Model Railroading > Bandsaw for modeling

Any suggestion about a model and brand name
to purchasing a bandsaw for cutting up HO
freight cars......

Thanks

JLSeale

Not trying to be offensive, but if you are thinking about a band saw for plastic cars then you must be quite skilled or quite determined. My father-in-law could do marvelous things with a band saw and wood, but I thought that the teeth would be too rough for plastics. You might end up with a very rough edge that would need a lot of sanding. Maybe I'm wrong. A band saw is not a common tool for plastic modelers.

binder001 is correct. We usually use something along the lines of an Exacto or Zona hand, razor saw with fine teeth when kitbashing plastic. And if you need to cut through a plastic shell and glue it back together square, I often use a large, flat, fine file afterwards to make sure everything is square. Often power tools cut too fast on plastic and melt it. For example, I've heard of guys using a table saw and reversing the blade but with something other than your hand to hold the shell in place and also use the guard.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/15 10:17 by wabash2800.

Maybe a waterjet or laser, but not any bandsaw I've ever seen. As mentioned, the course teeth, heat, and unstableness of the work piece would most likely create a calamity. I'd love to have something myself for kitbashing, but I agree with Victor and his process. That's always worked for me. I've learned that when you melt the plastic in such a manner, it seems the plastic hardens and takes more effort when it comes to filing or sanding. I wish you luck should you find something for this process that defeats my thoughts. If so, I'd like to learn more!

I concur -

A band saw's RPM's will most definitely melt (and probably grab and shatter) the plastic - possibly taking you hand(s) with it. The Zona saw is your best bet for accurate smooth cuts. Modeling takes time, so we must make time for it.

That's the sheer beauty of it. :)

J

Joel Brazy
Coatesville, PA

I cut my passenger cars for kit-bashing with a Dermal Table saw with a " Carbide Tooth Saw Blade " [ Micro Mark sells them ] the cuts were very clean and I found I could cut very fine amounts as well. Great for buildings I was able to shave one row of bricks at a time.

Malcolm
New Zealand.

A friend of mine has a mini table saw designed specifically to cut hobby plastics. I have a text into him to get you a manufacturer. I have used it myself and it works well. There is a small amount of plastic melt that may need to be cleaned up, but it is not any where near the volume that typical power tools would yield.

Russ

I have a Skil bandsaw that works great for a variety of things. 99 buckazoids at Lowes. But I aint cut any plastic shells with it. yet.

NSTopHat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A friend of mine has a mini table saw designed
> specifically to cut hobby plastics. I have a text
> into him to get you a manufacturer. I have used it
> myself and it works well. There is a small amount
> of plastic melt that may need to be cleaned up,
> but it is not any where near the volume that
> typical power tools would yield.
>
> Russ

It is made by Proxxon. Can be found on MicroMark (http://www.micromark.com/SearchResult.aspx?deptIdFilter=0&searchPhrase=proxxon&ns_md=cpc&ns_sc=AdWords&ns_cn=WK_Tool%20Brands&gclid=CNaYsI6duMMCFUpp7AodTFkA7A)

Russ

If your hand is close enough to hold the model stable in a bandsaw, it's too close. My left pointer finger can tell you this personally, having been reattached about twenty years ago as a result of stupidity. While I wasn't cutting a model, I was cutting a small piece of trim and slipped. It's unbelievable how fast that blade will go right through appendages, and before you really realize what happened. Even if that weren't a concern, bandsaw blades are going too fast and are generally too aggressive for model work. You'll be much better served with jewelers hand saw or a miniature hobby-oriented bandsaw as has been mentioned.

You can purchase a hacksaw blade for a bandsaw but I agree with the others, the bandsaw is not the tool for cutting plastic models.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

Even the mini table saws sold by MicroMark, Proxxon, etc take allot of practice. Also found that the finetooth blades themselves have too much "wobble".

That MicroMark table saw works well for my purpose: removing roofs from commuter rail cars. If you doing something like that which involves
long accurate cuts, I found it necessary to extend the table in front of the blade so the car is on a flat surface all the time it's going through the blade. Also, you'll need to fashion a longer fence from a portion of one of those 48"aluminum rulers and some 90 degree blocks
and C-clamps. Remember, the MM table saw has a variable speed motor, so that takes care of the plastic melting problem. True, there may be another method to do this, but I've found this combination excellent when you need to repeat multiple cars with extreme accuracy.

Frank30

Some time back I picked up a larger table and fence assembly for my Dermal saw that worked very good off of Ebay.

Gee I use my band saw all the time to hack passenger car boddies, I didn't realize that it couldn't be done! I use a Sears Craftsman small band saw that I paid about 100.00 dollars for. I will sometimes cut a block of wood to go inside the body before I cut them depending on what I am doing. I use a bi-metal (or something like that) blade that has as fine of set of teeth as you can get and I go slow. The other saw I use a lot of for cutting plastic is a tile saw, the diamond blade with the water bath works great.

Andre