cutting nuts?
 

hello im putting my paperpanzer iv on the backburner while i finish off my kv-1

one thing i was wondering is how to cut styrene hex rod in to nice bolt head i find there either cut at a slight slope or i have to cut dozens to get a few the right size is there any way of cutting uniform?

RE: cutting nuts?
 

Just be careful and don't do what I did when I was shaving off the molded on tools with a flat x-acto blade!! In at the knuckle and out the side of my thumb... [:@]

On your question though, I had the same problem and wasted a few when making the brackets for the Tiger's turret stowage bin. I just picked the best, and glued them down with the flatest side down and if they were angled on the top just ran a piece of sandpaper over them to flatten them out.

RE: cutting nuts?
 

nasty i did something just as unpleasant when making a cardmodel and while trying to hold down a 2ft ruler and cut a straight line manged to cut the tips off two fingers with the surgical scalpel i was using as i didnt see were my fingers were when i began cutting....[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

back to the nuts thats what ive been doing i just wanted to see if there were any better methods of doing this i prefer the stryrene nuts over the scale metal nuts as once pro-welded down there much stronger

RE: cutting nuts?
 

<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">What you need is a razor saw and a miter box like these sets shown here. These are very common inshops that cater to model railroaders especially<font color="#606420">http://www.micromark.com/SearchResult.aspx?deptIdFilter=0&amp;searchPhrase= miter+box</font> The slots in the box will guide your saw so it cuts straight and vertical. Clamp a stop block to the right of your cut the length you want your nuts to be. They will all be cut uniform. You can also get by with a shallow &lsquo;L&rsquo; shaped block and just the razor saw. HTH and good luck. </div>

RE: cutting nuts?
 

An alternative method for making bolt heads and nuts is to use a punch to cut a small disc out of sheet styrene.  Once you have the right diameter disc, just use a knife to cut the flats to make a hex shape. 

Waldron makes the best punch sets, and Hannants sells them in the UK.  http://www.hannants.co.uk/

RE: cutting nuts?
 

i wonder if i can make a mini-miter box with some alu for a long razor blade?
the nuts i wish to cut are rather tiny 1mm-0.5mm

RE: cutting nuts?
 

What about the simulated hex nuts? You looking for a size that isn't made?

I see that duplicating tool in the link above, that would seem to be the right one for the job in question. But $28, I suppose if you were going to use it for more than one tank...