Hotspotoutdoors

I bought a new IceCastle and want to put 2" faom inbetween the frame rails. I bought the hd foam but was wondering the best way to sut the stuff is? I don't want it too rough and it is going to be press fir with a little adheasive in the corners.

Table saw works great, but is a little messy with the dust. Do it outside if you can.

A hot wire setup will give a very nice finish, but is probably much more difficult to come by.

Travis

A sawsall will work as well.

handsaw

Just got done cutting 2" foam on a table saw. It worked very well cutting it one way (width) but cutting the long way it got a little bucky. We were just using a normal wood cutting blade. You may be able to find something that would work better.

Wonder cutter's are sold in most craft stores and are used to cut styrofoam. There is a 2 "D" Battery model that will cut up to 2 inch foam and there is a wall plug-in model that will cut up to 4 inch foam.

I use one of these to cut tombstones out of that pink foamboard a few years ago and it was very easy to use and left nice smooth edges. Not the fastest method to cutting foam but definately the method for the cleanest edges.

If speed over neatness is your preference, then either go with the handsaw or use a hand jigsaw.

Just my two cents
Redbeard5289

Not sure what to call it, like a cheap utility knife that has a 4"-6" segmented blade and you can snap some off when the end is dull. Hardware-home stores will have them. One of those and a straight edge of some sort will get the job done fast and cheap. May not be a perfect cut but good enough.

You can make a hot wire cutter pretty easy.

Here is one schematic that I found.

It uses a doorbell transformer, a dimmer switch and other items that can be easily found.




Don't try this at home unless you know what you are doing though.

Straight edge? Razor knife and snap it off, just like drywall. Curves, got no idea.

I have used a knife blade in a jig saw in the past, worked well.

THe fun way - put a 16 penny nail in a vice grip, heat it with a torch until red, then slide it through foam. Very quick cutting, no mess, but it can get stinky - use ventilation. This is more for "carving" the foam than cutting it, but works great... and fun

With a table saw I've had the best luck running it through the saw from the opposite side you normally do (in through the outfeed side of the table). Otherwise score it with a utility knife and snap it.

I used an electric knife from the kitchen and it worked fine for me. It's a good thing my wife was at work. It still carves a turkey great also.

Table saw works good. It will be messy as mentioned though.

I like a chainsaw

Depending on what I'm doing, a jigsaw works pretty good. Otherwise the table saw does a good job.

I scored mine with a utility knife using a straight 8ft 2x3 as a guide and then snapping it. I did all my 2 inch foam insulation that way and it it worked great. For underneath my fish house, I glued the foam to the bottom using PL 40 glue along with some large plastic washers and screws for good measure. I have used my house for 4 years now and it is still like new underneath.

Augusta just like you said scoring and a snap is all it takes . Please everybody don't use any of the hot melt methods mentioned . The fumes off this stuff have serious carcnogens in them (cancer causing ) . I have a friend who inhaled these fumes and within a short time had a very bad case of throat cancer that was diagnosed back to this as the cause .

Good stuff and I like it for insulating but its the fumes .

TD

A sharp utility knife and straight edge. Don't try and cut the entire depth of knife in one pass.

circ. saw or table saw, jig saw, sawzall will all leave a mess. cleanest way is (as mentioned above) score with sharp utility knice and snap.

Tried the score and snap method. Worked pretty decent but broke a couple pieces. Then I got to a piece I had to cut the hole in and used the jigsaw. The jigsaw worked so well I just used it for everything from then on. Very nice clean cuts and trimming was a breeze. It took me about 4hrs to do the whole shack.

got a cool little trick, when we built ours i cut with the table saw and where i ran the wires i set the blade so it only cut 1/3 to 1/2 of the thickness of the foam, then after it is in the studs you can push your wires into the goove from the saw and they stay right there. nice neat installation

I prefer to clean up the mess and use the table saw. I just like the perfectly straight clean cuts.

hot wire. I am in the foam business and that is how we do it.

I just insulated a 7 x 10 over the weekend. I used my table saw with a shop vac hooked up to the dust collection port. Very little mess, with nice clean cuts for a snug fit.