Thread: best tools for carving great stuff foam

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I am trying to carve a dragon's head with great stuff. I have used a few tools but can't break through the outer crust easily.

I am looking for advice to find the best way to get good results with this meduim.

I know this info is in in here somewhere but after searching for 20minutes I gave up.

thanks!!!!

hot wire best hands down imho

I used a string from a mandoline drilled a hole in a table, and made a arm above it. atatched the string with tension(just a litte spring) and took a 15 volts, 1ah transformer. wired it up to a single pole dimmer and connected the 15 volt to the string, with my dimmer I can adjust the temperature, perfect for large objects. Made a few props that way..! just google hot wire cutter on google, and you'll see lots of different versions for every use.

Good luck!

I have success with a hacksaw blade with a duct tape handle, but it makes a lot of dust. Good for sharp edges and lines, but it would have been complimented with a hot wire cutter.

Had good luck with a serrated steak knife!

Stacy

If you have an angle grinder, change the tip of your saw to a point and then sharpen it so it looks like the tip of a standard hobby knife. I'm planning on doing this with all my pumpkin saws because they bend too easily when you try to shove them into fake or real pumpkins.

You could also grind them down by hand with a very rough sharpening stone. Use a hacksaw to cut the angle then sharpen as best you can.

If you rush things like I always do, after you're done you can use the blood covered knives for very authentic props.

Just remember that great stuff contains iso-cyanate (SP) so dust is very BAD! In solid form it's considered home safe but aerosolised it's potentially dangerous. Having said tha, I dremel, using the mini skill saw attachment and various other attachments. I also use dust masks or a respirator depending on how much dust is involved. Read the warning label. Wow! I also use the white chemical paper suits if I'm creating any dust and not just molding. But thats just me. Cait