Cutting Styrene/ ABS with a scrollsaw?

RoCKo

Sr Member
just a small question:

as the title says, is it possible to cut styrene or abs parts with a scrollsaw/fretsaw?

i assume it should be alright for flat parts like a stormtrooper belt part or handplates but can i also cut parts like the chestplate or abplate of a stormtrooper armor?
 
I suppose you could use a scrollsaw, but since the blades for them are so thin, you might break several just trying to cut one piece of styrene/ABS. With that said, it's better to use a bandsaw... hope this helps. ;)
 
I think a scroll saw will work. I used on of those bench top bandsaws to trim my Snowtrooper armor and it worked great. I used a Dremel to trim my fiberglass Fett armor. What a difference the bandsaw made.

If you hold it down tight and go slow the scroll saw should work. You just have to get the right blade. Do a search and see what a good blade is for cutting plastics.
 
With a medium-toothed blade and a slow cutting speed, a scroll saw will do just fine. I trimmed a lot of my AFX armor with one when I was sizing it to fit me.
Cutting speed is really the key, though - if you run the saw too fast, it will heat the plastic up and it will fuse right back together behind the blade. If you run it too slow, it will grab and tear the plastic. It should be very easy to gauge the best speed for your saw, probably right around 1/3 of full speed depending on how variable yours is. A medium blade cuts quickly without mangling the plastic like a coarse blade can, and doesn't clog with plastic bits as fast as a super-fine blade can.

Hope that's somewhat helpful. :)
 
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