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Post by bluecloud2k2 on Nov 8, 2017 4:03:44 GMT
Saw this baby at Hobby Lobby today, and it's only $35! It says it can be used "for cutting crafting foam, felt and fun foam." Marvy Uchida Hotwire Foam CutterWould this include Extruded Polystryene? I'd love to get a Hotwire Foam Cutter, but they're so expensive! This thing would only cost $21 with a HL 40% off coupon, so it's a good deal for me if it will do what I'm needing it to do.
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Post by Wyloch on Nov 8, 2017 14:48:24 GMT
Black Magic Craft talked about this and a few other non-Proxxon ones. Reviews were not good. Flimsy, and with a small cutting area due to the arm position. You may want to ping Jeremy on FB for his thoughts, as the resident "hot wire table guy."
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Post by skunkape on Nov 8, 2017 15:06:48 GMT
My biggest worries about getting a less expensive foam cutting table is the quality of the wire and the amount of heat the table will generate! Both of those two facts can be a big problem. If the wire is too flimsy, not a high enough quality, then it will not survive the higher heat required to make fast cuts. While you can cut slower with lower heat, it will still cause issues in that even the low heat will eventually weaken the wire.
I agree with Wyloch though, talk with Jeremy as while I've been using hot wire cutters and foam crafting for a long time, I don't use them as much as he does, so he's got more experience with them.
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Post by sgtslag on Nov 8, 2017 15:31:57 GMT
There are instructions on the Internet for how to build them for little money. Some plans I've seen plug into the wall outlet, and they use incandescent bulbs as load resistors -- if they fail, they fail as an open circuit, so little risk, really. The better option is to use a Variac, or other voltage control device. Anyway, you can search the Internet, at large, or you can search the Instructables site. They have plans, as well.
The home-made units are likely a fraction of the cost of a commercial unit. The wire used is Nichrome Wire: it heats up with both AC/DC current (incandescent light bulbs use Tungsten metal, not Nichrome; very different properties). It is not terribly difficult to locate, and purchase Nichrome wire. Best of luck. Cheers!
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Post by bluecloud2k2 on Nov 9, 2017 0:25:35 GMT
Black Magic Craft talked about this and a few other non-Proxxon ones. Reviews were not good. Flimsy, and with a small cutting area due to the arm position. You may want to ping Jeremy on FB for his thoughts, as the resident "hot wire table guy." Yeah I'm not on facebook. For reasons. I'll keep looking around...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2017 19:20:40 GMT
I have this one from hobby lobby, to be honest it's not the greatest. it does cut XPS and it's ok. I had to modify it slightly because of the wire, and I haven't used it a whole lot. So in short it will work, but for how long, I don't know.
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