Tracks and saws are great for cutting wood but what about lighter materials?

[Brian on Bainbridge]

I'm thinking about lighter, thinner materials like foam, cardboard, fabric, or paper where a TS55 would be too much.

While I could purchase a dedicated mat cutter for these materials, it would be a waste of space if I could repurpose my existing Festool tracks and fit on a manual cutting wheel or blade that accomplishes the same thing?  Has anyone created a jig for a cutters like these?

 

[Crazyraceguy]

This one kind of falls into the "How often?" category, at least with some materials.
I regularly cut plastic laminate and veneer sheets with mine. Other things like foam board, cardboard (corrugated paper) and acrylic sheet (Plexiglas, Perspex) are fine too. I have also cut cork and a substitute for it called Forbo, with great results too.
Paper might be a challenge though. The part under the track would be fine, but the off-cut might not fare so well, unless you sandwich it with something else and cut through both layers.
Fabric? that might cause a snag or something? I have cut some felt, the was at least 3mm, but that is not woven.
The "how often" part comes in where you can "get by in a pinch" for some of these things, but if you need to do it often? It might not be worth cutting up some kind of backer sheet every time.

 

[johnmpf]

I would buy a fabric cutting wheel that would work with the track.

 

[cpw]

The jigsaws track guide just attaches to the backside of the track.  You could probably do something pretty easily with a block of wood with a dado in it to accept the track's ridge and then just screw a utility blade to the side.
https://www.festoolusa.com/accessor...s/stops-and-attachments/490031---fs-pspsb-300

 

[jeh]

I'll speculate it would be an good exercise to sandwich your thinner material between two scraps of plywood which might yield a clean cut.

 

[Cheese]

I cut foam board from 2" down to 1/4" thick using a TSC on a rail. I just place the rail on the foam board and cut...no clamping involved. If I needed to cut cardboard or some thinner foam, I'd rig up an OSC that would ride the rail. I'd start by looking at the viability of modifying a guide stop from the Trion.

The OS/OSC rigid scraper blade with a sharpened edge makes a nice clean cut in cardboard.
https://www.festoolusa.com/accessor...lades/multitool-saw-blades/204412---ssp-52osc

 

[rvieceli]

Personally, I like the Olfa rotary cutters for cutting through thinner stuff like fabric, leather, paper, etc. I routinely cut multiple layers of padded moving blankets without problems. do it a lot and you will want a cutting mat underneath.
https://www.amazon.com/OLFA-Straight-Handle-Rotary-Cutter/dp/B00J7V2DIU?ref_=ast_sto_dp

This rotary cutter will follow along either side of the Festool track. Here is an Instagram post of Michael Williams of Calavera Tools Works using the track and the cutter to break down a hide. His is dedicated to the cutter so no splinter guard but you could use the back side and keep the splinter strip.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFLem1wyC4l/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Ron

 

[Packard]

He (post above) is just using the track as a straight edge for the rotary cutter.  It is likely the longest straight edge he owns,

I have a 60” aluminum ruler (I was going to say “yard stick” but that sounds wrong for one that is 60” long).

I have not cut foam in ages, but when I did, a cheap electric knife (used for carving your Thanksgiving bird) works great. I’m pretty sure they can be used with any straight edge too. 

For those who have not worked with leather:

Leather is quite tear resistant, but you can slice through it like a hot knife through butter (using a sharp utility knife),

Thick leather will fight back against scissors, but remains an easy victim to a sharp blade. 

While on the subject of leather:  Better grades of leather are vat dyed.  That is they immerse the entire hide in the dye.  With vat dyed leather, small cracks in the surface are the same color as the surface dye.

Cheaper grades have the dye sprayed on, and (lately) has some base coating that covers any blemishes.  That is likely a thin paste made from glues and pulverized leather.

The cheapest grades of leather are called “bonded leather” and those grades are assembled like paper is.  That is they make a slurry of pulverized leather and glue and then roll it out into sheets.  I believe that the color is added to that slurry and when it is dried, it is ready for use. 

These grades of leather were once exclusively used for leather bound books and albums, but the technology has advanced so much that cheaper grades of furniture are upholstered with bonded leather.  In the past that leather would fall apart the first time you sat down on it.  It is still not like natural hides, but very uniform in thickness and it makes sewing easier.