for this project i’m going to show you howto forge a “mini master swordâ€, out of styrofoam. make one just for fun and cosplay.or bury it in a bucket of sand, and turn it into solid metal. however you wield your power,is completely up to you, because with this legendary sword, you are the master. let’s begin this project, with another sheetof dollar store foam board, and the hot-wire “styro-slicer†i showed you how to buildin a previous project. you’ll also need this “mini master swordâ€template, i drew in photoshop. and you can have it for free, if you just say thank you,and check the description for a link. now you probably remember that dollar storefoam board is just a layer of foam, sandwiched
between two pieces of paper, and if we carefullyuse a fingernail to pull up on one of the corners, the paper peels right off, with hardlyany trouble at all. alright, let’s get busy cutting out allthe individual pieces from the template. and if you want to save yourself from having toglue them on, then simply print your templates on full page label paper instead. cut all the shapes out, as cleanly and neatlyas you can, then go find a glue stick, so we can stick them firmly onto the foam board,next. now when you’re adding glue to the backof the paper templates, you don’t actually need to smear the entire piece of paper. thatwill only make it trickier to get off later on.
so just add a generous coating around theedges instead, then take time to position the template carefully on the foam-board,pressing the edges down as smoothly as you can get them. and if you utilize the space by keeping thepieces close together, you’ll be able to get 3 swords, from one board. if everything looks smooth and secure, thengo ahead and power up the “styro-slicerâ€. the “styro-slicer†is a homemade hot-wirefoam cutting factory, that has adjustable power settings, for slicing styrofoam of allshapes and sizes, and can probably create any custom cosplay, or foam prop you can thinkup. alright, the first thing we need to do withthis foam board, is chop the templates down, into manageable pieces. i typically slide the foam up and down thewire a few times, to rough out the foam pieces
a little faster, then carefully trace eachof the shapes, once they’re smaller, and easier to work with. now the two base blades need some really specialattention, so let’s focus on them next. tracing around the edges of just the hilt,and the handles first, you can see the hot-wire slices easily though the foam, but doesn’tactually go through the paper. that’s really cool, because it leaves uswith a really smooth, and professional looking cut. now hopefully you didn’t cut the blade outyet, because there’s a cool little trick i’m going to show you for doing that next. move the arm of the “styro-slicer†tothe side of the cutting base, then slide the wire back into the center of the work surface,and you’ll see, you can adjust the angle
of the wire. how cool is that? this means, that now we can give our bladea nice beveled edge. so set the wire around 45⺠and double-check it’s pointing awayfrom you, then lay the sword flat on the cutting base, and trace the blade. keep the wire as perpendicular to the linesof the template as you can, then carefully trace the edges in four separate passes. when you’ve made it around to the otherside of the hilt, then stop, and pull the sword straight back toward you, to releasethe wire. go ahead and peel the styrofoam off, fromaround the edges, and take a look, at that cool beveled blade.
and now that you’ve got the hang of it,go ahead and do the other sword the same way, so we can move on to modifying, the thicknessof the handle next. now for this next trick, you’re going toneed to adjust the blade of the “styro-slicer†so it hangs horizontally over the cuttingbase. and just like that, you’ve got the ability to cut foam bits, in half. the blade can adjust to any thickness youwant, but for simplicity, we’ll just be cutting a few select pieces, in half. the only parts that actually need to be downsized,are the 2 small blades, and the 2 handle grips, which you can see leave us with 4 of each.but you can scrap the ones with paper glued to them, because we won’t be needing themanymore.
alight the pieces are all cut to shape, solet’s peel the paper templates off the foam, and if you’re careful not to rip the paper,you can actually use the templates again, to make another sword. now before going any further, it’s a goodidea to layout all the pieces on a table to make sure they’re all there. you should have 28 pieces altogether, and if you do,then let’s get busy gluing them together. there’s a little diagram on the templatethat shows how the finished sword is going to look. so start assembling it by layingone of the base blades flat on a table, and gluing the hilt to the top. take a little time to adjust the bottom andthe sides so they match up with the base blade on the bottom. then simply follow the pattern for the restof the pieces, and you should end up with two completed sides of the sword, that lookidentical.
now simply add a generous amount glue, tothe flat sides on the bottom, then gently, but firmly, seal them together. that’s pretty much it. all that’s leftfor finishing our “master sword†now, is carving out the tri-force. use a pair of scissors, or an x-acto knifeto carefully draw the 3 lines, to form a triangle in the middle, then carve the little channelsas deep as you like. with that final step, your 3d foam sword isfinished, and of course you can get creative, and customize it any way you want. i gently sanded the sword with a 220 gritsanding sponge, to smooth down any imperfections, making our little homemade creation, looksurprisingly professional.
now before you get too crazy with your sword,it’s a good idea to leave it overnight so the glue has a chance to dry completely. and if you plan on turning your sword intoaluminum, you’re going to need a foam riser like this as well. so you might as well makeone of those, while you’re waiting. simply cut the riser to whatever length youneed, then bury the sword in a bucket of sand and pour hot molten aluminum overtop. you’ll see the styrofoam vaporizes instantlyfrom the extreme temperature, allowing the metal to flow in and take its place, beforethe sand even has a chance to collapse. after 5-10 minutes of cooling, the metal willstill be scalding hot, but should be hard
enough for you to grip onto with a pair ofpliers or channel locks, so you can unearth the sword, from the sand. now the finer the sand you use, the more detailwill be captured in your casting. and if you’re happy with how it looks, just dip the wholething in a bucket of water to cool it, then clean it up a bit to finish it off. these swords will take some time, and someskill to make, but they’re so low cost, that you can make a whole arsenal of foamweaponry, for just a couple of bucks, and a bit of your time. well now you know how to use a little electricity,and some dollar store foam-board to forge a powerful, and impressive, “mini masterswordâ€. by the way if you try experimenting with differentkinds of metals, you’ll probably find you
can cast a sword, from just about anythingyou want. i melted a few handfuls of bullet casings,and turned them into a “golden swordâ€. it’s over 3 times heavier than aluminum,but it makes a really cool addition, to my metal casting collection. well that’s it for now. if you liked thisproject, perhaps you’ll like some of my others. check them out at www.thekingofrandom.com