauge for tiny pieces. If your line isn't straight, your problem is the straightedge. If the line is straight but the cut itself is wandering all over the place, you're likely cutting too deep before you snap. When you start to get up around the .020 thickness and up, keep a good machinist file - a normal sized, 12" one, handy to square up edges. That's the other tip, get used to doing a trim-up filing of just about everything to get the actual edges clean and square. That always used to seem kind of unnecessary to me and now it's absolute habit. I have a 6" square, a 4" square, a couple triangles, etc., most of this is available through Micro-Mark although you'll pay top dollar there.
+1 for what Randy said. I'm scoring .020 to .060 styrene, and often have devastating sharp shards where the plastic does not snap absolutely cleanly. And one little shard can really throw off a building, as the seams don't quite meet. I'm using a digital cutter these days. It may sound like too much work to draw a small piece and cut it rather than just cutting away, but I am making kits, so I'd better include that part on the cut sheet. And, because everything is designed for the cutter, I know the exact dimensions (not always a good thing, as there are always variances in gluing things together). I'm also making long cuts--e.g., 48" across a 48" x 96" sheet--in order to make sheets for the cutter. Here I mark things carefully and use a 6-foot steel ruler. I find my blade still wanders a bit on such long cuts but, since I'm using a digital cutter, which requires margins for the feed rollers, that's not so bad. Before the digital cutter, I was cutting against a thin steel ruler or triangle--if the blade didn't wander away, it sometimes jumped the blade and threatened my fingers. When I used a thicker ruler, the blade wandered more, or dulled against the ruler, or broke too often. It takes a lot of practice and patience to get the cut angle, speed and pressure correct, as well as the technique and strength for holding the guide. I've been doing it for 40 years, and still make bad cuts. For small cuts, the NWSL Chopper does a pretty good job.
