Yes, most any sort of abrasive tool and foam are not friends. Takes a totally different method to work compared to wood. As with most things, using the right tool makes the job easier.(and less messy)
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinkerANd since the fire code says this, you will pretty much NEVER find a book that contradicts this because if someone recommends doing something and someone gets hurt or worse, they can be held liable.
This is very true. Once anything is written in NFPA, Fire Code, NEC, Electrical Code, or Building Code, no one will contradict it. It becomes gospel.
For what it is worth on foam...
I build an N scale portable layout in the 1980s that used sheets of white "bead board" foam. We shaped it outside of our club's storage locker using wood rasps! Little white beads went everywhere!
There were still white beads all over the storage facility for months.
What a mess.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Same thing was said about the EPS foam (the pink or blue - Lowes has green) stuff. There was a web site where they videoed all sorts of ways of trying to make it burn. Even with a direct flame, all that happened was the foam melted until the edges of the melted hole were too far from the flame to reach the melting point. They also tried things like a shorted wire and a soldering iron.
Liek the beaded foam, it makes a mess when sawed - my first layout with it, I recessed Tortoise machines from the top, so I used the router attachment on my Dremel to cut the recess, and even with the shop vac held right against the cutting point, it made a lot of pink snow. But cutting out squares with a steak knife made less chips than cutting a piece of wood, and for long cuts, I used a straightedge and made multiple scores and then just snapped it off, no mess at all. A hot wire will also carve contours without making a mess.
But - you will find the National Fire Code says this stuff is to be used only for insulation, and must be covered up, not exposed. When the whole wall is covered with this stuff in a vertical alignment, instead of horizontal model railroad benchwork, the results may not be the same. ANd since the fire code says this, you will pretty much NEVER find a book that contradicts this because if someone recommends doing something and someone gets hurt or worse, they can be held liable. SO the books will all tell you it's a fire hazard. Or if it's known to give off harmful fumes - there's no gurantee every brand of the XPS foam you buy has the exact same characteristics, so the books will say not to use a hot wire cutter. It's not that they are lying to you, if the dispense information that can be in any way construed as dangerous or harmful, they can be held liable. So they always err on the side of caution. Right or wrong, that's a topic not for this forum, but there's a YouTuber I watch who does a lot of repair on old tube radios and test gear. Before he starts opening anything up, he always clearly states "If you are following along on your own, you are doing so at your own risk" because tube equipment can be deadly if you don't know what you are doing. Not that some fancy suit couldn't claim there was insufficient warning or something if someone did hurt themselves, but at least an attempt was made to alert viewers that there is danger ahead and not to jump in blindly.
I think the root cause of so much misinformation is the self-appointed-know-it-alls are too afraid to admit that they do not know everything.
The situation has become measurably worse in recent months.
So they post replies on subjects they know little about, people assume they know what they are talking about, then the incorrect information gets repeated.
I do not know why some people...
1) Have a hard time admitting they do not know something.
2) Have a need to respond to threads where they have little knowledge.
3) Think that people who use different approaches are wrong.
4) Cannot admit when they are wrong.
I come to online forums to learn. I do not know everything, I might not even know much.
When I do respond with knowledge, it is usually based on experience I have gained from building 6 previous model railroad layouts and helping on many others.
I do not repond with information I learned just from reading about other people building their layouts. I never trust a know-it-all that does not share pictures of what they have built.
If you want to convince me, show-me. Maybe I should move to Missouri.
This is a pet peve of mine. I find the lack of information on a lot of stuff either wrong or incompleat. Example, on recent layouts I have used beaded foam (use these tearms so there is no misunderstang of the product I am talking about). I was told many years ago that it was a fire hazard and that it was dangerous to cut, kinda half truths. It will contribute fuel to a house fire but then so will your couch (in fact the couch is worse). I persoally tried to start a fire on a peice but it only melted and I am talking about hot soldering iorns and burning matches etc. It only emits toxic fumes over 467 degrees (Woodland Scenics hot wire foam cutter only gets to 425 degrees). Other myths is the beads will get everywhere, the will if you use a saw but with a sharp knife or wire cuter, this is mainly done away with (and for places with a more static eviorments there are remidies). Another thing they talk about is shrinkage which it dose do but only when brand new (most people never see the just manufactured stuff) In fact I experimented myself to verify this, took a measured peice and left it in the hot sun during summer and then put the same peice in the freazer over night the next day, measurments were taken at each step and no difference that was measurable for our situation. This is not the only thing I have had troubles with, there are countless others, went so far as electrical foresics (yes there is such a thing) to find out about wiring hazards. Question is why did I have to do all this instead of just buying a book or other.