Budha and foam. Cigarettes and squirrels.

[gene]

Howdy,

There's a Buddhist saying:

The beginner woodworker has to stop and sharpen his saw all day long.
The expert woodworker has to stop and sharpen his saw only once a day.
The master woodworker never has to stop and sharpen his saw because the wood separates for the master as the saw is cutting the wood.

I think I may be a master foam cutter. I use an electric turkey carving knife for cutting foam. And I used to have to either replace the blade, if I could find a replacement blade, or buy a new $15 electric turkey carving knife.

It seems that I will never have to buy another knife. The foam that I am cutting still the same numbers, (1.8 x 35 for example), but it seems that the foam is cutting easier than it did when I first bought my electric carving knives.

Do you think I have reached enlightenment when it comes to cutting foam, or do you think the foam may not have the same stuff in it that it did just a few years ago?

Does anyone else find that foam has gotten easier to cut?

I noticed this first when cutting a lot of 4" foam. My electric knife no longer gets really, really hot like it used to either.

It would be nice to have a way to verify the density and compression numbers on the foam I am buying.


Cigarettes are like squirrels. They are both harmless until you put one in your mouth and set it on fire.

gene

[sofadoc]

Does anyone else find that foam has gotten easier to cut?

It seems like foam used to have a lot more "drag" to it as you cut it with a turkey knife. I used to burn up the motor in those Wally World knives about once a year. I think that now they're using a different chemical (or less of the old chemical) that results in reduced drag.

This topic has sparked debate before, but I find that the Bosch foam cutters really aren't all that much better than a turkey knife. I have 2 Bosch cutters that I acquired from now-defunct shops. I use them because I have them. But if I'd had to full retail for them, I'd still be using that turkey knife.

If you can pick up a used Bosch cutter cheap somewhere, they're great. But at full retail, I don't see how a small shop can justify the cost.

Of course, the Bosch cutter will probably never wear out, whereas the life span is limited for the turkey knife. Depends on what you want. Do you want to spend $500 once, or $15 every couple of years?

But either way, foam does seem easier to cut now. 

[kodydog]

Could also be the knife. Different electric knives have given me different results. One knife I purchased lasted only 6 months before the plastic gears gave out. I've had my current electric knife over 2 years. I also purchased a used cheep foam cutter, basically an electric jig saw with extra long blade, vibrates like mad but gets the job done.

[Mojo]

I have never had the drag on the blades. I spray the blades down real well with silicone spray. But then you have to remember I cut very little foam so I am not a good judge of foam quality or cutting speed.

It has dragged on me before and then I started using silicone spray and that took care of the problem.

Last bit of foam I cut was 2 months ago and I used my handy - dandy Wallys world turkey carving knife. No turkeys were harmed during the process BTW.

Chris

[sofadoc]

I have never had the drag on the blades. I spray the blades down real well with silicone spray.

What I meant to say was that a lot of foam now doesn't require silicone to be sprayed on it for drag reduction. But years ago, even a healthy dose of silicone didn't eliminate all of the drag.

Where I really notice a difference, is with my U-cut slicer.
http://www.rochfordsupply.com/shop/Upholstery_Tools/Foam_Cutters/U-Cut_Foam_Saw/index.html

I can slice through a lot of foams now without using any silicone at all.

[gene]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm finding more high end furniture where the seat cushion foam has failed after a few years.

Someone spends 2 to 5 thousand on a new sofa and then needs new seat cushion foam in 2 to 3 years and they pay me hundreds of dollars for new seat cushion foam and then that fails in a few years, would not be a good thing.

We have talked about cutting foam before. The only reason I would buy a foam cutting saw is if I started cutting a whole lot of foam.

I find it rather easy to keep my turkey carver blade straight up and down when I  cut.

gene