Cutting delicate parts with powertools

[John Howling Mouse]

In the past (like on the A-5 Menaz, when I've had to cut similar canopy pieces, I usually get cracks and chips if not the complete destruction of the clear parts so I came up with a new technique:

I stuffed the clear parts with Plasticene to better support them as they pass through the bandsaw.  Likely not good for the bandsaw but it worked extremely well.

1. The parts mounted to cardboard (safer as it keeps one's fingers away from the blade) with the modelling clay packed in underneath to support the pieces from the downward blast of the bandsaw blade's teeth:



2. You see here the parts split in nice, clean halves:



3. I was very happy with the results----far better than I obtained with the Menaz (no plasticene clay used on that):



4. Although not yet polished up, they already look pretty good mated back together:



But now I have to file down 2mm from each inner edge to get the final cockpit as close as possible to the cockpit aperture (scroll back a few pages).  Will it work?  Stay tuned: Same What If time....same What If channel!   

[Julhelm]

Do you have one of those drills with an XYZ slewable table? In that case you could try and cut the parts with a very thin slot mill.

[John Howling Mouse]

Do you have one of those drills with an XYZ slewable table? In that case you could try and cut the parts with a very thin slot mill.

Don't know what kind of drill or XYZ slewable table you mean---can you provide pic and/or link?

I have a tabletop scrollsaw which makes a 1.5mm kerf for control cuts along tightly defined lines (like removing pour stubs from resin parts) but there are times when I'm trying to remove a wider swath right off the bat.  For example, the canopy pieces you see above are now reduce about 2.5mm in width from the bandsaw cuts but I still have to further reduce each edge another 2.0mm to match the aperture of the targeted cockpit.  Problem is: I'm not good enough with any saw to cut two perfectly parallel lines, though!

[Hobbes]

That last comment probably explains it, I was wondering why you'd go this route instead of just using a razor saw.

[jcf]

A note on scroll-saws of the type Baz describes;
Provided the saw is the type that has blade clamps for plain-ended rather than pin-ended blades, you can clamp
standard jeweler's saw blades into the saw and get some very precise cuts in various materials.
It does work best with variable speed saws and I recommend Rio Grande Laser brand blades as they are very sharp
and flexible, in other words they cut better and break less.

Jon