Where to buy foam??!

[DaveK]

... They had several tools for carving foam from blocks. One of those tools was a machine like a bandsaw which worked with a very thin wire. Using that they could slice through the foam and cut it into shapes....

This would be a hot-wire foam cutter. An electrical current runs through the wire making it hot, and it melts through the foam. It is very important to note that some foams smoke is toxic, and should not be cut with this method.

If you want to pursue this method there are many DYI plans out there on the Internet. But again, be careful what types of foam you cut and pay close attention to ventilation. Also be careful about the design as some I've seen are a definate shock hazard. I run mine through an isolation transformer and only cut polystyrene foam (the extruded rigid insulation foam) .... for my lost-foam casting patterns, not pool cue cases.

Dave

 

[JB Cases]

This would be a hot-wire foam cutter. An electrical current runs through the wire making it hot, and it melts through the foam. It is very important to note that some foams smoke is toxic, and should not be cut with this method.

If you want to pursue this method there are many DYI plans out there on the Internet. But again, be careful what types of foam you cut and pay close attention to ventilation. Also be careful about the design as some I've seen are a definate shock hazard. I run mine through an isolation transformer and only cut polystyrene foam (the extruded rigid insulation foam) .... for my lost-foam casting patterns, not pool cue cases.

Dave

Thank you Dave for the information. When we don't cut it using the razor then we use the laser and it's well ventilated and filtered.

I think I am going to look up the DIY instructions and play with it though as I do want to cut some crescents out of thicker and longer blocks. I just had an idea of how to build a jig to do this easily.