Sorry if this sounds a daft question, but what is the best way of cutting tidy circular holes in large pieces of foam?
Cutting foam...
- Thread starter jdk62
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- Jan 26, 2017
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Electric carving knife works well.
But don't tell the wife!
But don't tell the wife!
- Oct 16, 2008
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Fine toothed tank bit...
Fast speed but very light on down ward pressure very slowly..
B& Q do a set with various size blades..
Fast speed but very light on down ward pressure very slowly..
B& Q do a set with various size blades..
Silver-Fox
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Fine toothed tank bit...
Fast speed but very light on down ward pressure very slowly..
B& Q do a set with various size blades..
Won’t that just “fluff” up the foam.
I know in the past I’ve tried cutting foam and it’s a nightmare
- Oct 16, 2008
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I think it depends on the density of the foam..
I have used the tank cutter before and had the drill on a fast speed and very little down ward pressure... and it worked...
Other than that a red hot knife.... but you don`t get such a perfect circle..
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- Oct 16, 2008
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"Sorry"............... Not foam..... Polystyrene..... 
OP
OP
I need some holes approx 150mm dia, so was thinking of using a side plate to push down and compress the foam and then use and electric knife to cut around the plate.....
I will give it a go and report back..
I will give it a go and report back..
Riverbankannie
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Husband used a hole saw like the one pictured above, however the diameter not sufficient for the upright wine bottle rack we were making so he had to enlarge them with a rasp saw.
This was with very high density foam. I bought 2 types from eBay and it was much more difficult with the lighter density foam and difficult to get a decent finish.
This was with very high density foam. I bought 2 types from eBay and it was much more difficult with the lighter density foam and difficult to get a decent finish.
- Oct 29, 2016
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I had similar thoughts when I considered getting some 2/3 inch foam to line the bottom of the drinks glass cupboard.
I haven't got the foam as yet, but I thought about how I could make the perfect sized hole, the idea I came up with was to get a tin can near the size I wanted and heat it up with a blowlamp. Press the red hot can through the foam and hopefully it would melt butter. (may smell a bit though)
Les
I haven't got the foam as yet, but I thought about how I could make the perfect sized hole, the idea I came up with was to get a tin can near the size I wanted and heat it up with a blowlamp. Press the red hot can through the foam and hopefully it would melt butter. (may smell a bit though)
Les
- Jul 5, 2013
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We bought Holds 13 cups/glasses with 3 different sized holes. Even has slots for cup handles.
Edit: I spent about a tenner in the local foam shop buying what I thought was suitable foam and trying to cut it neatly. Ended up looking awful and didn't work - the foam was not rigid enough and the glasses did not stay in place.
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Riverbankannie
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Out of the 2 types of foam I bought, the high density non-compressible type was by far the best and gives sufficient support for bottles. Its about 3 inches deep. The lighter density foam “sticks” and makes it harder to insert and remove things and was too wobbly wobbly (a technical term) for bottles but might be ok for glasses.
I would try to compress foam between two plates and use sharp scissors.
Riverbankannie
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That’s the sort of foam I used but our cupboard that is tall enough for bottles is only 4 inches deep.
- Jul 5, 2013
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We used it for glasses in the drinks cupboard. The foam needs to be rigid enough to hold the glasses upright but soft enough to give a little so that you can push in slightly oversized glasses to get a good grip. Need to choose glasses with care. We ended up buying wine glasses for one row of holes because we did not have any that fitted. Mind you they were only 99p each from Dunhelm Mill. At that price we bought enough to cover us for breakages in the next few year.
A hacksaw blade (on its own) but might be tricky if the polystyrene is thick.
Ian
Ian
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OP
OP
Brilliant idea.....sadly I need bigger holes....
- Jul 5, 2013
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You do not say what you are holding in the foam. Looking at the way it deformed the foam in the demo will probably be no where near stiff enough to hold upright glasses or bottles.
Silver-Fox
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SteveJ
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If you need 150mm holes then you could try the same way as the video but try a piece of drain/duct pipe. Go around the end with a small file to give it a bit of a edge so it cuts a bit cleaner. try with a bit of 15mm plastic pipe and see what sort of results you get.
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Silver-Fox
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If it’s bottles and the like to be held just use 9mm ply cut holes with hole saws and put on a frame say 2, 3 or 4x1 pse
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Great idea, on good old you tube, could you not use empty sharp edged pea or bean tins, and screw them through the foam?
Les
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I just used very very sharp craft knife.
OP
OP
The foam I have is medium density and have managed to cut it with large scissors.
Managed to cut the holes that I need but not as tidy as I want, however, I think I will get some more foam and use a scalpel of similar.
Managed to cut the holes that I need but not as tidy as I want, however, I think I will get some more foam and use a scalpel of similar.
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Riverbankannie
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I was trying to model mine on the one you can buy ready made like @peterc10 linked to. However as you can see my cupboard not very deep. I tried to find the layered foam used in that video but I couldn’t find it in UK.
The black high density foam looks good, no crumbly edges and most importantly no rattles in the cupboard which is just behind driver’s head so would be annoying.
I’ve drunk the wine !
The black high density foam looks good, no crumbly edges and most importantly no rattles in the cupboard which is just behind driver’s head so would be annoying.
I’ve drunk the wine !
- Jul 5, 2013
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Looks very neat and professional.
If you want to buy what seems to be the right type of foam look for "yoga blocks" on eBay. I’m reliably informed that yoga is some kind of exercise that involves balancing body extremities on foam blocks, but I can’t envisage this myself.
Riverbankannie
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It does, we use them in Pilates too! However they are only house brick sized so not very flexible for odd shaped shelves.
Riverbankannie
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I realise now that I’ve been calling it high density foam, however that’s not the right stuff. It’s called closed cell foam and I bought 2 bits cut roughly to the size of the shelf, one to play with and one for final result.
I cannot remember where from though
https://www.gbfoamdirect.co.uk/foam-cut-to-size/plastazote-foam-closed-cell-foam-sheets/
Just found my email invoice, it came from efoam
https://www.efoam.co.uk/closed-cell-polyethylene-foam.php
Not particularly cheap but does the job well. I also bought some 4 in thick dense cushion foam while I was at it but that was useless for bottles.
I cannot remember where from though
https://www.gbfoamdirect.co.uk/foam-cut-to-size/plastazote-foam-closed-cell-foam-sheets/
Just found my email invoice, it came from efoam
https://www.efoam.co.uk/closed-cell-polyethylene-foam.php
Not particularly cheap but does the job well. I also bought some 4 in thick dense cushion foam while I was at it but that was useless for bottles.
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