Cutting/shaping a resin casting -- how?

[Anonymous]

I received a Chooch Enterprises resin bridge abutment and pier today, and the pier is about 1/2" taller than the abutment. Fortunately I had the foresight to put a layer of 3/4" Styrofoam on the plywood that supports the bridge (it's a Walthers single-track truss bridge leading into a Walther trestle bridge to span the area in front of a window), so I was able to "lower the ground" so to speak to get both ends of the bridge level.

But that got me to thinking -- how do you cut or shape a resin casting? At some point in the future I'll probably have a resin retaining wall, and most likely the commercial ones won't be the right height and/or length. What's the trick to cutting it to size?

[nfmisso]

saw, milling machine, dremel, files, etc.

[cacole]

For a straight cut, a table saw could be used. Pu***he casting through the blade very slowly to avoid friction heating the casting and melting or warping it.

[Anonymous]

Well, since I don't own a table saw or milling machine, the dremel will have to do. Thanks, folks!

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jsalemi

Well, since I don't own a table saw or milling machine, the dremel will have to do. Thanks, folks!

Joe,

I'd add the advise to wear a dust mask, too. No reason to breath this stuff...

[bpickering]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CBQ_Guy
I'd add the advise to wear a dust mask, too. No reason to breath this stuff...

You know, I was laughing to myself the other day about just this, while doing some airbrushing. When I was young, neither I, nor my parents, thought much of anything about gluing and/or painting indoors, even in the dead of mid-West winters with no outside ventilation. Good 'ol Testors model glue (both for wood & plastic) and paints. Amazing I've got any brain cells left. [:)]

Nowadays, until I built a paint hood (which I also use for gluing anything more radical than Elmers...), I would take the piece out in the garage with the door open. I also use at least a dust mask when using the power saw for more than a moment, and have a chemical mask for the rare times (mostly priming) that I wear when using solvent-based paints. Am I paranoid? Maybe just a little. BUT... is it worth taking the chance? Not in my book.

Back OT: From what little I've done with resins (mostly non-hobby), the "dremel" works wonderfully. As mentioned, take it slow, and be careful with the cutoff disk- it's a cutter, not a grinder (is it obvious that I've had a little problem with breaking the little buggers lately? [:)]) My biggest problem is typically in the surrounding material tending to melt and/or deform- go fast-enough not to melt the surroundings, but not too fast to break the disks.

Brian Pickering