Foam is a resourceful material with multiple-use and applications. If you are planning to do a project or home improvement with customized pieces of foam, you need a little help to understand what foam you are using and how to cut foam board in different shapes and sizes. Even for professionals, knowledge about different foam cutting tools as well as certain procedures for accuracy is mandatory.
If I want to tell how to cut foam board in one line, cutting or slicing up the edges of the foam with a sharp tool parallel to a drawn line to have an ideal shape that rightly fits into the given specification of a framework. You need to be extra careful while cutting a delicate thing like foam because a slightly over-cut or undercut may leave the foam completely useless.
How To Cut Foam Board?
Depending on what sort of cut you require, you can use tools with different workability. For example, scissors work better for cutting either straight or curved lines on foam, whereas you may need a razor blade to manage thicker foam hard to cut. Nonetheless, cutting foam with a tool goes through a few steps such as:
- Take a measurement using a yardstick or scale.
- Prepare your tool to cut the foam into the right size and shape following the measurement.
- Be consistent and gentle in shaping or curving out the extra foam to make it shaped ideally.
Best Way To Cut Foam Board:
Cutting foam can be done both manually and electrically, however it entirely depends on what type and size of foam you are working on. It also matters whether you know how to cut foam board or not. Sometimes manually cutting may not work if you look for the very precise cut to create a sophisticated or twisted design, buying a foam cutting machine is a good fit. A foam cutting saw comes with a wheelbase that prevents friction and holds the blade straight up and down. Though a bit expensive, such machines are best for accuracy and thicker foam cutting.
Nonetheless, if you are working on something basic, a simple bread knife would do.
Some Tips to Have Perfect Foam Cut in the Best Way so Far:
Consider the foams as freshly baked bread that may look crispy and hard outside yet super firm inside that can be damaged or disordered with force. And, always start the cut from the outside edge of the sheets. Also,
- Do not force the blade or the knife through the sheet that may damage the designated outline.
- Do not compress the foam rather try to do quick cuts through the condensed foam. A worker will be able to have better straight cuts and flush edges on less compressed foam.
- Do pressurize at a minimal rate to have cleaner edge cutting. Firm and medium quality foam can resist the pressure but no need to put extra pressure, try gently.
- Use a sharp and branded cutting knife or blade if not machine to make sure it runs through the foam smoothly. A dull or cheap staff will only waste your time.
How To Cut Upholstery Foam Board?
Upholstery foam which contains flexible polyurethane foams of different densities and stiffness produces a suitable insulator. This is often considered an upholstery sponge. This foam is basically used in the manufacturing of upholstered furniture, mattresses, car seats, or door. Upholstery foam is used for its dense texture, determining its quality and resistance to deformation. Upholstery foam can be shaped and curved by extendable razor, spring, or regular scissors. With the extendable razor, you can use a technique where you will hold down the piece and keep cutting it for few times on the same edge for an ideal shape.
Steps to Cut Upholstery Foam:
- Mark the length according to your design with a measuring tape. Use a dot pen to mark every few inches on the foam to ensure a straight edge connecting the dots. Do this for both short and long edges.
- Get a serrated knife or a sharp bread knife and line it up with the dots you drew for the length cut.
- After measuring is complete, cut the short edge first and the long edge second to have the length you need.
- Make a shallow cut along the cut line while keeping the knife or blade parallel to the foam. Do not back and forth the blade otherwise, the foam will tear down and the cut will not be even.
- Place your knife/blade into the indentation and do all the cuts in the same way.
- Use sandpaper to smooth the rough edges.
How To Cut High-Density Foam Board?
A common variety of the foam is a high-density foam that is industrial grade foam usually is soft or extra firm. This medium-quality foam is called high-density foam to differentiate it from the original polyurethane foam. This foam is mostly used in furniture as its higher density supports the furniture or mattresses with better comfort. While foam cutting is a piece of cake for professionals, high-density foam cutting is not as simple as cutting normal foam with simple scissors, dense foam requires an electric carving knife as the best fit for giving it the expected shape. Also, ascertain that the knife or the blade you are using gives a smooth, sharp cut and move the knife/blade away from you not toward you to avoid wounds.
- You certainly know that old proverb, “measure twice, and cut once”. This goes perfectly with the cutting of high-density foam. For a single cut, you should measure twice to make sure the cut is straight.
- Depending on the use, be careful while choosing the pattern for cutting the foam. Using a paper cut works well for having the foam cut accurate. For example, if you are cutting around a chair cushion, first place the cushion on pieces of paper and cut around the edge. Use that paper cut as a sample cut for the high-density foam cutting.
