I bought myself a box to cart my trains in , and it has 6 shelves perfect size for N Scale to stand in... I think I could fit about 15 (probably more!)odd cars per shelf! I went and bought some sponge foam to line the draws with and then cut the shape needed out of the sponge. Anyone got any ideas on how to cut this stuff so it looks nice? I have practiced on a few bits with scissors, but it looks like a rat nawed on it.. Any ideas greatly appreciated! Rgds Bruce. ------------------ RR: K, C, & Bird Butt Railroad - SP, NS, and ROCK admirer. Its a coal mining region of a place far far away, that runs, SP, NS, and some CSX.. Also some Custom RARE Bird RR sd40-2's coming! Era: Time stands still round these parts, and we have everything from Steam, to Diesels of today.
The Woodland(?) scenic company makes a rigid foam cutter for about $30.00. It consists of a transformer and nichrome wire on a hand held frame. It will also work on soft foam, although the smell is rotten, use plenty of ventilation. ------------------ When in doubt, empty your magazine. Member #33
Bird, The Woodland Scenics rigid foam cutter is the best way to go. Good luck and Happy Modeling!! John ------------------ The Colorado and Southwestern, Top of the Rockies! http://jstrainstation.homestead.com
Bruce, head back down to Clark Rubber and ask if they can cut it to suit. They may have the facilities to do narrow strips as they cut to size. You may have to buy new material, though. Gary. ------------------ Gary A. Rose The Unofficial TC&W page N to the Nth degree!
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gats: Bruce, head back down to Clark Rubber and ask if they can cut it to suit. They may have the facilities to do narrow strips as they cut to size. You may have to buy new material, though. Gary. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Nice idea Gary, but they hack at it! Well Caringbah branch does... I just want it to look as nice as the box.. what a box.. magnificent 1in ply sides, and fantastic shelves. would be easy for someone with talent to make! JOHN and CHRIS Thanks for the ideas, was hoping for somethin easy! Might try cutting fingers off with Jig Saw or electric knife? ------------------ RR: K, C, & Bird Butt Railroad - SP, NS, and ROCK admirer. Its a coal mining region of a place far far away, that runs, SP, NS, and some CSX.. Also some Custom RARE Bird RR sd40-2's coming! Era: Time stands still round these parts, and we have everything from Steam, to Diesels of today.
The electric knife will be your best bet. I doubt you can get a suitable blade for a jigsaw. And in case anyone will suggest it, we don't have Sears here Downunder. Gary.
When I worked in the steel rule die industry, we had all kinds of foam to cut for displays. Not cell or bead foam. From very soft to very hard rubbery foam, I mean. We sprayed a poster board one side with instant contact cement, laid the sheet foam on it and gently pressed down from center out in all directions. turned over, the cut pattern had been drawn on the clean side of the poster board. We used the 2 point size saw blades to cut from 1/4" up to 4" thick foam. Most were prototypes for display inserts that would eventually hold wine glasses, bottles, toy cars, could hold trains, etc. in boxes for shipping. Without the hard paper glued to the top, the foam just follows the blade down and does not get cut. I found it works great on a band saw also. Now they vacuum form sheets for the same use. We made tool inserts too. That's another story. ------------------ Watash
The easiest way to cut the spongey foam, with absolutely no smell, is one of those old electric knives they sell for cutting roasts, turkeys, etc. It zips right through the soft foam. I wouldn't recommend putting it back in the kitchen drawer when you're done though. Probably best to just pick one up at the 2nd hand store... Ed Harrison ------------------ Ed's Mental Cab Ride
Have you ever seen the foam padding in some instrument cases that looked like egg cartons? To make that sort of shape, nail or glue a shape, say a golf ball, to a flat board. Make two alike. Place a piece of 4" sponge foam between the boards with the balls next to the foam. Clamp the boards together leaving about half an inch between the balls. (Not all band saws have teeth, some are razor or scolloped razor edged) be very very careful handling these blades!!) Use a band saw to slice exactly between the two balls all the way through. When you release the clamps, the two pieces will have the funny shape you see in the packing. Experiment. You can cut the foam this way to make the 'pocket' that fits each size of your set of Crescent wrenches, hammers, pliers, passenger cars, engines etc. It is still a big business today, but the much cheaper, (both in quality as well as in cost), vacuum forming thin styrene sheets has taken the mass market packaging. You will find the vacuum formed packing in todays new train boxes. ------------------ Watash
I'll add to Ten87's suggestion about using the electric carving knife. That works!! We used them in big displays to shape and round off corners etc. We found that if we only worked a few minutes at a time, or until the knife began getting hot, then turned it off and let it cool; the knife lasted a long time. Tip: Separate the two blades like you would to wash the blades, (never get the handle wet). Clean the blade half with soap and water. Only sharpen the BEVELED side of the blade. You may eventually wear away the large scollops, but the blades will still cut fine. Hold the blade as near parallel to the axis of the grinder shaft as practical so the tiny scratches left by the grit of the emery wheel run at nearly 90 degrees to the edge of the blade, and try to match the taper of the sharp edge. In other words, very tiny 'teeth' edge is better than a shaving razor type edge to slice cleanly through foam.) Before re-assembling the two blades, lay the FLAT side of the baldes flat on an emery stone and SLOWLY slide the blade away from the sharpend edge, never toward it. Don't scrub back and forth. The sharp edge you now have will cut you so fast you may not even feel it. This is Butcher shop sharpening practise! With that said; also save the little plastic knives you get at the hambergurger shop. These cut both sponge foam, expanded cellfoam, even bead expanded foam, very well, also. Keep a bowl or can of clean water handy. Dip the knife in water, make a cut. Dip again, make another cut. It is the dry surface ot the knife that heats up the dry surface of the foam that makes the problem with dust and pieces pulling out. Use a soft sawing action, and give the little teeth time to tear each little bubble apart. Otherwise you will simply hook into the bead, and rip it out and then it is statically charged. Try wiping the knife with one of those anti-static sheets you put in with the washing. See what happens when you dust the top a painted car that has been out for awhile, with one of these sheets! It wont work on cigarette smoke residue, that's oil. ------------------ Watash [This message has been edited by watash (edited 26 September 2000).] [This message has been edited by watash (edited 26 September 2000).]
