Thread: Will this work?

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For cutting tombstones out of stryofoam.

I found it at American Science & Surplus

Electric Styro Knife
Measures 10" long OA with a 4-3/4" long, needle-like cutting wand, heats up to 410°F. Has a 7-foot cord, line switch, safety stand, and wall-outlet adapter.

i have herd of those working... but I've used an electric kitchen knife and a dremel tool... sorry I have never used one

For 2" thick styrofoam, use an electric jigsaw with a dull blade. Works great, makes nice, square cuts, and very little mess (no white "sawdust"). You could probably use a longer dull blade for 4" panels.

maleficent,

It would be helpful to post a link to the tool to give me and others a better idea before advising but yeah off hand sounds like it will work.

You can always build your own!

It looks similar to the Foam Factory cutter and that works pretty good.

That being said, it is kinda slow when cutting 2" foam, works great for 3/4.
It is really good for small difficult cuts like letters and cracks.
A jig saw is a lot quicker and messy, I have not tried a dull blade but will for the next TS, but a little mess will save a lot of time
I have yet to try the electric kitchen knife, it sound interesting.

Originally Posted by noahbody

A jig saw is a lot quicker and messy, I have not tried a dull blade but will for the next TS, but a little mess will save a lot of time.

Buy a basic wood blade and cut metal with it (like a steel pipe) until the teeth are nothing but rounded bumps. WEAR GOGGLES! Oh, and remember the blade will be quite hot right away. You could probably grind or Dremel them down as well. Just be sure to leave some ridges. Afterwards, the dull blade seems to work more like an electric knife than a saw, leaving almost NO mess!

To answer your question, yes. That will work fine on the white expanded bead foam, and a little slower on the more dense foams. However, the fumes are not all that healthy for you. Like most I use a hacksaw blade, but in a pneumatic saw. Makes a nice clean cut even on 2" white foam.

Here's the link to the page the knife is on.

http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm/subsection/12

Thanks everyone for the info. I was looking for an easy clean way
to cut the foam. I didn't think about the fumes. I guess I'll have to hit up the thrift stores to find an electric kitchen knife.

Side question
Has anyone had any experience with American Science & Supply? Good/Bad?