I'm doing my first work with resin parts, and I find them very difficult to handle. One problem is cutting them away from their sprue, since the resin is both hard and brittle. I tried using an Xacto knife, but it causes the resin to fracture. I then tried an Xacto saw, but the blade cut away too much of the part.

Any hints? Thanks in advance.

Hi , safety first , if you are cutting resin dry then you must use a top quality face mask and goggles , a chip in the eye cannot be seen by X ray , I have a friend who lost his right eye because of resin starting an infection. It is better to cut resin in a bowl of water , the rule is slow but sure , just take your time . hope this helps cheers ian

Wow, Ian. Never thought of the resin and the X-ray. Shame about your friend's eye.
Bill, what Xacto saw are you using? They make thin ones that are about the size of a number 11 blade.

Shaun

Ian is right get a good razor saw- a knife is no good and cut onder water or dampen the blade continuosly. Don't cut right up to the piece, sand down the final stub using fine wet and dry paper. Again under water is best.

I have a dremel tool which I was thinking about using to cut the big casting blocks. Should I not use it... since I won't be able to use it under water? Or do you guys use power tools to cut the big thick ones. They would take forever to cut with a regular saw.

Use a good dust mask when using moto tools on resin..........

A dust mask is the most that's required. Cured resin dust is an irratant, not the deadly poison of rumor from several years ago. Generally, I use a simple razor saw. For really unpleasant ones like those under a base. I'll use a regular hand saw since the razor saw won't go all the way across.

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. I hadn't thought about using water to keep the dust down and ease the process.

Bill