chainsaw on foam

[kicknargel]

Think carving bead foam will destroy my cheap electric chainsaw? Seams like the fastest way to rough in this tree trunk.

(Yes, I'll wear a respirator.)

 

[MPowers]

Think carving bead foam will destroy my cheap electric chainsaw? ...........

Should work fine. Ice sculptors use the Makita version extensively. Makita UC120DWD 12V Cordless Chain Saw Kit They routinely remove the tip guard so they can do straight plunge cuts. I'm NOT telling you to do that, or that it is safe, only pointing out the practice for that singular type of sculpting use. Ice is so soft (by chain saw standards) there is no danger of a kick back, YMMV. The biggest worry is getting the foam dust/beads in the air vents. A piece of screen wire and a little bailing wire or duct tape can help with that issue. Lots of different brands at various prices, Google (on Bing) cordless chainsaw or battery powered chainsaw. Black & Decker 18-Volt Cordless Electric Chain Saw - Walmart.com

 

[Van]

Important Safety tip!
get some cheese cloth or some Air-filter foam < like the stuff they use on lawn mower carbs> and install it over the cooling vents on your motor. If you don't the styro will get sucked in there, heat up and gum up the commuter of the motor. It can also catch fire from the spark generated between the brushes and the commuter.

 

[MPowers]

Important Safety tip! get some cheese cloth or some Air-filter foam.......If you don't the styro will get sucked in there, ........

Absolutely correct, thus my comment about the screen wire.

 

[silicsound]

The TD at my collage did that once, it worked very well. Until, the foam gummed up every part of the chain saw, including the sprocket for the chain. Mind you, we didn't put a filter over the air intakes, but I get the feeling the saw would have broke with the filters. I will say that if you think glitter is bad, just wait till you have a thousand little foam beads stuck to every one of your curtains, and every thing else they land on. I still find them stuck to things up in the grid a year later.

 

[MPowers]

.......I will say that if you think glitter is bad, just wait till you have a thousand little foam beads stuck to every one of your curtains, and every thing else they land on. I still find them stuck to things up in the grid a year later.

What you say is true, which is why this kind of work should ONLY be done in a shop, NOT on the stage. If you have a dust extraction system, use one of the hoses to make a "dust booth". It can be as simple as a visquene "tent" or a roofed over shed made up of some stock flats or luan sheets with a shower curtain door. A dust booth will more than pay for itself in reduced cleanup and shop contamination from the saw chips/beads/dust.

 

[kicknargel]

Mission accomplished. I'd always intended to build a tent, and thank god. I still have a bit in my home that were in my pockets and inside my shirt. But I contained 99.3% of it, filling three 40 gal trash bags with beads. Now for the VSSSD!

 

[MPowers]

VSSSD?????????

 

[techieman33]

Van's Super Secret Scenic Dope, it's in the wiki, but not showing up with the underline which is weird since it's in the 2nd line of text. You can still click on it to take you to the entry though.
VSSSD

 

[zmb]

Here's the direct link to the Wiki article: VSSSD - ControlBooth