WS Foam Cutter

[SeeYou190]

I never used foam for a model railroad, but we sure used a lot of it for Cosplay props.

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The tools from the Hot Wire Foam Factory are top notch. I have never used the Woodland Scenics branded tool.

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If you get the "Pro" power supply from HWFF you really have an excellent set up for hobbiest use.

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-Kevin

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[rrebell]

What alot of you fail to grasp is Woodland scenics never gets hot enough to creat toxic gases, the others do. That is one reason it cuts slower.

[PED]

I do the same as da1 for thick foam. Stiff wire is needed. I use heavy copper wire but a copper rod bent to shape works better than plane wire. One key is to let the heat do the cutting. If you push too hard, the wire will bend out of shape for sure. For carving details in smaller foam, I use a traditional small foam cutter.

[da1]

I made a foam cutter by replacing the tip of a 100W/140W Weller solderering gun with a loop of 14 AWG solid uninsulated copper wire.

[ecdowney]

Don’t know about WS but I bought a GOCHANGE foam cutter on amazon and like it a lot. Big advantage to this unit is the wand is a heat pipe so it gets evenly heated clear to the tip. Just my $0.02.

[Tinplate Toddler]

Many a road leads to the city of Rome!

I have used all of the tools mentioned here, some of which didn´work out the way I had hoped for. The tools I liked best were a hot wire cutter similar to the one WS sell, a mini Ryoba (Japanese) saw and a regular hobby knife. I am not particularly fond of using steak knifes for the purpose of cutting foam - their blades flex too much to be safe to use for cutting through thicker foam.

So for me it is not a question of either a wire cutter, or a knife /saw, but a question of selecting the proper tool which works best for me!

[Aralai]

I use a steak knife too. Matter of fact, on the weekend my wife saw it on my layout and asked what I was doing with one of her steak knifes lol. I have had it down there for years...

[kasskaboose]

I swear by using a drywall saw for cutting foam.  Another option is a steak knife.  Both are long enough to make deep cuts.  While they make a mess, you can clean that up with a shop vac.  I like not having to walk around with a wired device.

[oldline1]

Well, I'm thinking mine must have been defective as I followed the assembly and operating instructions and from the get-go the arms would turn whenever you tried to cut. I wasn't applying excessive force just trying to let the wire cut at it's own pace. I may try another one since some of you who answered had such good results. Even WS can have an issue with something once in a while

Thanks,

oldline1

[doctorwayne]

Some years ago, I built my own using the transformer from an oil furnace, a wire coat hanger, and a piece of broom handle.  Simply bent the wire to the desired profile (roadbed area, sub-ballast shoulders and lineside ditches),  drilled holes in the broom handle to hold the wire so I wouldn't burn myself, and plugged it in.  While it was done merely as an experiment, it work well and cut fairly rapidly, too, but I had not made any type of guide, so there was some up-and-down and side-to-side motion, leaving the results a bit wavy.
I'm going to have to figure out exactly how I wired it up, though, as I recently bought a 2'x8' hunk of 2" foam, with the intention of cutting it into curved sections which I can stack to create a lineside cliff representing Niagara Peninsula limestone.  I'll do the stonework with a utility knife, a slice-and-pick exercise.

Wayne

[BigDaddy]

Not an answer to the OP's question but I have a Hot Wire Foam Factory unit.  They come to Timonium for every show and their distributor is local to me.  I would recommend their products

https://hotwirefoamfactory.com/

[irishRR]

I bought a WS hot wire cutter about 7 years ago and it was one of the best investments I made. I have built 3 sectional railroads and used it for all 3. It cuts perfectly and I have never had problem. After time, you have to replace the wire, but that is a $6 purchase and there is more than enough in a package to last you. I wish they made a curved hot foam cutter for carving ditches and rivers Into a flat styrofoam sheet. The rasp technique yields quite a mess and I live in an apartment... the neighbors don't really appreciate me firing up the vacuum at 2 in the morning.

But again, I have used my foam cutter countless times and it has the ability to make great cuts. It even melts through any set glue from my glue gun if i need to go through it.

[rrebell]

oldline1

Has anyone bought or used the Woodland Scenics hot foam cutter? Any experience with it? I bought one and it was junk. The first time I used it it broke. The arms wouldn't tighten enough to resist the foam. I was really surprised as I have never had anything made by WS that wasn't top quality. Did I get a lemon?

oldline1

 

Best tool outside of a sprue cutter ever made for MR stuff. Don't know how you could have broken it unless you forced it. You have to let the heat cut for you. Only defect with the WS foam cutter is a cheap switch which only maters if you cut as much as I do. By the way it cuts slower than things like hot knives because it is safe to use indoors and is not hot enogh to cause toxic fumes like other brands.

[wvg_ca]

the home made hot wire cutter had a throat of roughly fifteen inches, with a removeable / adjustable fence .. it was driven by 110v through a light dimmer. i only once had to change the nichrome wire, i still have plenty .. there was a small 24v doorbell transformer in between, made with spare cupboard melamine boards

[oldline1]

UNCLEBUTCH,

I'm really glad you have the skills to accomplish this process with your tools. It certainly helps with our modeling to have tools and be able to use them.

I have a shopvac, rasps, knives and sandpaper but like many others don't care for the mess and spending a lot of time cleaning up the considerable mess they can make. A hot knife is a labor/mess saving device preferred by many modelers I know including myself.

My original question was if anyone else had an issue with their Woodland Scenics hot wire tools. Mine never worked from day one and I think that's very unusual for anything from WS to be junk. Was mine a fluke or did they finally create something inferior? I would never sell it to someone else and it went in to the trash after the hobby shop refused to take it as a return.

There are other hot wire tools out there but, like you, I don't want to spend upwards of $100+ for one. Yes, I could resell it.

oldline1

[UNCLEBUTCH]

oldline1

Well a hot knife or wire isn't as messy as using a rasp, sand paper or other methods like that and also makes nicer curves and cuts saving time and mess. Beside they can always be sold or passed to other modelers. oldline1

 Well; I hav a shop vac. A rasp and coarse sand paper will give any kind of curve you want. I have more time then money. And as to selling/passing on, If yours don,t work     no thanks

[oldline1]

UNCLEBUTCH

I still don't understand why anyone would would spend money on a tool, to be used but a few times. When any saw knife,rasp would do the same thing. 

Well a hot knife or wire isn't as messy as using a rasp, sand paper or other methods like that and also makes nicer curves and cuts saving time and mess.

Beside they can always be sold or passed to other modelers.

oldline1

[oldline1]

Can you elaborate on your home made version?

oldline1

 

[UNCLEBUTCH]

I still don't understand why anyone would would spend money on a tool, to be used but a few times. When any saw knife,rasp would do the same thing.

[wvg_ca]

don't know anything abut the WS cutter ...

but the home made version worked fine, more than enough heat ?

[oldline1]

Has anyone bought or used the Woodland Scenics hot foam cutter? Any experience with it? I bought one and it was junk. The first time I used it it broke. The arms wouldn't tighten enough to resist the foam. I was really surprised as I have never had anything made by WS that wasn't top quality. Did I get a lemon?

oldline1