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DIY Styrofoam Cutter

M

Mr Overkill

New Member
I sell a lot of heavy gear like amps and what not. Cutting styrofoam with a knife makes a HUGE mess. One day i had a bright idea (it happens from time to time). I took my old Weller 100/140 watt Soldering gun and removed the soldering tip and made a new tip from 14ga copper wire. I bent it in a simple loop about 2.5" long. Pull the trigger, heat up the tip and it cuts like a dream!

You have to go slow, real slow, let the tip do the work. if you push it, it will bend. but be gentle and it cuts up to 2" styrofoam no problem. you can even cut odd shapes, cut around knobs, buttons, switches etc.

The edge of the cut is ends up being smooth but hard and can scratch surfaces so use a softer material first around where you cut.

I buy sheets of styrofoam at Home depot. the plain white stuff. you can buy 4x8' 2" thick sheets fairly cheap. they also sell 16" wide by 1.5" thick sheets that is a bit easier to handle.

The blue or pink styrofoam is much more expensive but also makes nicer cuts and can handle a bit more weight before crushing.

I have shipped many 60+ pound amps with 1 layer of 2" styrofoam on all sides packed in a tight box (and tight is the key) without problems.

Hope this helps you pack your items?!
 
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Nice, do this in a well ventilated area and don't breath the fumes.

Sounds like a success to me.
 
This is a great idea. I've taken to cutting styrofoam outside because of the mess it makes- it's unbelievable. And I do the same thing for large heavy items- use the HD foam sheets. I've been on the lookout for a hot knife, but haven't found one yet.

I will try this!
 
Mr Overkill said:
I sell a lot of heavy gear like amps and what not. Cutting styrofoam with a knife makes a HUGE mess. One day i had a bright idea (it happens from time to time). I took my old Weller 100/140 watt Soldering gun and removed the soldering tip and made a new tip from 14ga copper wire. I bent it in a simple loop about 2.5" long. Pull the trigger, heat up the tip and it cuts like a dream!

You have to go slow, real slow, let the tip do the work. if you push it, it will bend. but be gentle and it cuts up to 2" styrofoam no problem. you can even cut odd shapes, cut around knobs, buttons, switches etc.

The edge of the cut is ends up being smooth but hard and can scratch surfaces so use a softer material first around where you cut.

I buy sheets of styrofoam at Home depot. the plain white stuff. you can buy 4x8' 2" thick sheets fairly cheap. they also sell 16" wide by 1.5" thick sheets that is a bit easier to handle.

The blue or pink styrofoam is much more expensive but also makes nicer cuts and can handle a bit more weight before crushing.

I have shipped many 60+ pound amps with 1 layer of 2" styrofoam on all sides packed in a tight box (and tight is the key) without problems.

Hope this helps you pack your items?!
Click to expand...

Saw a similar rig in a sculpture class. This guy had an old electric train transformer hooked up to various shapes of nichrome wire, and was cutting styrofoam up into all sorts of weird shapes.

Russellc
 
yeah i was going to mention use in a well ventilated area but forgot....Guess my area wasn't ventilated well enough!

I tried hot wire cutters, I tried Hot Knives, I tried every other commercially available product i could find and none worked very well. at least not as well as my weller setup. Someday if i find a nice piece of nichrome wire and a big HD transformer and variac i might try a more powerful horizontal band saw type set up! something to cut full length sheets down to a particular width or thickness.
 
240sx4u said:
I cook hotdogs over burning car tires and treated lumber. lol
Click to expand...

Don't forget about heating your house by burning old car battery casings in your woodstove.

Keeps the place nice and warm and after a few months, the kids are easily entertained for hours with practically anything!
 
I prefer the painted lumber, it gives a more piquant bouquet to the neighborhood.

Back to the topic, I bought some nichrome wire a long time ago to make one of these and lost my round tuit!
 
I considered getting a hot knife or hot wire cutter for cutting styrofoam sheet, but decided instead to just vacuum up the mess after getting all the pieces cut. A canister vac works nicely.
 
I haven't tried this but have often thought it might work.

Has anyone tried using expanding insulation foam? Here's what I want to try someday. Get a box about 2 inches wider/longer/deeper than the item. Put a trash bag in the box. Place a couple 1" styro blocks in the box. Wrap the item to be shipped in plastic bag. Put item in box centered on styro blocks. Shoot a bit of expanding foam into each bottom corner, then each upper corner, careful not to over do it. Close top of box and let it set up. I wouldn't try this with anything were the foam might wrap around complex shapes.
 
cubby01 said:
I haven't tried this but have often thought it might work.

Has anyone tried using expanding insulation foam? Here's what I want to try someday. Get a box about 2 inches wider/longer/deeper than the item. Put a trash bag in the box. Place a couple 1" styro blocks in the box. Wrap the item to be shipped in plastic bag. Put item in box centered on styro blocks. Shoot a bit of expanding foam into each bottom corner, then each upper corner, careful not to over do it. Close top of box and let it set up. I wouldn't try this with anything were the foam might wrap around complex shapes.
Click to expand...

I had a relative pick up and ship a Yamaha PX-2 to me. It was my 1st TT and I bought it online half way across the country. I gave him info from AK and the Turntable Factory on how to pack it, as it didn't have its original box or lock-down screws. Well, he improvised a bit and used exactly that (the expanding foam) in addition to reinforcing the box with styrofoam. The turntable got here in perfect shape! The only thing was it was a real bear to unpack. I had to destroy the box and peel my way in to the turntable. It made quite a mess, but was worth it.

I'll see if I can dig up some pix of the expanding foam pre-disinterment. :D
 
cubby01 said:
I haven't tried this but have often thought it might work.

Has anyone tried using expanding insulation foam? Here's what I want to try someday. Get a box about 2 inches wider/longer/deeper than the item. Put a trash bag in the box. Place a couple 1" styro blocks in the box. Wrap the item to be shipped in plastic bag. Put item in box centered on styro blocks. Shoot a bit of expanding foam into each bottom corner, then each upper corner, careful not to over do it. Close top of box and let it set up. I wouldn't try this with anything were the foam might wrap around complex shapes.
Click to expand...

http://gssound.com/pack.html
 
cubby01 said:
I haven't tried this but have often thought it might work.

Has anyone tried using expanding insulation foam? Here's what I want to try someday. Get a box about 2 inches wider/longer/deeper than the item. Put a trash bag in the box. Place a couple 1" styro blocks in the box. Wrap the item to be shipped in plastic bag. Put item in box centered on styro blocks. Shoot a bit of expanding foam into each bottom corner, then each upper corner, careful not to over do it. Close top of box and let it set up. I wouldn't try this with anything were the foam might wrap around complex shapes.
Click to expand...

I have done this! I shipped a Technics RS-1500 tape deck this way. there are some problems. 1- the spray expanding foam needs air to cure. I found this out the hard way. the foam on top would cure and no air would get to the bottom that was all still liquid. I ended up scraping my first attempt.

I had to spray it in layers letting it dry between layers. this took me considerably more time! 2- care must be taken as that foam is not forgiving. it gets into areas and expands and can cause damage!
 
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