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Coping saw for plastic (styrene)?
Doe anyone here have experience using coping saws? I need to do some detailed interior cuts on styrene plastic and am wondering what blades/technique might be best.
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I've not personally had too much experience with making the kind of cuts on styrene that you're referring to, but my older brother was a plastic model kit monster (I think he's built close to a thousand of them), with a strong penchant for WWI and WWII airplane, tank and ship kits. I do remember watching him cut very intricate pieces from big styrene sheets with an Xacto blade (and winding up with bloody fingers). These days, with the sheer volume of specialty tools on the market (like Dremel stuff), I'm sure there are attachments that would allow for easier, precion cutting. If you have a Hobbytown U.S.A. around, they could likely point you in the right direction.sigpic Oh then, what's this? Big flashy lighty thing, that's what brought me here! Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them. Not actually. But give me time. And a crayon. -
Yes, for styrene, there's 2 ways to go about this:
1) X-acto jeweler's coping saw. It might be a little hard to find and might be discontinued- doesn't appear on X-acto's website anymore but you can still get it on Amazon. Buy several types of blades, because they break really easily.
2) Hot knife. It's like a woodburner, but with a screw-on hobby knife attachment. You plug it in, let it warm up and then you can make really intricate cuts in styrene. Use the tip *only* and it leaves a little "lip" on the edge which can be cleaned up with sandpaperComment
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Thank you very much, that's helpful on all counts. I do already have a good Dremel but find it unwieldy.
I have a vintage L'EGGS egg into which I want to cut designs.Last edited by PNGwynne; Mar 28, '17, 7:22 PM.WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.Comment
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LOL. L'eggs egg. I didn't even realize that they weren't sold in plastic eggs anymore. A quick check of Wikipedia says that the plastic eggs were discontinued in 1991, so your L'eggs egg is 26 years old now!
It might have become a bit brittle over the years, so I'd definitely recommend the hot knife over the coping saw. Since using a coping saw means that you have to drill holes in the egg, you'd run a good risk of cracking it.Comment
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