Using styrofoam in model making

[dragoncity]

Hi All!,
just a short note of caution on using stryofoam -- its dangerous stuff !!

WHY ?

- its made from a 'unatural' combination of chemicals, like so many items we
use and take for granted today eg: fibreglass resin, glues , etc

NOTE:

-- the dust can lead to lung cancer - similar to that blue asbestos disease
which rips your lung apart and its a long horrible way to finsh your
modelling carreer !

- if you decide to use it ( and I know its very convienent, I've used it
myself), model yachties
have been using it for years and years for the very reasons that PJ gives.
then please :

a) use a proper industral facemask and breathing filters - not those
simple 'cloth' ones people use in home removations. In fact some
manufacturers recommend a external source of filtered air, if working with it
indoors.

b) ALWAYS sand the foam IN THE ONE DIRECTION, this reduces the
creation of even finer dust if you make a reverse pass with the
sander/sandpaper.

c) find an appropriate GLUE -- some glues cause POSIONOUS VAPOUR to be
formed, ( you'd have seen the effect with some fast CA glues) -- again use a
face mask !!

d) work with it OUTSIDE if possible ( in a small breeze would be best - easy
to find in Vancouver !!)

e) and as PJ says -- seal it with a NON-TOXIC product - non toxic to
YOU and the environment.

f) in the model aircraft world we call it 'thick air" -- great for cutting
accurate wing foil cores, fuselages, etc. For example, instead of using
built up ribs and spars the whole wing shape is cut using a hot wire.

After all the above have fun !!

Cheers,
Brett S Hallett

[Paulrjordan]

Excellent posting, Brett..and thank you for warning everyone of the
dangers of styrofoam dust. I do all my sanding outside anyway
because the dust seems to have static in it which clings to just
about everything!

I think the secret is to carve the foam (rather than sand) as much as
possible or cut to accurate profiles to reduce the amount of sanding
to a bare minimum. Incidentally, breathing pine and (particularly)
mahogany sand dust is also very harmful everyone should invest in a
mask. Even the inexpensive fibre masks afford some protection,
against sanding dust, although NOT against chemical vapours.

So you're a model aircraft guy too!! I thought as much! My youngest
son has got me playing around with electric R/C aircraft and it was
here that I discovered the efficiency (and FUN) of working in foam.
It's amazingly resilient material and after numerous crashes his GWS
Beaver has been patched up many times and still flies very well.What
adhesives do you favour? I find the 3m Super 77 Spray adhesive
excellent for laminating foam sheets together.

I'd be VERY interested to hear of any information you have
for "carving" fuselages out of solid foam as this would be highly
applicable to model ship hulls too. What kind of hot knife do you
use?

With your permission, I'm including your "safety bulletin" in a
handout for a session I'm doing at our Club in June on building in
foam. I need to gather as much information on the subject as I can.

Thanks again for an excellent safety check!

Regards

PJ
Victoria, BC Canada