Gabriel writes, about carving braces and other things from minicell foam: <<a couple of things that may make it easier, dollar store serrated knives make quick work of the rough out in the 3" minicell....dragonskin will quickly carve out the nuances of shape. drywall open face sandpaper refines it.>> The serrated edge of a river survival knife also works fairly well for rough carving - but my favorite tool for this is an old Sureform plane "blade", broken in half. This leaves a very coarse toothed edge on the (transverse) broken edge. Scraping with the pointy ends of the teeth pointed *toward* the direction of scraping removes material very quickly. Scraping with the teeth pointed away from direction of scraping removes material a little more slowly and leaves a smoother finish. Like Gabriel, I use dragonskin to smooth the final brace or seat. Sixty grit sandpaper also works well for smoothing. Another great tool for carving minicell is a hand drill fitted out with a wire brush. That does a great job of removing material quickly - but you have to secure the minicell blank onto a piece of plywood, your driveway. If you don't, the rotary torque of the wire brush tends to spin the piece of minicell around. (Carve minicell outside - preferably on a windy day so the tiny pieces of foam "sawdust" blow onto your neighbor's lawn. It makes an awful mess if done inside.) Finally, Bob V writes about the denser foam used for PFDs: << Very difficult to cut, but doable with shears.>> .....A bread knife or a hacksaw blade (off of the hacksaw) will cut this foam, or any foam, like the foam was butter. - Bill Hansen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Not this stuff! It grabs a knife and is VERY difficult to cut. I very sharp art knife with the renewable points lubed with silicone does a fair job. Again, this is latex foam and it's not found in all PFDs. It appears to be related to the foam on the miracle mattresses you see advertised on TV. cya > > Finally, Bob V writes about the denser foam used for PFDs: << Very > difficult to cut, but doable with shears.>> .....A bread knife or a > hacksaw blade (off of the hacksaw) will cut this foam, or any foam, like > the foam was butter. > - Bill Hansen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Bill Hansen wrote: > Another great tool for carving minicell is a hand drill fitted out with a > wire brush. That does a great job of removing material quickly - but you > have to secure the minicell blank onto a piece of plywood, your driveway. > If you don't, the rotary torque of the wire brush tends to spin the piece > of minicell around. > (Carve minicell outside - preferably on a windy day so the tiny pieces of > foam "sawdust" blow onto your neighbor's lawn. It makes an awful mess if > done inside.) And add this to the list: right-angle grinder fitted with 50 grit paper on a 4-inch diameter pad. More controllable than the wire brush and produces a finer, cleaner surface -- even better than what the Dragonskin leaves. Down side: extremely rapid; easy to over-carve. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This is brilliant Bill, excellent for hipbone and backbone indentation and inside contouring. Think it will work on the drill press / securing the hand drill so you can handhold the foam? Bill Hansen wrote: > > Another great tool for carving minicell is a hand drill fitted out with a > wire brush. That does a great job of removing material quickly - but you > have to secure the minicell blank onto a piece of plywood, your driveway. > If you don't, the rotary torque of the wire brush tends to spin the piece > of minicell around. > -- ¤ Gabriel L Romeu ¤ http://studiofurniture.com + /diary or + /paint *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This is cool too Dave, I got an air one which spins REAL fast. > > And add this to the list: right-angle grinder fitted with 50 grit paper on a > 4-inch diameter pad. More controllable than the wire brush and produces a > finer, cleaner surface -- even better than what the Dragonskin leaves. Down > side: extremely rapid; easy to over-carve. > > -- ¤ Gabriel L Romeu ¤ http://studiofurniture.com + /diary or + /paint *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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