Cutting On Foam

[Birdhunter]

I’m going to be breaking down some 4x8 Baltic birch 3/4” plywood. It’s too heavy to take to my shop so Id like to do the cutting in my garage.

I’ve read about laying the plywood on foam but I am curious if there is a special type of foam to buy.

 

[Pompeio]

I use a 4’ x 8’ piece of 2” thick rigid foam Foamular by Owens Corning that I purchased from Home Depot.  I then cut it into two 4’ x4’ pieces to make it easier to store against the wall.

 

[tjbnwi]

You want extruded not expanded foam board. The edge of the extruded looks like a solid piece, expanded looks like little balls.

Foamular is my go to also.

Tom

 

[rvieceli]

Any kind of the extruded foam works best. Pink or blue whatever your favorite home center carries. Stay away from the white styrofoam boards made with beads pressed together. It works but is messier and less robust.

Ron

 

[Dick Mahany]

You want extruded not expanded foam board. The edge of the extruded looks like a solid piece, expanded looks like little balls.

Foamular is my go to also.

Tom

True this.  I found out the hard way  [embarassed]

 

[AlexThePalex]

I don't like to cut on foam at all, too messy, and too big to store. I always use some scrap wood instead. 4 narrow pieces under a full size board.

 

[Cheese]

A sheet of Foamular cut into 3 each 32" x 48" sections. Easy to store and easy to use on the ground if needed. Rather than setting up a table, I'll throw a section on the ground for small items.

[attachimg=1]

In the summer I'll use a single section of the foam to cut on this teak table.

[attachimg=2]

 

[Mario Turcot]

I was in the same situation last year, I found the price of a foam sheet to be excessive. A 4' x 8' 1"1/2 is ~53$ taxes inc foam

Here some alternative to replace foam

Since I carry the sheet goods with my trailer, I had to get an easy way to safely get it to home. I built those braces from 2"x3"
[attachimg=1]
I setup a single sheet and work from the trailer edge. So far it has been the easiest way to do the job.
[attachimg=2]
When it's too ugly to do it outside I use the L.V. setup
[attachimg=3]

 

[Birdhunter]

All great info. Thanks.

 

[tjbnwi]

I don't like to cut on foam at all, too messy, and too big to store. I always use some scrap wood instead. 4 narrow pieces under a full size board.

I've only experiance a decrease in the mess. Dust collection is better when cutting on foam.

Size and storage are relative, I've never had an issue with either. You could store the foam outside if necessary.

Tom

 

[clark_fork]

When the L. V. System came out, I switched away from foam.

I now have superior clamping options. Clamping on foam is awkward requiring a backer board  Glue up clamping is much easier with the L. V. System

I now have a level surface and no longer deal with sagging.

L.V provides a storage bag for the cross pieces so storage is much more convenient.

The L.V. System creates storage space underneath so squares, tapes, etc  no longer clutter the cutting surface.

Spacing is flexible and I have spaced one cross piece making  small panel ripping easier.

Lastly, one time my foam kited across the yard when a cold front wind blew in. The L.V. System will not likely go airborne[attachimg=1]
End Shot
[attachimg=2]
Ripping Spacing
[attachimg=3]
Long Shot.

 

[Dick Mahany]

I have moved away from foam partly because I used the expanded foam which was too thin and kept breaking which created a mess.  Secondly, my shop space doesn't allow for storage very well even when cut into sections.

I use the Lee valley system and like it very much.  As others have pointed out, it does reduce dust collection efficiency as seen in the pics below.  Some of the dust was due to ripping a clean edge on the sheet goods, but I do have to vacuum up more residual dust than when I used foam.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[tjbnwi]

As you can see from my attached photos, my cut station was built with foam in mind.

It breaks down and sets up in a few minutes. Rail and tool storage are built into it.

We process a couple hundered sheets a month, this is by far the best system for us.

Tried a sliding table saw, such an epic fail.

Tom

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Just another option - look at post #9 ofhttps://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/track-saw-setup/msg567732/#msg567732 .

The orange pyramids have a threaded insert that a peg screws into. The peg goes into your table top dog holes. Uses 1x lumber.

 

[Scott in San Diego]

Mike,  What is a source for the orange pyramids?

 

[GarryMartin]

Mike,  What is a source for the orange pyramids?

Veritas Panel Platform Kithttp://www.veritastools.com/Products/Page.aspx?p=835

Available from various places; definitely Lee Valley and Axminister Tools.

 

[Mario Turcot]

Paltform Kit: Veritas Platform Kit
Saddles only: Veritas Saddles

There is three different options;
1) Saddles only for 1"x 3" or 2" x 4"
2) Saddles & bag (lumber dimension is not provided but my guess is on the 1" x 3")
3) Saddles +bag + lumber (again no details on dimension)

 

[rvieceli]

The pyramid supports that the folks were asking Mike about are Eurasia Zone EZsmart pyramids. Here’s a link:
https://www.eurekazone.com/product-p/ezspk4pk.htm

Ron

 

[Birdhunter]

My Home Depot had 2’ x 2’ pieces of 1” Foamular so I bought 6. The attraction is that I can slide the 4’ x 8’ plywood sheets onto the foam and not have to lift them onto a cutting platform.

I plan to use a TS55 on joined tracks to do the cutting.

 

[rvieceli]

[member=15289]Birdhunter[/member] check and recheck your depth of cut when you cutting on foam on the floor. Don’t ask why I’m so concerned about this part of the process.  [sad]

Ron