Styrene Cutting

[NOBLNG]

7 hours ago, Belugawrx said:

I worked in a cabinet making (millwork shop) for 4 tears, and I watched the newbie actually look at his spinning laminate router (20,000 rpm), and stick his finger into the base plate and shear off his index finger....wanted to pick off a piece of contact cement.....duuuuh ...yep!

There is careless and then there is completely stupid…🙄

3 hours ago, stitchdup said:

i had the same issue with mine. a couple strips o hard plastic soon fixed it

I was thinking about it last night and came up with the same idea using aluminum. It is top of my to do list when I get home later this week.

[peteski]

Do we really have to continue going into details of bloody industrial accidents guys?  This thread was about tools and techniques of cutting styrene, not citing most gruesome examples of stupidity while using power tools.  If you really want, start a "gruesome accidents" thread in the off-topic section.  Really.

[Mike 1017]

11 hours ago, Brutalform said:

You beat me to posting this Mike. I have a regular mitre and saw, but rarely use it. This MicroMark saw I can not live without. 

👍 It is great for opening doors and trunks. As it does not cut off too much material

[Brutalform]

10 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Yeah, this mitre box has slots that are too wide for my liking. I use it a lot with my razor saw, but have to hold the saw flush to one side or I get a slightly crooked cut.😕 I’ve been meaning to modify it somehow but just never got around to it yet.

I know exactly what you mean. I also have another plastic one, made by Zona. The slots are way better suited to fit the saw blade, as compared to the aluminum one. At least I can get straight cuts on larger stock, that normally would not fit into the MicoMark mitre. I really can’t think of any reason to use the aluminum one, as we work with much smaller scales. 

[R. Thorne]

12 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Yeah, this mitre box has slots that are too wide for my liking. I use it a lot with my razor saw, but have to hold the saw flush to one side or I get a slightly crooked cut.😕 I’ve been meaning to modify it somehow but just never got around to it yet.

I like this one I got a couple years ago.

[R. Thorne]

Another way of doing it for about $20.00.  UMM has some great tools.

[SfanGoch]

That's an excellent razor saw set. I've been using it for the last 10 years. The kerf is 0.3mm.

[Old Buckaroo]

20 hours ago, R. Thorne said:

I like this one I got a couple years ago.

This is the setup Ive used for over 20 years, Ive replaced the aluminum mitre box once.  I think mine came from Micro Mark as Ive never used Amazon. The small saw like you showed in next thread I ordered from Hannants.  Both are valuable tools for the modeling  bench.

[TarheelRick]

I use the method I used to use when I was a welder in the USAF. Measure with a micrometer, mark with soapstone, and cut with an acetylene torch. Actually, I am gaining a bit of insight on some of the issues I have with a straight cut, never thought of closing up the slots on my aluminum miter box. Just recently picked up a mini table saw from Harbor Freight, haven't had an opportunity to test it yet; will let you know how it works.

[1930fordpickup]

10 hours ago, TarheelRick said:

I use the method I used to use when I was a welder in the USAF. Measure with a micrometer, mark with soapstone, and cut with an acetylene torch. Actually, I am gaining a bit of insight on some of the issues I have with a straight cut, never thought of closing up the slots on my aluminum miter box. Just recently picked up a mini table saw from Harbor Freight, haven't had an opportunity to test it yet; will let you know how it works.

What about just putting masking tape on the saw blade? As long as you dont go all the way down to the teeth and stay to one side of the blade. 

[stavanzer]

 

I use the method I used to use when I was a welder in the USAF. Measure with a micrometer, mark with soapstone, and cut with an acetylene torch.

My Dad was a Machinist. He taught me the same method for cutting.

[Bugatti Fan]

A combination of the UMM saw that has a blade that is thin and similar to an old fashioned Gillette safety razor blade and the small aluminium precision mitre block with the adjustable stop pictured to the right of the three in an earlier post is perfect for cutting smaller styrene extrusions and narrow strips accurately. Having a screw held  stop built in is invaluable for repetitive accurate cutting to length of short pieces. The stop can be removed for cutting longer pieces to length also.

Edited March 20 by Bugatti Fan

[customline]

On 3/14/2025 at 4:36 AM, Bugatti Fan said:

A combination of the UK saw that has a blade that is thin and similar to an old fashioned Gillette safety razor blade and the small aluminium precision mitre block with the adjustable stop pictured to the right of the three in an earlier post is perfect for cutting smaller styrene extrusions and narrow strips accurately. Having a screw held  stop built in is invaluable for repetitive accurate cutting to length of short pieces. The stop can be removed for cutting longer pieces to length also.

I put one of these in my shopping cart last night after reading this thread. It looks like a really good way to get a square cut on small tube, rod , and strip styrene and probably aluminum so it's worth trying. I use PE blades so....anyway, for 20 bucks and no shipping, if you're a Prime member....I'll know in a day or two. Good info is where you find it 🥴

[SfanGoch]

Liang LIG-0236A Miter Cutter

[peteski]

That looks like similar cutter I own made by North West Short line. Problem with these is that unlike using a saw blade which removes the material from the kerf, these have a blade which displaces the material being cut. That results in a cut which is not straight (perpendicular to the base).  This is not much of a problem with very thin materials, but if you try getting a 90 deg. cut in a thicker item, you will be disappointed and likely will need to sand the cut face to make it true.

Edited March 21 by peteski

[Bugatti Fan]

That Mitre cutter of Joe's looks like a very neat tool for cropping flat wood and plastic strip and quite adaptable with the angular adjustment.

I agree with Pete's comments about usage though. A saw would be better on materials with a thicker cross section.

Edited March 22 by Bugatti Fan

[randx0]

here's a video that may be helpful for what you have planned .