Hi All! I am in need of some suggestions for cutting cake boards out of foam core. I do alright with square boards with cutting a straight line (thought no perfect) but I'm having a lot of trouble cutting smooth circles. This is true for both 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick foam core, but the 1/2 thick is just plain horrendous with the rough cut. I like to use the board as a guide to getting my buttercream icing even and smooth, but jagged edges = jagged icing. So my questions are, is there something better than the basic X-acto knife for cutting foam core or do I just need to focus on backing away from the board when icing the cake?

Thank you for your help!

Boy, if you find out how to do it I'll be the first in line. I finally just bit the bullet and ordered square and round cake boards and cake drums online...I hate to pay the shipping but I figured it would cost me that in gas to drive 120 miles round trip

A hot knife (it's an electric x-acto knife) and use a cake pan the size of circle you need and cut around it. The knife cuts through the core like butter.

Go to a home improvement store (or some kine of store that sells building materials) and ask for a drywall circle cutter big enough to cut circles at least 16 inches (or whatever is your biggest cake size) in diameter. I haven't done it yet, but others on Cake Central have suggested it.

Drywall cutter: You can order on-line, such as http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002X2EE/?tag=cakecentral-20

I use a box cutter that folds like a pocket knife. Remember to change the blade every so often, and it cuts foamcore like butter.

Thanks for the responses. Glad to see I'm not the only one who has struggled with this. I will look into both suggestions. I did a search for hot knives and it looks like they can get pretty expensive. Is there a preferred brand that works better? Would the drywall cutter work on the 1/2 inch thick board just as well as the 1/4 inch? Thanks again! I appreciate everyone's helpfulness.

When I switched over to 1/2" foamboards, I invested in a $70 band saw (tabletop kind) and a circle cutting attachment ($30). Get perfect circles (up to $22") in seconds! BEST investment I ever made...and I also order the foamboards in bulk now for mere pennies a sheet! They're so freak'n expensive (even after coupon)! Before the band saw I just used an xacto blade and got very smooth sides....key is a new, sharp blade!

If you go to the bottom half of the first page of this thread: http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=726016&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0 you will see some CC members who have tried the drywall cutter or were going to. You could send them a private message to ask if they liked it and other questions you have.

Also this thread: http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-680634-drywall.html+cutter

Where do u get the foam core boards at?

This is great info. I just recently switched to the foam core instead of cardboard and I love how sturdy they are! I've been cutting it in stages, deeper and deeper each pass, and that seems to work okay, but those circles are just darned hard.

Some people find it at dollar stores. It should be at office supply stores such as Staples/Office Depot/Office Max. I'm sure you can get it at art supply stores, but I'll bet it's a lot more expensive. Or on-line by the carton: http://www.theofficedealer.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PAC5557&ga1=bg1. I'm sure there are other sources.

This is like the hot knife I use and is under $20 http://www.micromark.com/Hot-Knife-and-Soldering-Iron,9763.html

I have used all of the above, hot knife, box knife etc., but my favorite is the sheet rock cutter. It has a ruler attached so just set the size you want and cut one side of the circle, turn the sheet over, line up the center hole and cut the other side. This has been one of my favorite tools. Just my preference of course and pretty inexpensive.

You can also find foam core at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EFLX5C/?tag=cakecentral-20
These are bigger boards and 10 in a carton.

Sheetrock = drywall.