precision disembowelling

[Thecadian]

Hi,

For my latest mini i need to cut a model in half. now to make the join between it and another model as clean as possable im going to need to make a very clean cut. What is the best way to do this. Its a resin model so would a sharp knife be able to do it if i spent a while on it as i dont trust my accuracy with a junior hacksaw.

Any ideas??

James

 

[Talonicus]

I would use a razor saw.
The hardest thing will be not cracking the resin and the danger from damaging it as you hold it.
I may be possible to hold the mini in something like a sponge.
Just and idea, I haven\'t tried it.

Nigel

Good Luck

 

[Dragonsreach]

Pad out the back with Blue tack this\'ll help to stop it moving and prevent adding too much pressure on the resin while you cut.

GW Razor Saw, £8 and mind your fingers, is a good saw to get hold of. It\'ll do the job cleanly.

 

[QuietiManes]

My personal favourite \"cutting in half\" tool is a jewellers/coping/fret saw. You can get extreamly fine blades, you don\'t need to cut in a strait line, when the blades get dull you just replace the cheap blade. You can find them in many hobby, art, craft, woodworking shops (or any large stores that have a section devoted to those things, like WalMart or Sears etc).

Something like these, although you\'d probably want a saw with a smaller neck, not that it\'d be any cheaper:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=45654&cat=1,42884

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=32919&cat=1,42884,42904&ap=1

 

[Einion]

And here was me thinking this thread would be about intestines...

Originally posted by Thecadian
Its a resin model so would a sharp knife be able to do it if i spent a while on it...

As a rule, no. Resin cuts okay, but with enough surrounding bulk you tend to get a lot of pushed-up material and it\'s hard to control - sawing gives a much cleaner cut surface as a rule.

A great tip that almost nobody seems to use is to mark the line you want to cut on the surface of the model (with marker, if the resin won\'t take pencil) so you\'re not just cutting to some imaginary line you have to keep in your head.

If the piece is small enough you might consider making a razor saw, literally from a razorblade (double-edged if have any, single-edged will do if you don\'t). This is a tip I got from someone else, handed down over the years. If it\'s double-edged then you first off tape something to one edge so it\'s not too lethal to use, and then notch the other edge with a strong, sharp knife.

These are surprisingly effective at cutting through plastic and resin (not great with white metal IME) and they\'re so thin you don\'t lose a lot of material to the cut. But if you don\'t need the other upper and lower halves of each mini you could cut with a knife well into the waste side of the line and then sand back.

Einion

 

[arogers907]

That blue-tack idea is simply genius!

I\'ve started using blue-tack for a ton of different applications in my modeling work. Incredibly useful and versatile stuff. The good uses just seem to keep coming. Heh...

-Andy

 

[kirara]

I just HAD to read a thread labeled \"precision disembowelling.\"

And I have nothing beyond that to add to the brilliant suggestions already posted.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by arogers907
That blue-tack idea is simply genius!

Wish I could claim credit for it but it\'s actually something I picked up from Mike McVey.

 

[arogers907]

Oh... well, McVey would know. Still, though. It\'s a cool idea. Thanks for sharing. =)