Basics: How to get good, clean, straight cuts in XPS Foam (Black Magic Craft Episode 030)

In this Basic's episode I show you a few simple methods to help you get good, clean, straight cuts in xps foam when building things like dungeon tiles for Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop games.

Black Magic Craft intro music by Black Magic Craft

Background music:

[lizpollock]

Based on my quilting experience - which involves lots of detailed and "fussy" cutting, I'd suggest cutting while standing rather than sitting. I find it easier to get accurate cuts on many layers of fabric by standing over it.

[jamesmikulski]

Just a little tip to add to your knife technique. If you do end up with a slight bevel, put the smaller side down. That way the top surfaces will still butt tight together.

[tonymin]

Man I should have done my homework. I’ve been a fan but I never thought to start from the beginning with your basics. I donated and did the Dice Tower build. It is a very cool project, but I was butchering some XPS with a $20 craft store foam cutter, a PVC saw and one pass cuts with a ratcheting blade. I made three bases. The one I covered so far ended looking nice, but a bit rough, almost like a goblin tower. The multi pass cut I just tried (even with a dull blade) is so much smoother. It would have saved me a lot of time and heartache. Now I know. Keep up the good crafting! Thanks again for working with St. Jude!

[PossumMedic]

I had been planning on making dungeon tiles as a thank you gift for the people who volunteer as DMs at my local comic shop. Thanks to your videos they are now getting double sided 1/2" foam tiles instead of the 1/4" printed and mod-podged foam tiles I was planning on making! Instead of just giving them a functional gift now I think they will be getting something they can really appreciate and integrate into their own games. Thanks man! :)

[Xerock]

Having cut thick material for a living, i would recommend getting a weighted ruler, or if they are too expensive, get an iron bar cut down to match the length of your ruler and adhere it to the ruler using epoxy or some other adhesive. This prevents the knife from pushing the ruler around as you cut.

[theexchipmunk]

I can always recommend one of these kitchen knife sharpeners (those round ones made from metal) if you do a lot of work with the cutter knife. If the blade gets a bit dull, use it and you are ready to go again. Makes your blades last longer and you won't have to change them as often. Withe the added benefit that it saves you some money, especially if you use more expensive blades. (which I always recommend as the cheap ones simply don't work that well with foam)

[reneestanko]

This is so great! I'm taking an architecture class and getting ready to model a rammed earth structure. Amazing tips. Thank you!

[xXKyledkXx]

I was just trying this and it works perfectly with lining up my metal ruler with the cutting mat to get great pieces using a razor blade! Thanks, I was so frustrated trying to get the cuts right!

[richardmorris]

Drafters/artist want that cork strip or thick tape on the back of the ruler so when they run a marker across the ruler, the ink does not bleed under the ruler.

[tain-uwelemmer]

a good trick to make a 90°-Cut on thick material: use a strait, well sanded block of hardwood, instead of a ruler and keep the knife strait at the side of the block. (does not work with too flexible knifes).
Hobbyknifes doesn't cut so easy in hardwood, so it works.

[VikingFyre]

I keep a sharpener on hand to get the most out of my blades. Thank you Bill Doran and Evil Ted for teaching me that trick haha

[terrymyers]

Great tute. Heres a quick FYI for your safety. I highly recommend investing in a chef's/meat cutters Cut Glove. They are gloves made from Kevlar that will not let a knife penetrate or slice thru to your hand. There are also chain male gloves that meat cutters use to keep all their fingers Intact. You can find them for like $5 or $6US on eBay. You get one good slip of the knife you can seriously gouge you can loose fingers. These gloves have helped save my hands for over 30 years of modeling.

[StrongholdCrafterKev]

Great stuff. I mainly use a hot wire tool for cutting large pieces of foam. Only foam core is cut with my hobby knife. I like that blade you demonstrated in the video as well as the method of cutting it.

[WylochsArmory]

Rockin! I have also done some mitered cuts with the Proxxon table. You need a protractor to set it up, but works aces.

[Scar]

I use a serrated steak knife. I like the 'rough' looking edge as it makes it look more like stone.Will probably use the box cutter for things I want more refined or nicer looking.

[laranettle]

Burnings in New Zealand also stock the same brand of xps as they sell in Australia.

[mattott]

If you want a REALLY cheap hot wire cutter and like to get inventive... you can actually run a current to an olfa knife/blade and heat it up to make your cuts. I wouldn't say it's necessarily "better" but I've found it's faster and seems to help the blade stay sharper longer.

[Zeoinx]

Menards Local Store, I got three quarter inch thick XPS for 12 dollars for 4 foot by 8 foot sheet. They also cut down the sheet into 4 feet by 1 foot slabs for me, so I could get it home without being blown away by the wind.

[emveedee]

You hit the nail right on the head. I made my first batch of dungeon tiles using a box cutter and although it did work, it was a lot of work, and getting the tiles nicely square was just a pain in the ass. Making a whole bunch of squares at the same time (4 x 4) did help speed it up a bit though. I did have lots of jagged edges since my knife wasn't very good, but you couldn't really see it in the end because you roughen up the tile anyways.

When I got a hot wire tool it was suddenly so much easier. The end result does indeed not look very different, but it saved me so much time. Making squares you only need to set the distance right once, then you can just first cut long strokes of foam, give them a quarter turn and cut again.

Cutting thin strips is really difficult to get done nicely imo, but with a hot wire table it is a piece of cake.

Great advice, I fully endorse this :)

[jirhonarmstrong]

Once again awesome video, I've been having alot of issues cutting the pink foam cuz all I have is a knife. But you have given me some great tips. Now I feel better on it. Thank you my friend