Rules for working with styrofoam

[Caradoc]

I couple of things I've learned in the past week as I've been cutting
styrofoam sheets to use as insulation in my teardrop:

1. Don't cut styrofoam in your garage. It makes a huge mess and the
little pieces get everywhere.

2. A table saw works really well and makes nice, quick, clean cuts,
as long as you have the dust collection connected to it.

3. Don't let the dust collection come off of your table saw. It
makes a huge mess and the little pieces get everywhere.

4. A router with a top-bearing trim bit also works nicely to cut
channels in your form for wiring.

5. There's nothing you can do about the router. It makes a huge mess
and the little pieces get everywhere.

It all went together really well, but I'm sure I'll be cleaning up the
mess for the next year. Keep the vacuum very handy when working with
styrofoam.

--Lance

[Kevin A]

Lance,

Thanks for posting the tips, great ideas..

This is what I used when I cut my foam insulation, it worked fairly well with minumum mess. Not quite as clean a cut as the tablesaw, but it worked ok.

[toypusher]

I just used a straight edge and a sharp utility knife.

[Jiminsav]

I used gasoline and a blow torch to cut mine.







no, really..used a steak knife..it cuts pretty easy.

[Dale M.]

I

5. There's nothing you can do about the router. It makes a huge mess
and the little pieces get everywhere.

--Lance

I have seen routers equipped with adapters to allow you to connect a shop vac to router to capture most dust and stuff.... Perhaps you can make a simple one to capture the cuttings...

Dale

[asianflava]

I used the cordless circular saw that came with my cordless drill. It is pretty usless for wood but it did a great job on the foam.

[Juli n Bill]

serrated steak knife, cuts with very little mess.

[Miriam C.]

I hear the little pieces everywhere. And they are hot so if you are short they really hit the face hard and hot and get everywhere.

BTW if you get too much in your shop vac it will smoke forever too. Nasty smell.

[doug hodder]

I'm with Kerry...sharp utility knife and a straight edge, just like cutting drywall, no real dust or other "floaties" to worry about, especially in the finish down the road......Doug

[Joanne]

Doug & Kerry,

Thanks for waiting until NOW to tell us how to cut it. My neighbors thought it was snowing last summer....well...not really, but it made a huge mess and the little pieces got everywhere.

Joanne

I'm with Kerry...sharp utility knife and a straight edge, just like cutting drywall, no real dust or other "floaties" to worry about, especially in the finish down the road......Doug

[Juneaudave]

I've been fussing a bit lately with the pink stuff...



I've found a straight edge (I just scribe the curves and freehand) and one of those $1.50 snap off razor knifes works well for a nice fit until about the 5 beers..then the cuts all turn out crooked!!!




No fuss, no muss...

[doug hodder]

Dave...you obviously spend more time than I do on the insulation fit up...I use the white stuff and if it doesn't fit really well....I just cut a chunk and jam in it....it ain't pretty....Doug

[Juneaudave]

Dave...you obviously spend more time than I do on the insulation fit up...I use the white stuff and if it doesn't fit really well....I just cut a chunk and jam in it....it ain't pretty....Doug

Evidently, I spend a lot more time on just about everything, judging the speed of my build!!! You know, I wondered and wondered how some people got their insulation to fit just so. I tried a jig saw to cut out the foam...ok results... but that left a jagged cut that didn't measure up. Then I went to the table saw and it made great straight cuts, but ended up with the perverbial foam snowstorm, and didn't handle the curves...a utility knife worked well, but it didn't get through the 1 inch foam I was using. I finally decided a straight edge and a razor knife worked for me. The razor knife has a long enough blade that it cuts the full thickness of the foam...and if you make multiple cuts with a long, smoothe, perpendicular stroke...you can get a nice fit!!!! Hope this tip from the school of hard knocks helps!!!...Juneaudave

[Caradoc]

If I could do it again, I'd probably use the pink stuff. It's more dense and doesn't seem to look like a bean bag chair just barfed after you cut it.

My first project with this white beaded stuff came as I used a utility knife to cut panels for my garage door a couple of months ago. I swore at it then and at the mess it made, and I never really finished the project. I still had a couple of sheets left over, and I thought I'd use it for the teardrop. My opinion of it still hasn't changed.

Something a little more dense and rigid seems like it'd be a little easier to work with.

I mean, I live in Nevada -- it's always windy. I should have just taken the whole thing outside and did it there. On second thought, a 4x8 sheet would be a little tough to handle in the wind.

--Lance

[warsmith]

You could always make a hot wire foam cutter

Hot Wire Foam Cutter

I made something similar to this (Although I used a transformer from a model train set as the power supply)
Like this