# Carving Great Stuff



## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

How difficult is it to carve great stuff after it has been "applied" and dries? Can anyone give me some pointers on technique and tools? I was planning on building a tree stump prop as a base for one of my (soon to be) singing pumpkins, and I saw someone here had used great stuff in the creation of his own stump.


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## Ghoulia Childe (Jul 4, 2012)

It carves easily, in fact easier than regular pink insulation foam. I think that's because when it cures completely it's harder and offers more resistance. I've used a knife, a cheese grater-like scraper that I believe Terra recommended, and a hot wire cutter. If you go with the hot wire cutter, please be careful and do it outside with lots of ventilation. 

The downside, in my experience with it, is that it has a lot of "bubbles" and open spaces inside it after it cures. You should be fine if you're planning on covering it with monster mud or clay after you get the general shape. 

I'm hoping to do a small tree stump myself, and I'd love to see pictures once you're done.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey Jaege, I usually use my dremmel with a sanding band to eliminate portions of the foam I don't want, and then use mâché or some other type of filler like wood putty to fill in the gaps I don't want. I've never used any of the the other forms that GC was talking about, so I can't offer any other advise.


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

When I used GS to put my styrofoam blocks together I used a hack saw blade to trim the oozed out parts. The blade was flexible enough to lay flat as I trimmed.
GC is right, bubbles can be an issue, but they can be filled. There are different kinds of GS on the market now. The standard, a larger expansion, a mini expansion, a flexible, and a new one I just seen that has pest control in it.


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## Troll Wizard (May 3, 2012)

I have heard of people using an electric carving knife, that they bought at a thrift shop. Haven't used one myself, cause like HMJ, I use my Dremmel tool also.


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## jaege (Aug 23, 2009)

Thanks for the quick and informative responses. I will experiment with a few of your ideas to see which works best for my purpose.

By the way, it was dubbax3 that made the stump that gave me my inspiration. It came out really nice.

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=26481&highlight=tree+stump


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## Lord Homicide (May 11, 2012)

Sanding great stuff is messy but what foam isn't? I use a sponge sander to shape the foam and a dremel for the details. Too bad there aren't mini-van de graaff generators to slip onto the back of your hand to make a foam mess non-existent. 

To minimize gaps and holes, the form used (if any) needs to be vented to cure properly. I achieved this by drilling small holes where there was no air that could reach the foam. The same principle when placing concrete on vented decking.

Try experimenting with foam in clear serving/salad bowls from the dollar store. You will see what happens when air does not reach the foam to cure.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Great Stuff is very easy to carve. It also sands quite well with green scouring pads.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

A suggestion for those carving or sanding foam, actually two suggestions:
Wear at least a dust mask to protect your sinuses and lungs when working with a sander, dremel, or anything that will cause or stir up the dust. Protection for your eyes would be a good thing too.
Use a box fan with a fiberglass furnace filter stuck on the suction side of the fan, and have the fan pointing away from where you work, and running at full speed. You'll be amazed at how much of the dust is captured and how clean it keeps your work area. This works great for airbrushing, spray painting, wood working, etc., too. A fan and a filter are a whole lot less expensive than health issues from breathing in toxic fumes or particles.


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## Sytnathotep (Oct 10, 2011)

One other think to keep in mind also is what 'stuff' you are working with. The foams with the greatest expansion also have the largest air pockets in them, making it challenging to carve details, while the lowest expanding foams are also the densest to get better detail, but would also be heavier.


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