What is the best method for cutting WS retaining walls and tunnel portals?
saw, for straight cuts I use a hand miter saw, yes the ones made for wood.
I use a razor saw to cut Hydrocal castings. I think that's what WS uses for its castings.
It's not going to be good for the saw, so if you have an old blade, use that. A hacksaw blade will work, too.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
We cut most Hydrocal castings with a bandsaw and sanded w/ power belt/ disc, this is not feasable for most. for straight simple cuts, a razor saw works fine. it is not too great for the blade as mentioned so using a hacksaw or coping saw w/ disposable blades may be best. The cut can be finished and dry fit by sanding. Usually lay the paper on flat solid surface and 'drag' the piece across. i will usually set a pine or plywood block as a sub-wall for glueing. This works well as the block can be set lower than the casting aloowing for scenery material attachment. I will do this for retaining walls, wingwalls or portals.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Willy6,
Been using an X-acto #240 blade for yrs. Wood, Plastic, Cast plaster and many more. Have one blade over 15yrs old still sharp. As in all hand saws, let the blade do the work...don't force the cut. In plastic's the first few pass's are actually made by the backward stroke, then with light pressure you may cut forward and backward, still letting the saw do the work. If you ever used a hand crosscut saw or rip saw, modeling saws are a piece of cake to use:
Take Care!
Frank