Has anyone been successful at cutting foam for repackaging? Tips/Tricks?

I use the Hot Wire Foam Factory Scroll Table to cut packaging all the time, works great.

I use my band saw on the compressible gray foam. Pretty sure it would work on any type of foam.

Pete

@Norton posted:

I use my band saw on the compressible gray foam. Pretty sure it would work on any type of foam.

Pete

May I assume that's with a knife edged blade, rather than tooth edged??

@dkdkrd posted:

May I assume that's with a knife edged blade, rather than tooth edged??

Just the metal cutting blade thats on there. It makes a clean cut, no problem. Blade type not critical. I have used skip tooth wood blades and wavy metal blades.

Pete

Why do you need packaging foam if you Love it so much. Display it and or run it.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I use the Hot Wire Foam Factory Scroll Table to cut packaging all the time, works great.

I have one of these from my old architectural firm that dates back 40 years.  Nothing quite beats a nichrome wire cutter for clean foam cuts.  Mine has a fence and the base has a 1" grid on it for more precision cutting.

This was a bargain purchase for like $35 with several other cutters, I didn't realize it would be so handy, it's the cutter I use most often.

Thanks for all the suggestions.  Glad to see I am not the only one that has wanted to replace foam.

@yardtrain I don't have a layout yet and even if I did, I don't want the foam to smell like cigarette smoke.  I am picky and I like things nice and smell free. 

Fine tooth hacksaw blades work well.

I have a home made hot wire cutter similar to the one Gunrunner John shows and I use my bandsaw just as much perhaps more.  I also use an electric knife.  I prefer the hot wire for intricate cuts and the bandsaw for ripping and cutting blocks. The thing about cutting on a bandsaw is the foam lice it creates. I usually hook up my shopvac and hold it near the saw blade.   j

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I use the Hot Wire Foam Factory Scroll Table to cut packaging all the time, works great.

Yes. That will work. $150 to cut a couple of pieces of foam

@yardtrain posted:

Yes. That will work. $150 to cut a couple of pieces of foam

First off, one supposes that you'd find more uses for it.  Second, you can have one of these for a lot less than $150.  I bought mine with several other foam cutting tools for $35 some years back.

@roll_the_dice posted:

Thanks for all the suggestions.  Glad to see I am not the only one that has wanted to replace foam.

Over time that old foam fails; there used to be sources of the foam and good, solid replacement boxes (Reboxx used to be a source).  I use a lot of Uline type boxes for cars, but buying those in flat bundles of 50 is doable; it would be nice to be able to get larger boxes for locos, pass equipment, specialty cars, etc. w/o having to buy 50 at a time.   

@JohnActon posted:

I have a home made hot wire cutter similar to the one Gunrunner John shows and I use my bandsaw just as much perhaps more.  I also use an electric knife.  I prefer the hot wire for intricate cuts and the bandsaw for ripping and cutting blocks. The thing about cutting on a bandsaw is the foam lice it creates. I usually hook up my shopvac and hold it near the saw blade.   j

Yep, I've cut lots of foam with the bandsaw using a metal blade, but it does create a mess.  If it fits on the scroll table, I like the hot wire.

Ya Know, there is always one....

If it’s the squishy black or gray foam that has a memory, why not just wash it out with dawn dish soap and hot water?…..ring them out really good, and let the pieces air dry for a few days……if the smell really bothers you, do it outside with a garden hose,….

Pat

Lots of types of foam out there. Not sure we are all talking about the same stuff. Styrofoam used for boxes and ridged insulation a hot wire may be best but for the foam that is found  next to the model inside a box a saw does better, faster, cleaner cut.

Pete

When I cut thick foam, I mark the top with a marker pen and then cut through it with a long knife.  May not be a perfect cut but it works and no special tools are required.  For one inch foam, I mark it and then cut it with scissors.

Ed

@Norton posted:

Lots of types of foam out there. Not sure we are all talking about the same stuff. Styrofoam used for boxes and ridged insulation a hot wire may be best but for the foam that is found  next to the model inside a box a saw does better, faster, cleaner cut.

That hasn't been my experience Pete, I find that any of the foam cuts very nicely with the hot wire.  What foam are you talking about?  I'm confused about "next to the model", that's normally a wrap or very thin foam, I cut that with scissors.  The foam insert in a locomotive or rolling stock box cuts very nicely with the hot wire.  I also cut the blue and pink foam in 1" or 2" thicknesses with the hot wire.

From Übermeister:

”The handrail "anti-squish" (material) is closed-cell polyethylene "plank" foam.”

From what I read about the hotwire cutter the foam should be PE (polyethylene) or it will make a mess?  Has that been your experience?