- Use the same measurement to mark the points on the foam with dots. When marking is done, check again if the dots connect a line straight and within the size. Follow the edge points to cut a plain straight line carefully because a simple nudge may twist this line.
- As I already said, an electric knife is more able to efficiently cut the foam. Turn the knife or blade to the high setting and wears protection equipment. Start cutting through the edge along with the line you made connecting dots. For a difficult pattern, it is helpful to cut a shallow or rough line a few inches away from the original line but parallel to it. Then cut the line following the previous line and discard the excess foam.
How To Cut Foam Cushions Without Electric Knife?
The foam cushion is made of polyurethane foam mostly, which provides different degrees of support for the furniture with its firmness and density. For instance, foam companies offer tons of options of indoor cushion foam types within a range of choices that offer a variety of super soft and firm types.
An electric knife is a good option but not necessary for cutting foam cushions. A sharp kitchen knife will do the job just as efficiently. Multiple options for manual foam cutting are available in case the foam cut is simple and not much tricky:
- With scissors: Scissors are really efficient in cutting straight or curved lines on thinner pieces of foam. A sharp and quality scissor will save your time if you cut longer cuts instead of chopping them up into small pieces.
- Cookie Cutters: For foam that is ½ inch thick or less, cookie-cutter adequately suffices. Get a sharp cookie cutter; press it down inside the foam gently.
- Waxed blade: A waxed blade is not much commonly used tool yet it can be useful in case you do not have other options. Before using the tool, wax the blade by rubbing it against a white candle. Then use the blade to cut the line along the marked line drawn previously. If the blade begins to stick, wax it again.
- Dental floss: Once you get to understand how it works, dental floss can also work just fine on a piece of foam. First, place a long piece of dental floss on the floor and lay the foam sheet on top of it. Straighten the floss line up with the drawn line and gently pull the dental floss through the foam with one hand as the other hand should be holding the foam stable. It will smoothly cut across the foam into a straight line.
Few points to keep in mind while working with polyurethane foam. Let’s figure out how to cut foam cushions manually without an electric knife.
First of all, you need to know how to cut the foam with straight lines. This can be done with newspaper cut copying the dimension for the cushion. Afterward, you can use those sample cuts for curving out a rectangular or square shape of the foam. These templates will provide you with a visual of the foam after cutting it. Place the template on the foam to see how it fits on the foam side-by-side or end-over-end and put dots on each edge to mark the boundary for each cut.
Use the designated boundary shape you took earlier to shape the foam. For a foam square or rectangular shape, you already have it with two sides either squarely or rectangular shape machine-cut. While using the template, do not draw a straight line, would rather have a tick or dot marks at a distanced point to make sure measurement is accurate. Place the foam on a flat surface and make sure it is stable. If you want to use a carving knife, hold the carving knife gently and move it back and forth in sawing motion.
FAQs
- What Kind of Safety Procedures to Follow for Cutting Foam?
An: Safety goggles are a must for protecting your eyes and avoiding hovering bits of foam. Make sure you or your children are not allergenic to foam pieces and always keep the blade away from you not towards you.
- An Ideal Toolbox For Foam Cutting Would Contain?
An: Measurement tools i.e. a tape measure, a yardstick or something sort of with straight edge and sharp carving knife or any such cutting knife/blade of course and sandpaper for smoothening the rough edge. Ensure that your cutting tool is longer than the foam for a perfect and easy cut.
- Which Tool Is The Best Fit For Cutting Foam?
Ans: Additional to the tools discussed above, a hot wire cutter, hot knife, guitar string, or a long blade utility knife will work as well as the ones above for cutting a variety of foams.
Final words:
How to cut foam is entirely your choice, you can do it manually or use an electric tool or a foam cutting machine. Keeping the ideal size and cut in mind, you can check the available tools and choose the right option to make precise and clean cuts. Certainly, you can always turn to the companies providing custom cutting services for foam cutting but learning how to cut foam by yourself will give you some advantages i.e. minimizing cutting errors and avoiding extra expenses for a low-budget project. Though always make sure you have enough practice in cutting foam by trying on a paper or a used scrap of foam before cutting the actual one. Safety is another thing to keep in mind no matter how expert you are in cutting foam. All in all, follow the steps above, use a sharp quality object and start cutting your foam accordingly. Much to your surprise, it will be done sooner than you expected.b