Foam Cutters

[Bimini15 0]

Cant remember the brand, but you know which ones I mean. Something River Creations foam cutters in all kinds of shapes and different sizes.

 

Can someone tell me how deep they cut? Also would appreciate a general review and opinions if you have any.

 

Thanks

[flytire 0]

i have the river road creations stp frog cutter and the blade protrude from the wooden block approximately 1/4 inch

 

 

dont know about the other shapes but theyre probably the same

[ben bell 0]

flytire, i always wondered how long they held their edge and can you sharpen them..

[flytire 0]

i have never sharpened them

 

the material is approximately .015 inches thick

 

 

regarding sharpening. this is from the river road creations website

 

If a blade in one of your cutters wears out, can it be sharpened? Can you replace the handle with a new blade?

 

It is not possible to sharpen our cutters or replace the blades. Based on our own tying experience and that of customers so far, we believe that you will be more than satisfied with the durability and life of each cutter we make. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions."

lots of info here

http://www.riverroadcreations.com/faqs.htm

[Philly 0]

I've been contemplating getting a couple, but I mainly use circles and heart shapes for most of my foam bugs. I picked up 3 heart shape punches at the craft store many years ago, and the price was about the same as their foam floating minnow head punch. For circles I use either a cheap set of punches I picked up or brass from various types of ammo. For foam triangles, which I use as a base for my crease flies I use a spark plug gaping tool. I don't do many hoppers but I picked up a pack of, what I would call, foam tongue depressors at the the craft store that had a variety of colors which are the same shape as their hopper punch. I'll have to take another look at the catalogs and see if there are any I might want to order.

[Bimini15 0]

Thanks, Flytire.

I was trying to see how many layers of foam can be cut at once.

1/4 inch = 6.35 mm, so roughly 2 3mm sheets, 3 2mm, 6 1mm,...

[JSzymczyk 0]

I have the set of Stealth Bomber cutters and have cut many hundreds with each size. they are still sharp. If you use the cutting block they provide with each set and don't abuse them by cutting on a hard surface, I'm not sure how one tyer could wear them out. How many do you need to cut at one time? Cut one layer of foam at a time. Just do a whole bunch of bodies. It doesn't take long. The point is to cut each body perfectly, not a ton of bodies as fast as possible.

 

Straight from their website FAQ's :

 

• I have sandwiched 3 layers of foam together and I can't get your foam body cutters to cut through all the layers. What is wrong?

Nothing is wrong. Our quality control involves testing 100% of our foam body cutters on a

single

sheet of 2 or 3 mm foam and we guarantee that the cutter you receive will easily cut a 3 mm piece of foam. In practice, most of our foam body cutters will easily cut through 2 layers, and many of our customers report being able to easily cut through 3 layers of foam. However, if we routinely set the blades to do this for all of our patterns, stability can be lost and the blades may become distorted. If there is a specific cutter that you need for deeper cutting depths,

please contact us

, and we will see if it is possible to work out a solution for you.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Ditto what Flytire and JSzymczyk said -- I also have the River Road Creations STP Frog cutter, have cut hundreds of bodies out of the sheets of craft foam they sell in hobby stores (the thin ones, not the 6mm). As long as you use the cutting surface they provide, I think they'd last you a good long time.

[Bimini15 0]

I will explain. I have some gorilla foam hopper bodies. They are the kind made wih three layers of foam. They got me thinking that it would be harder to cut three thin bodies of foam, and perfectly glue them even, than glueing three sheets of foam and cut the body at once. I was mostly wondering about the limitations of the tool when it came to thick foam

[mikechell 0]

Use an Exacto Knife. Glue the foam together, push the cutter in as far as it will easily go. If that doesn't cut all the way through, then a thin Exacto blade, slipped down through the existing cut, will allow you to finish the cut perfectly.

[flytire 0]

i stacked 3 layers of craft store foam (1.7mm thick each) and i really had to depress the cutter . you would really have to work to get through the layers and even then the cutter didnt go completely through. you would really have to work to get completely through by wiggling the cutter

 

lets be real. the blade is not laser sharp to cut through foam like butter

 

the stack of 3 was not glued together. thats your experiment to perform

[Bimini15 0]

The useful life of the blade probably would be shortened if used to cut through glue in addition to thick foam...

[cphubert 0]

I use these cutters for 2 layers of 2mm foam glued together with Elmers rubber cement, and for solid 6mm foam body's for hoppers. Always used their cutting mat you will have to push for the thicker foam and I use my bodkin to pick it out of the cutter.

[tjm 0]

Never having used these foam bodies made from sheets, is there a reason that three layers would be more desirable than two? I kinda thought a single layer of foam would be "good enough".

[Bimini15 0]

Just the extra floatation and the ability to mix colors, I guess.