Also, these are inside cuts, how do you do that with the hotwire?  Put the wire through the foam and then cut along where you marked for the cuts?

I have yet to come across any foam that doesn't cut cleanly with the hot wire.  I thought the "plastic like" compressible foam would be a problem, but it works fine.  It even cuts the rubber like sheets of foam with no problem.

@roll_the_dice posted:

I recently acquired a Car Works 53" National Tank Car Flat, but unfortunately the foam padding (although in great shape) REEKS of cigarette smoke.  I am going to try to air it out, but it the worst smelling foam padding I have ever had the misfortune of smelling.  It is so bad, I complained to the seller and they offered to take it back, but I love the car, just hate the padding.  They did refund me about 30% of what I paid for it though.

In Lieu of being able to get the smoke out, I was thinking of buying some foam and using the originals as a template and making a new foam piece for the box.  The box doesn't smell nearly as bad as the foam which makes sense.  Anyway, has anyone done this?  Tips or tricks you can share or do's and don'ts?  As always thanks in advance for any help.

I have an electrostatic ozone generator and used it to rid the smoke smell in a rental property. Took about two weeks running non-stop and all the smoke smell was gone.  Washing as Pat suggest should work and an ozone generator will work as well. Put your foam in a confined place ,closet, with a O3 generator and check once a day till the smell is gone.              j

One might think that the box should have protected the foam a bit I wonder if the stronger smell in the foam is a by-product of the reaction of the foam to the smoke.                     j

I have tried lots of things when I end up with a stinky “box” (I have pretty much stopped buying items online as I am tired of receiving something described as new; but then it reaks of mold or smoke)

The last time I did this I threw away the foam, I soaked the box with disinfectant spray from a can, and replaced the foam with sheets - 3/4” thick for the top and bottom layer and a 1” thick piece cut into a 2 and 1/2” wide strip wrapped around the brass model, all cuts made with a standard utility knife - I also use new plastic wrap on the model, cut from painters sheet plastic  (I get all the items at the store with Wal in the name)

@bob3 posted:

I have tried lots of things when I end up with a stinky “box” (I have pretty much stopped buying items online as I am tired of receiving something described as new; but then it reaks of mold or smoke)

I sincerely hope all of you will take bob3 's advice and stop buying online.  The competition from other bidders is wrecking my budget.            j

Wrap your original foam in newspaper and that should absorb the odor over time.

@JohnActon posted:

I have an electrostatic ozone generator and used it to rid the smoke smell in a rental property. Took about two weeks running non-stop and all the smoke smell was gone.  Washing as Pat suggest should work and an ozone generator will work as well. Put your foam in a confined place ,closet, with a O3 generator and check once a day till the smell is gone.              j

If you take John's advice, I would vent the ozone being generated to the outdoors when you're ready to retrieve the foam.  Breathing in ozone in high concentrations is allegedly a health hazard.

@Ted S posted:

If you take John's advice, I would vent the ozone being generated to the outdoors when you're ready to retrieve the foam.  Breathing in ozone in high concentrations is allegedly a health hazard.

Just don't get in the closet and close the door behind yourself. This small generator won't fill an entire house with a high enough concentration to matter.  But it will fill the closet.  Just turn off the generator and close the closet when your finished. When I treated the house that wreaked of cigarette smoke  I put the machine in one room at the time with the door closed while I worked in the rest of the house. I find model train smoke more irritating than entering a room where the O3 generator has been running for five or six hours.  j

@roll_the_dice posted:

Also, these are inside cuts, how do you do that with the hotwire?  Put the wire through the foam and then cut along where you marked for the cuts?

So, think of your foam as a 'donut'.  (First cup of Joe in the morning gets me to think about donuts, anyway!)

Your compromise is to make one cut through dough in order cut the hole.  After all, the cut is only the thickness of the wire.  When you put the donut into the box, the cut will be hardly noticeable, and certainly will not compromise the rest of the donut's cradling of your gem.

Speaking of doughnuts!....

...which was printed on every box of Mayflower Donuts...our family favorites when growing up in Washington, D.C....about 70 years ago!!!

But, I digress.  Sorry.

KD

I always wondered how they made the hole in the donut

@Ted S posted:

Breathing in ozone in high concentrations is allegedly a health hazard.

  I have watched youtube videos of people using them to rid smoke out of antique furniture.  I am sure it works, but I don't own an ozone generator, so won't be going that route.  I am measuring what size foam I need today and ordering some and then probably buying the hotwire table or similar GRJ suggested.  I have wanted one of those for a while anyway...so hopefully win win.

If in doubt, use the most powerful tool in your collection.

This would also work for cutting the foam