Rob: I've cut full size aircraft wings with a hot wire. We always used a
battery charger and the nichrome wire and wood handles Bill mentions. Same
thing he is doing with a model only longer and wider. Works the same no matter
what size you just need more current. Do it with the garrage door open...it
stinks, and don't worry about the smoothness, if you cut slightly oversize you
can sand it smooth. - Ed
Bill Babcock <billb@bnj.com> wrote: Sure, I do it all the time. You can get a
hot wire cutter at most
hobby shops to make life simpler, or do your own. I use a 12 volt
battery and a piece of nichrome wire. Two fairly heavy wires
(electical zip cord is fine) connect the battery to about three feet
of wire. You can wrap wire around two wood handles and stretch it
tight. You can use the nichrome wire itself to control the
temperature--just connect an alligator clip and a jumper wire to one
end, then when you move the jumper closer to the middle the wire
between the jumper and the other end gets hotter.
to cut, hold the wire tight and press down smoothly. You can use wood
templates to create a particular shape. I use this approach to build
model airplanes--you can cut a wing from Xcel foam really well if you
know what you're doing, even make complex shapes like cones and
fuselages.
On Nov 10, 2006, at 2:11 PM, rob wrote:
> Hello all I am trying to cut a block of styrofoam thats 18
> "X18" and
> neither a cross cut or rip saw is doing the trick I would like to
> use a hot
> wire with DC or AC current Does anyone know anything about
> this,and
> experimenting could be pain full thanks rob
>
>
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