Styrene cutting Device?


K

Ken Portner

Member
Is there a device or tool that will help me make straighter cuts with sheet styrene ?

I'm making a building with three sides (for a backdrop) 24" wide , 8" deep using 6"x 17" Evergreen styrene.

I've had a hard time getting the edges straight. I've scored the styrene using a sharp Xacto and ruler burns then snapping it but I still have some noticeable undulations.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
A wood or plastic ruler isn't very good for straight lines. Use the side of a model railroad reference ruler. It is steel and thin and straight. One or two good scores depending on the thickness of the styrene with a sharp Xacto blade will be enough. Also be sure to hold the Xacto knife straight up and down and not move it side to side while scoring. Then bend and snap the piece off.
 
I use a Paper Cutter for the thin stuff. I bought it at Harbor Freight for 12 bucks. There's a Styrene cutter that Micro-mark sells, but, it ain't cheap.
I also use a round wheel cutter like the carpet guys use to cut the thicker stuff. The Quilters also use the same thing. I took my wife's older one when she wasn't looking.:D:):rolleyes:
 
One of the best things for cutting plastic is one of the old guillotine style paper cutters if you can find one.
As Mike pointed out use a metal straight edge and clamps if you can.
Several light passes with a sturdy and sharp knife works well.
 
What has helped me when cutting sheet styrene with a #11 blade, is to use the back of the cutting edge, and not the sharp edge at the point. The back for some reason, scores the styrene a lot better.
 
Cjcrescent said:
What has helped me when cutting sheet styrene with a #11 blade, is to use the back of the cutting edge, and not the sharp edge at the point. The back for some reason, scores the styrene a lot better.
Click to expand...

I've found this to be true too - the sharp side of the blade bites very easily, and if you get off the ruler line, it will wander a long way before you notice it. With either side of the blade though, don't overdo the pressure - better to make two light passes than try one heavy pass, if more than a single light pass is necessary (it probably will be on thicker sheets)

The tip above about making sure the blade is perfectly vertical is important too. If you vary the angle of the blade at all, the styrene edge will look mighty funny once you've snapped it off.
 
Update: I found that Micromark makes a device called "Duplucate it" which is a tool that they say allows you to make square cuts and duplicate them in styrene. At $21 it's not exactly cheap (considering its narrow purpose) but I've ordered it and will report on how well it works after I've tried it out.
 
I'm starting to scratchbuild several large (20"-42" long, 8"-10" deep) and was thinking about how I should cut these large sheets. Currently, I measure twice, cut once (really!) and do a bit of sanding to make sure parts are square and/or mate with adjoining pieces.

What I've been thinking about is getting a mat cutter. This tool is used by framers to cut mat board (the thick cardboard/paper that frequently is under and around framed photographs). While small ones, or cheap ones (which might be fine for infrequent use), will be around $50-$100; large ones designed for frequent use can be found in the $300+ range (too expensive for my needs). The Logan 301 family of mat cutters (used) is under $100 ($60-$80); still a bit expensive, but these seem like quality tools so will be worth investing in...and maybe I'll get extra use from them by taking and framing RR photos for the layout room. Be sure to use one with the 90 degree head, there is an approx 45 degree beveled head (50-55 degree I think), which might be a good start for mitered corners?
After I'm done with my half dozen structures, I could sell it online (or to another scratch-builder if it works well) and recoup some of the initial cost.

If anyone else has used this for cutting styrene sheet, please report your (the mat cutters') success/failure.

Using the back of an Xacto blade (with the sharp tip broken off), will gouge out a square shaped trough (you will see a curled bit of plastic being created as the blade removes, rather than dividing, the plastic (the sharp side of the blade pushes the plastic to either side of the cut line, which will form a burr on each side of the cut.
Looking down the groove, it will resemble a square trough, instead of a 'V' shaped trough with 'berms' at the top. Either way will work; I file (or sand by placing a sheet on a flat surface like a piece of glass, etc...) every edge using even, light, pressure before assembling walls, roofs, etc.

Small (.020) rod/strips can be glued into joints to fill small voids in joints, or use some kind of filler, then sand and paint. Sometimes white glue or artists gel medium (to thicken artists paint) might be able to be used to fill minor imperfections; I'm not sure how well either one sands.
 
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What youn need is a "Skrawker" - so called because of the noise it makes as you drag it across sheet plastic
 
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Add my vote to the metal rule and back of a #11 Xacto blade. The objective is not so much to cut the vinyl, but to scratch it lightly a few times. the blade will be far less likely to wander, especially with the metal rule.
 
I wanted to report in the sheet styrene cutting tool I got from Micromark. It's called "Duplicate it" and purports to help you cut straight, identical pieces of sheet styrene.

It's a flat piece of Mdf with a bar clamp at one end and an adjustable stop at the other. You slip the sheet under the clamp to the desired depth, but it up against the stop and then tighten the stop. Then you use a razor blade (or hobby knife) to score the sheet, using the clamp bar as the guide. To make an identically cut sheet, loosen the bar clamp, pull out the sheet you just cut, slide another one in, tighten the bar clamp and repeat. The stop is secured in place and makes sure you cut the same. If this makes no sense go to their website and look at the photo of the thing and you'll see what I mean.

I've tried it and it works well. You still have to take it slow to make a straight cut, but it's a lot better than when I was trying it "freehand" with only a ruler as guide.

Only draw back is that it only takes an 8" wide sheet max. I am building a structure with a 24" wall and do I'll need to have more joints than I'd like. But I'll take those joints over edges that undulate.
 
Ken check out an artists supply store. Ages ago I bought a draftsman's 36 inch tee square. The T head is plastic and the ruler is thin steel. You'll still have to use the Xacto knife method to score and snap a piece but at least you'll be able to use longer sheets of styrene and avoid joints.
 
I use most of the things already mentioned including the tool for scratching plastic to enable me to snap it in two. I also have an 18" stainless steel ruler that I tape to the styrene when I use it. It was one of those with a cork back but I removed the cork because I did not like the thickness of it.

For large sheets I use a 48" drywall square that I tape to the sheet with 2" masking tape instead of clamping so that it stays in place. Here's a picture of the square, well the left half of it.

CuttersForSheetPlastic003.jpg


For strips I occasionally use a knife paper cutter but it doesn't work all that well for me because the plastic under the blade shifts even if the sheet is clamped. Here's my knife paper cutter.

CuttersForSheetPlastic002.jpg


What I use most is a paper cutter that I got from the office supplies section of Walmart. I mounted it on a piece of MDF, added sheet hardboard to make the base more level with the cutter surface and added hardboard strips as guides to keep the stock sheet of plastic square. I push one of the cutters (the green parts) from bottom to top to keep the sheet against the guides. I have not needed to tape or clamp the sheet using this cutter. I like this enough to use it to square up my mistakes cutting other ways. Here it is.

CuttersForSheetPlastic001.jpg
 
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