best saw blade to cut xps foam panel

[stefano]

Hi to everyone in the group,
does anyone to know which saw blade are the most suitable to cut xps foam panel?
I mean, for a track saw do you recommend a multi materials one?

Thanks

 

[Packard]

All the blades on my table saw did a commendable job on foam insulation panels.

Take a test cut with your existing blade.  I think you can cut is with anything, including an electric knife meant for slicing meat and poultry.

 

[Peter Kelly]

The 42 tooth blade the TS 55 ships with works fine for XPS, just makes a complete mess cutting it as the static-charged the dust gets pretty well everywhere. Better to cut rigid foam insulation with an Olfa knife and the rear edge of your guide rail. 

 

[Cheese]

I've cut a ton of foam board insulation with a TSC and the 42 tooth blade. I've used just the bag and also a CT...definitely use a CT.  [smile]

As Peter said, the statically charged particles attach themselves to everything so any you can eliminate are that many fewer you'll have to chase around the shop. You can cut up to 2" foam on the rail and it will leave a 1 mm(?) attachment strip on the bottom of the foam which is easily snapped off.

When cutting foam with the TSC, I also only use one battery to lighten the load.

 

[Michael Kellough]

This is the best tool for cutting foam and cardboard and drywall. Too bad you can’t get it the states. I have a 25 year old 9.6 NiCad version and it’s the bee’s knees for cutting foam. It produces zero debris.

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It’s basically reciprocating utility knife blade and uses ordinary blades. Because of the reciprocal motion it keeps cutting even when the blade is so dull it couldn’t cut cardboard in a hand tool.

 

[rst]

I use my Carvex with a foam cutting blade, I’ve cut up to 4” and straight using the track attachment

 

[Packard]

Has anyone tried using an electric knife on this.  I use one to cut foam for cushions.  It works well at that task.

 

[mino]

With a tracksaw, any blade will do. The material is pretty soft - hence it is commonly used as a cutting surface.

If you wanted to do a couple thousand cuts, and avoid dulling a blade even a little, then the laminate/MDF blade would in theory be the longer lasting option.

I used it*) a couple times when needing to cut the insulatin precisely. Can be done, but it IS an overkill using a TS for EPS .. no way around that aspect ..
[smile]

*) the tracksaw, not the blade, never bothered to change a blade for that work .. most my wood cutting is with EPS as backing surface anyway ..

 

[stefano]

Hi guys many thanks to all of you for your kindly replys.
I'll give a try and I'll see what happening, I'll report to you soon my experience,

Bye

 

[Cheese]

Has anyone tried using an electric knife on this.  I use one to cut foam for cushions.  It works well at that task.

Most of my foam cutting is for filling stud or truss cavities...straight lines...so some type of saw on a track makes the most sense. I've tried several methods including a jig saw using "electric knife" blades, a traditional razor knife and also fiberglass insulation knives. It really depends upon the thickness of the foam and the density of the foam.

However, for cutting any foam that's at least 1" thick or more, I prefer the TSC with a CT dust extractor.

Here's an "Electric knife" blade for a jig saw, traditional knife, insulation knives.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[rst]

Japanese tooth saws also work very well, I have a dual retractable knife and saw with 5” blade and saw that is great for fine tuning fit off a ladder or platform.  I bought it back in the early 80s

 

[Mini Me]

I have just finished installing foam panels in a renovation and the easiest and quickest way to I found to cut it was a fine tooth hand saw. I wish I had known about the Hoki knife cutter before I had started as using a saw makes a huge mess and if I was using a power saw breathing protection would have been essential. I shudder to think of the clean up job if a power saw was used.

 

[Koamolly]

There are hot knives for foam.  Also there are hot wire setups to cut foam.  Here’s a hand held knife on Amazon.  But search for hot wire for foam for more options. 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JBQ58L...cfa-0bf8-4ede-bc70-792ce0a79c61&pd_rd_plhdr=t

 

[Imemiter]

Not too long ago I did my garage ceiling in 4" XPS. I used a 40v Makita track saw with the stock blade (thin kerf 42T?) flipping the sheets to reach full depth. I used a CT/Cyclone combo on every cut. Just this week I opened up the saw to see if I'd gummied up the works and surprisingly, it was clean as a clock in there. 

 

[stefano]

Thanks to you too Imemiter for sharing your experience

 

[rst]

As a commercial glazier, I often have to cut 1” aluminum faced insulation.  I worked 6 hours on Thursday cutting 4x8 sheets of off white insulated sheets for a school job the company is working.  I it with my TSC connected to my Metabo 18v vac. The blade in the saw was an Amana AGE aluminum/plastic blade. My cutting surface was a 4x8 MDF sheet on my STM folding table.  Working solo and wrestling with that incredibly heavy MDF was relatively easy, even for a 71year old fart like me. I used my 75 and 55” rails with the new Festool rail square and extended stop to make repeatable cuts. Love the ease that Festool makes processing and another plus is the minimal cleanup.  In the past this project would have required two people to wrestle using either a table saw or circular saw, clamping straight edges and repeatedly measuring both ends to insure accuracy.  Due to past experience, the project manager had ordered almost two extra sheets to allow for mistakes.  All the equipment used was my personal stuff as they are reluctant to invest as fifteen different guys would possibly/probably take be as careful.