Thread: Foam cutter / sculpting tool: wire or knife suggestions

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Hello all,

I am looking into working with foam this year for Halloween and I have been scouring local stores near me for a good foam cutter.

But let me back up a bit and first let me tell you what I would like to do. I would like to make "stone walls" out of sheets of the dense pink or blue insulating foam. I also would like to carve out my own foam pumpkins.

Out of the cutters I have seen it seems like the straight hot wire cutter seems to be the best, however, it has the disadvantage of not being able to do 'plunge' cuts in which a hole or cutout has to be made in the middle of a piece.

The next in line is the hot knife method in which I could make plunge cuts, but they are not well suited for cutting through large pieces of foam. So what I would be looking for is something that kind of marries the knife and wire concepts into one tool.

Now on to the next problem...locating a hot wire/knife cutter. Most of the ones I have come across are either ridiculously expensive or are so cheap they run on batteries and I don't anticipate on them lasting very long. Thusfar, the only tool that seems to be decent and has several cutting attachements is the Tippi foam cutter that is sold through some model railroad outlets. The problem is that it costs around $50 and it still will not be able to cut through larger pieces of foam (2" +).

I have looked around on this site and seen some of the home made wire cutters, but they were all of the "straight through" variant and would only be suited for making outside cuts.

I guess the best thing I would be looking for is a stiff wire that would heat up on one end that I could use to "plunge" through the foam to make inside cuts and also use for detailing.

Anyway, I am just looking for some ideas and suggestions that will not break the bank. I COULD make my own cutter if need be as I do have an electronics background and some mechancial knowledge.

Thank You,

Geo

Look at hotwirefoamfactory.com. They sell "a stiff wire that would heat up on one end that you could use to "plunge" through the foam to make inside cuts'. They sell a different one for detail work. The "cutter" is not really a detail tool. I have the long cutter and it works great. I have never used the detail tool although I am considering getting it since the cutter works so well.

I just made some foam brick walls, and they turned out great! I just used the simple utility knife, though!

I have the hot wire pro kit and it works fine but I also like using a heat gun I made brick walls with this technique it was a lot faster to make so many.

Any wood working tool will do fine. I use Rasp, Files, Sandpaper, etc.

Tools I use....Dremel and various bits as well as routing attachment. Surfoam Shaver: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053 Drywall saw for cutting: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053 and various sponge type sanding blocks.

I made a wire cutter with a quick disconnect under the table (basically an electrified screw that I loop the wire around) that can cut pieces 24" thick for about $20. For doing plunge cuts, I heat up a stiff piece of wire or a thin metal rod with a blowtorch and drop it through the foam to make the hole. I then disconnect the wire from my cutter, drop it through the foam, and hook it back up again. The process isn't bad but next time I'm going to make a quick disconnect on the top of the cutter also.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a drywall hole saw from Harbor Freight on sale for about $2.00. It works well for inside and quick cuts when I'm not right next to the wire cutter. I wish I would have bought one a long time ago.

Here is a link to a thread that shows pics of a foam cutter I made with some plywood, a $7 transformer, guitar string, some square tubing, brackets, a lamp dimmer and guitar tuning thing-a-ma-jigs. All together I think it cost about $40 to make and it works awesome.

Foam Cutting Table

Hello all,

Thank you for the info,

The stuff at Hot Wire Foam Factory is definitely up my alley. It is bit expensive, but the selection is good. I am still going through the site!

I should have been clearer on the method I was interested in as many of you suggested the use of regular wood working tools. I really would like to avoid the use of such tools because I know the mess those tools make with foam, and I certainly don't want to spend half my time on clean up. However, I still do like the idea of using a Dremel for really fine details, but as I said I am just starting out and mostly am interested in making brick/stone face facades/walls and carving out pumpkins.

It was last year when someone first showed me a foam cutting tool made by "Tippi", in that I became interested in hot wire cutting and sculpting.

I have seen some of the low cost wire cutters that you can make yourself as well, but it does seem that the "plunge" one ended wire that I saw on the Hot Wire Foam Factory will fit the bill for most projects.

Once again, thanx for the input.

Geo

This is what your looking for.

AWESOME TOOL and you cannot beat the price !
I love mine !
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...&q=foam+cutter