Noob Stumbling at Second Foam Hurdle

[Daviddriscoll]

Hey guys, been lurking for a while, amazed at what is being turned out, resistant from people on their first few attempts!

I've followed the JF Custom Foam thread and bought the Heroes Workshop series, which I thought set me up for success ;-)

First build was going to be Hiro from Big Hero 6 for my 7 year old, but took the advice in the JF thread and started on the Captain America Helmet (#TeamIronMan)

No real issues printing, cutting and transferring the template (a bit of risk and error). Even cutting out the basic shape went relatively smoothly for my first go.

Started with yoga mat foam (purple), but when it came to cutting the angles, to glue together the curves, it was too soft and I couldn't cut an angle (small wedges were hard too).

I then moved on to some foam mats (pink photos) I bought via eBay (which turned out to be way too small) and even at that thickness/density, it's still hard to cut the angle. Even a more expensive knife and fresh blade didn't help much (and the Heroes Workshop video seems to be easy).

Feeling a bit disheartened (and way behind schedule now), do I just need to find a more dense Foam (thickness of first two were 6mm and then 8mm and much stiffer) or is it just a skill I need to practise.

From Australia so don't seen to have the choices done of you others guys have for foam.

Would welcome any advice/tips.

Thanks in advance

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

 

[Murdoch]

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=148889&highlight=Jfcustom+foam
Read this thoroughly, and get a #11 Xacto knife, a quality and reliable hot glue gun and a heat gun. Best of luck to you. Oh crap almost forgot, try several practice cuts, glues ie clean cuts and glue shapes, like a box a triangle then a ball. Again best of luck...GMurdoch

 

[Psicorp7]

It looks like you are trying to make it all in one cut. To get a clean cut in thick, soft material you would use more like three to four shallow cuts. Think about the pressure you would use to lightly write with a pencil. Don't push very hard and let the sharpness of the blade do the cutting not the pressure of your hand. That is what leads to tears and weird curves. Good luck!

^^as above, a #11 x-acto knife/blade is your best friend. The big razor knives are not going to help on the small cuts.

 

[WireFox]

You can invest in a hot knife. It makes cutting thru foam a bit easier. A good sharp pair of scissors helps too.