Adjusting height of Chooch bridge abutments (resin cast)

[Jacob Z]

I bought a pair of Chooch bridge abutments (https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/cho/cho9840.htm) but plans changed and now I need to lower them to fit. Apparently they are made from cast resin and allegedly they "can be cut with razor saws, and shaped with files" according to one vendor's site. Of course I don't own a razor saw.

Any suggestions on how to approach this?

- Go get a razor saw, if I only use it twice? If so, any recommendations?
- Dremel with a cutoff blade of some type?
- Would something like this small saw get the job done? I don't mind blowing $5 to find it doesn't work, but I would prefer not to be held up for several days waiting on delivery and then find it doesn't work.
- Something else entirely?

 

[santafewillie]

The small saw that you linked is just a replacement blade, you would still need a handle which you may already have. Dremel might work, but will fill the area with a smelly and hard to clean up powder.
I recommend the Atlas Razor Saw, relatively cheap (probably under $12 after taxes if you qualify for free shipping from Amazon) and once you have it, you will find many other modeling uses for it. The listing incorrectly states "Corded Electric", which it isn't.

 

[PMW]

I bought a pair of Chooch bridge abutments (https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/cho/cho9840.htm) but plans changed and now I need to lower them to fit. Apparently they are made from cast resin and allegedly they "can be cut with razor saws, and shaped with files" according to one vendor's site. Of course I don't own a razor saw.

Any suggestions on how to approach this?

- Go get a razor saw, if I only use it twice? If so, any recommendations?
- Dremel with a cutoff blade of some type?
- Would something like this small saw get the job done? I don't mind blowing $5 to find it doesn't work, but I would prefer not to be held up for several days waiting on delivery and then find it doesn't work.
- Something else entirely?

Not sure what the answer is but I got a razor saw for my first kit bash and I don't think it was that much money. I have found other uses for it too so for me it was a good tool to buy

 

[Rico]

I had one that I had a friend cut in two with a band saw to use as end abutments.
I then used a belt sander to take it down a bit further.
Whatever you end up doing I suggest holding it with something other than just your hands, especially if using a saw.

 

[AuburnCentral]

Band saw or even a hacksaw should work. But at some point a razor saw is very handy to have. I have used it for a variety of jobs

 

[Jacob Z]

Dremel might work, but will fill the area with a smelly and hard to clean up powder.

Sounds like whichever way I do it, I should do it in my garage workshop and not my layout room.

Thanks everybody.

 

[Jacob Z]

In case anybody is still following this thread, here's what I tried. From left to right:

- razor saw from Hobby Lobby (because I have one 15 minutes away). Useless. I assume I'll find other jobs it's more suited to.

- Dremel with the largest and hardest cutting disk I have. Made decentish progress until it overheated and shut down. For a couple of minutes I thought I had an excuse to upgrade to a cordless Dremel, but it just needed to cool down.

- Jigsaw. Might have worked if I had a finer blade. Or a sharper one - I don't recall when I last changed it out...

- My old backsaw. Got the job done, with a whole lot of elbow grease.

Something like this might also have worked, but I didn't have the patience for a trip to Home Depot.

Note to self: do not buy resin casts that need more than a little filing to fit.

 

[kjd]

I guess it is polyester resin, when I did a lot of casting that is what we used. It is soft enough but challenging to cut, a bandsaw makes long floating strings in the air. Maybe just occupational exposure, but some people I worked with have developed sensitivity to polyester resin and have to take extra precautions. One or two cuts won't be an issue but you can never bee too careful.