WHY DO YOU WANT A FOAM CUTTER? Before building a new tool it is a good idea to ask why you want it. A foam cutter is not very useful around the house. In fact aside from cutting styro foam and blowing out fuses they are not very useful. So why build one? Because it will allow you to sculpt the most beautiful game terrain imaginable. I believe that the beauty of a game breaks down to 1/3rd from the rules, 1/3rd from the miniatures and 1/3rd from the terrain. So quality props are very important to a successful game. At present, truly remarkable layouts can be made with a flocked cloth, toy trees, model buildings, lichen and kitty litter (never skimp on the kitty litter!) But this approach is difficult to transport, takes a long time to set up, and just as long to tear down. Sculpted terrain can give the same visual results at a fraction of the set up time. Four two foot by two foot boards form a four by four battle field, that can be set up and put away in minutes that will attract players from across the room and make them want to play your game - regardless of what the rules are! So if you want to have gamers lining up to play your game and really like complete strangers coming up to you to complement your artistry then you will want a foam cutter. WHY BUILD ONE? WHY NOT JUST BUY ONE? There are foam cutters on the market. Most use batteries and quite honestly are not up to the task of sculpting large boards. There are also plug in cutters that are okay, but they do burn out and it is cheaper to build your own cutter than buy a new one. HOW DOES A FOAM CUTTER WORK? A foam cutter is nothing more than an electric circuit in which current is run through a steel wire. The wire heats up because this is a dead short. Without something to reduce the current the wire heats up so fast that it literally explodes. This is fun to do once or twice, but it does flip one's circuit breakers (or burns out fuses as is my case) so don't do it too many times. The current is stepped down by a transformer wired to a dimmer switch, which allows the heat of the wire to be varied. The heated wire "cuts" through styrofoam like a hot knife through butter. In fact though it burns its way through. This releases fumes from the styrofoam that are very bad for you health. I understand that white board puts out hydrogen cyanide, blue board is worse. In either case do this outside or in a VERY well ventilated area - I am certain the fumes are carcinogens. With practice truly convincing hills, rivers, caves, buildings and entire cities can be sculpted out of solid sheet of styrofoam. As I said above a foam cutter is a dead short, so eventually it will burn out. Wire cutters burn out the most often. They fail because the heat of the wire melts a section that breaks the circuit. Periodically the transformer will burn out. It begins to smoke and can catch fire it you keep it on. This is a signal to buy a new transformer WHAT DO I NEED TO BUILD A FOAM CUTTER? WHERE CAN I BUY IT? AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? You will need to buy the following. 1. A transformer (I don't know which size is best, I buy the cheapest available) COST say 30 dollars 2. A dimmer switch. COST say a few dollars 3. An electric plug in. COST say a few dollars 4. A yard of electric wire. COST a dollar 5. An electric plug. COST a dollar 6. Two gator clips. COST a dollar 7. A 1" diameter dowel rod. COST a couple of dollars 8. Some screws or nails. COST fifty cents 9. A spool of steel wire - 20m gage works fine. COST a couple of dollars 10. A box to put it all in. COST say 10 dollars So the whole thing costs around sixty dollars. This may seem high, but you have the materials to make dozens of cutters of all shapes and sizes. I buy my transformers from a local electrical shop. They always look at me funny when I come in because they mainly deal with electrician and not silly wargamers. But they sell me what I want anyway. The rest of the supplies I buy at the neighborhood hardware store. So these things can be gotten anywhere. HOW TO WIRE THE CONTROL BOX Remember that electric only works if the wires form a circuit beginning at the wall plug in, running through the item, and returning to the other prong of the wall plug in. The transformer has two sets of two wires coming out different ends. One side attaches to the wall plug in the other to the dimmer switch and cutter tool plug in. With that in mind wire the circuit thus... 1. One side to the wall plug in to... 2. One side of the transformer (the wall side) 3. One wire on the other side of the transformer to... 4. The dimmer switch 5. The other side of the dimmer switch to one side of the tool plug in. 6. The other side of the tool plug in connects back to the tool side of the transformer. 7. The other wall side wire of the transformer connects back to the other prong of the wall plug in. The cutting tool plug in is the break in the circuit. So the control box is safe when no tool is plugged in. HOW TO WIRE A CUTTING TOOL First, cut a six inch length of dowel rod and screw four screws in one end. Two screws above one another on either side of the rod. (Make certain the screws don't touch inside the dowel rod or the tool will short out - BOOM goes another fuse!) Next bend some steel wire into the cutting shape of your dreams. Connect the two sides to the screws sticking out on the dowel. I loop a little wire around one screw and then go down to the one below it to give the wire an anchor. The tool is almost ready to cut with. Attach the gator clips to the yard of electric cord and plug. The plug will go in the control box. When the gator clips are connected to the cutting tool it is ready to operate. SAFETY FIRST!!! Connect the gator clips above the screws! If they are below then the circuit will heat up the screws and burn up your tool! Make certain that the gator clips do not touch one another. BOOM another fuse gone! Connect the gator clips to the tool first. The plug it in to the control box. Only then plug in the control box. You don't want to accidentally shock or burn yourself if the dimmer switch is on. If you are using galvanized wire watch out for a flash on the cutter wire. This is the zinc burning off. Zinc fumes are not good for you. Always remember ventilation! Be careful not to touch any exposed wires, you can be electrocuted! Don't use this tool in puddles or if outside if it is raining. ZAP! ARE FOAM CUTTERS SAFE? Hell no, they're not safe! Don't let children near them! Know that you are exposing yourself to toxic fumes that are probably cutting years off you life. Know that there are enough carcinogens kicking around this stuff that your insurance company will not like you doing this. And know that you could be electrocuted. Safe! What a silly question! SO IF ITS SO DANGEROUS WHY DO IT? You will notice that I don't sell these tools. In my opinion they are not safe, but oh the terrain I've been able to make with them! The risk is worth it! So I guess I won't live to be ninety. At least I'll be able to play really neat games until then. Back to MWAN #100 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com