Cutting sorbothane?

Mankey · Post by **Mankey** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 10:48 pm

What do u krazy kids use to cut the sorbothane?
I tried using a razor, and i got poor results. I saw the bars that ralf made, sooo nice and even compared to my butchery.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 9:14 am

I used a box cutter with a fresh blade and a metal straightedge to cut mine. (MikeC was standing right next to me as I cut it, he can verify my choice of hardware

)

The secret's the straightedge. As you are now aware, the Sorbothane is quite gushy(sp?) and also sort of "tough" so it's difficult to cut. Hold the straightedge down tightly against the Sorbothane. That will keep it from moving around as you slice it with your sharp knife. If your knife's very sharp you may be able to make the cut in one single pass, otherwise you'll need to make multiple passes and cut a little deeper each time. My 1/2" Sorbothane took about two or three passes to cut completely through.

hydroxyhydride · Post by **hydroxyhydride** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 4:12 pm

I didn't do an awesome job cutting mine but I found a straight edge (ruler with metal edge) and an Exacto knife to work well enough. I did require multiple passes. If you aren't concerned with a very pretty cut, I found that folding the sorbothane along the crease formed by the first cut leads to tension that makes further cuts very quick.

mg1394 · Post by **mg1394** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 11:09 pm

I personally think this Fiskars Rotary Cutter is a perfect device for cutting things like sorbothane, plastic sheets, etc. and yes, use a large straight-edge with it. It's mainly used in the sewing & quilting crafts.

http://www.fiskars.com/en_US/crafts/loo ... mber=35082

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Mon Jun 28, 2004 8:24 pm

I found that a cleaner cut results if you put the Sorbothane in the freezer for a while before cutting.

patord · Post by **patord** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 10:48 am

I have some commerial paper cutters at my office used to trim stacks of print outs for manuals. Put the sorbothane in, pull the handle and typically cuts clean and straight in one pass. Though it does require some force on the pull down. Course how many of us have such a tool like this at home?

Tad G · Post by **Tad G** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 7:03 pm

Here's the "word" from Sorbothane's Customer Service in an email I got:

Yes, Sorbothane is difficult to cut by hand. The best way
to cut it is to first stiffen the material in your freezer -
no more than an hour. To cut, use a sharp razor blade. You will still have some hour-glass effect to the material, but it will be minimal.

If you prefer optimal results, water-jet cutting is advised. You can find a local cutter in your yellow pages.

Hope this helps.

Tad G

gbass01 · Post by **gbass01** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 2:26 pm

Just cut a 4x4x0.5 inch Sorbothane square into 1x4x0.5 inch strips. The razor idea was a dud - the first strip took forever and the cut is jagged. Then I used common household scissors and got nice clean cuts every time!

Bottom line: use sharp scissors.

Oh, and I did freeze the square for an hour first.

Straker · Post by **Straker** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 3:06 am

water jet cutting a $6 piece of sorbothane, that would be hilarious if you could afford it... take pics!

hvengel · Post by **hvengel** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 11:08 am

patord wrote "I have some commerial paper cutters at my office used to trim stacks of print outs for manuals. Put the sorbothane in, pull the handle and typically cuts clean and straight in one pass. Though it does require some force on the pull down. Course how many of us have such a tool like this at home?"

Do you mean the paper cutters that function like a big shears? I have an 18" model that I got on ebay for by digital darkroom. I was just wondering if this is what you used. There are also those rotary paper cutters.

hyperslug · Post by **hyperslug** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 7:56 pm

gbass01 wrote:Just cut a 4x4x0.5 inch Sorbothane square into 1x4x0.5 inch strips. The razor idea was a dud - the first strip took forever and the cut is jagged. Then I used common household scissors and got nice clean cuts every time!

Bottom line: use sharp scissors.

Oh, and I did freeze the square for an hour first.

I used scissors as well; it works. But I'm pretty sure using a straightedge to compress one side of it and cutting it along the edge will work well too, as Ralf suggests.