Cutting White Metal

[NiceGuyAdi]

I’ve a fiddly decapitation project to perform on a white metal miniature (Ultramarine Honour Guard), and looking into what tool to do it with.

 

I’ve read around a bit and using a hobby knife looks to be a nightmare (and I have a nasty scar on my thumb from trying something similar in my preteen hobbying days). Whilst a razor saw looks like the cutting blade is too deep to get into the fiddly details.

 

I have a junior hacksaw, but would it be too inaccurate and wide bladed? Or has anyone got experience of using a mini razor saw like the Tamiya Handy Craft Saw II?

[Major_Gilbear]

Do you want to preserve the head?

 

If not, I'd file a flat spot on the head to get some purchase with a drill, and then use progressively bigger drill bits to hollow out (and remove) as much of the head as you can. Then, you can give the area a bit of a quick trim with a strong knife, and a file down smooth to finish.

 

If you do want to keep the head... Much more work, or you 'll need something like a Dremel with a cutting wheel. If you intend to do it with hand tools, you could try something like this saw and a lot of patience.

 

Personally, I always use hand tools for these sorts of jobs (and only use the Dremel for fiddly contoured or complex cuts). I take my time, and I make very sure that the part is held firmly against a sturdy surface. This reduces the chances of slips, and the inevitably resulting injuries/damage. If you use a powered tool like the Dremel, be aware that the model can get surprisingly hot and burn you if you're not careful.

[Subtle Discord]

Depending on just how often you plan to do conversions that require careful removal or separation of parts, I strongly recommend investing in a Jewelers Saw and a few bundles of corresponding Blades. I suggest getting an assortment pack of blades to start so you can experiment with them yourself to find what size you prefer. Larger blades make quick work but are also thicker and the finer blades cut away very little material (excellent for harvesting parts and preserving the bit and the original model) but they are also very thin and delicate. Once you have a good idea which you prefer you can get packs of just those blade sizes and they are very economical over time.

 

Basically a razor blade with teeth, for a $15-to-$20 investment (including the first bundle of blades), you'll have a precision tool that will last a lifetime and permits you to make very thin precise cuts in soft-to-medium hardness metals and all kinds of plastic. Being so thin you are able to slowly rotate (even making sharp corners, with practice) the blade as you cut to follow complex contours. Note that the blade will clog quicker with plastic, but it still provides excellent cuts and control. I use this saw regularly to carefully removed casting vents/channels from resin models without fear of damaging the model and it's also very good at making complex cuts for conversion of styrene plastic models.

 

Here's a simple guide to using this kind of saw correctly, most important of which is how you load the blade so it is very taut and ready to cut properly. If done right you should be able to pluck the blade and get a nice clear 'ping' sound like it was a stringed instrument. Note also that these saws come with different 'throat' sizes which refers to the cutting depth of the saw. For miniatures, a shallow (read: cheaper) 2"-3" (50mm-80mm) throat will likely be more than enough. Finally, the guide also recommends using some wax on the blade which will greatly extend blade life. If you're not doing tons of work you don't need wax, but any oil or wax will work reasonably well and you only need a tiny bit to keep the blade gliding smoothly, especially if you're doing a complex cut with tight turns.

 

Like with any sharp tool, be careful and wear eye protection. The tightly strung blades are delicate and do break quite easily when you're first getting used to using one of these saws and they 'bite' very quickly and can give you a nasty cut if you don't take care.

[Major_Gilbear]

That's a good point about the wax SD - I normally suggest doing the same with drill bits to prevent them from sticking in metal models. Simply drill into a old wax candle, and the wax will coat the drill bit nicely.

[NiceGuyAdi]

I love this site. Thanks so much for the pointers. This is the guy to lose his head:

 

 

I had been looking at both the X-Acto razor saw and jewellers saws. The drawback with the razor saw seem to be that the blade is quite big, so will make cutting around the angle of the neck protection behind the head very tricky. So I reckon jeweller's saw it will have to be.

 

I recognise this is going to be a job, but I'm determined to make a fist of this. Thanks again!

[Subtle Discord]

If you don't care about keeping the head, I would start by cutting from the back, using the collar as a guideline. Once you get to the 'corner' of the collar you have two choices, carefully turn the blade and follow the curve of the collar to under the chin, or pull the blade out and then cut from under the chin up to mee the first cut. From there you can use a rotary tool to shape the neck hole (trickier and riskier) or use Gilbear's expanding drillbit method to open up the space. You're lucky, this doesn't appear to be as challenging a head removal as it could be.

[NiceGuyAdi]

Ah yes, except I forgot to mention the head is the bit I want to keep intact!

[Subtle Discord]

Ah, I see. Then I would cut low and aim to remove all or most of the collar to keep enough material so you can shape the form of the head. If you want to keep both parts, take your time and you should be able to remove it cleanly enough that you'll need to recreate the collar in some way to salvage the body, but it's not that difficult of a detail to rebuild.

[Major_Gilbear]

Yeah, I agree - cut through the collar as it's easy to re-create on the base model, and straightforward enough to shave off the back of the head.

 

Also, not to dissuade you from your task, but if you want helmets with winged faces, you might be interested in these from FW. They are pretty similar (the crests are easy to shave off if you don't want them), and they would save you a lot of work. :)

[DaisyDuke]

Could you not make a blue stuff mold of the head attached, make the bit and then remove the excess as flash?

[NiceGuyAdi]

I've seen those heads Gilbear, but not so keen. I do have some Invitarus Suzerain heads that I'm going to remove the Ultramarine symbol from to use, and a Captain Solaq head as well, but I'm trying to get variety for my veterans.

 

DaisyDuke, the Blue Stuff idea is definitely worth a punt!

[Radiation]

There are small x-acto saws that fit in the standard x-acto blade holders. They are the size of an x-acto blade. You get about five of them in a package and they work great if a bit slower in removing material. Good luck!

[Trevak Dal]

If using a Dremel, dunk the mini (using pliers) into some water to take the heat off. As Gilbear says it gets surprisingly hot.