Hot Wire Foam Cutter/Initial Review

[FishArt]

I’ve had a few people PM me asking if I ever purchased a hot knife or hot wire foam cutter that I spoke about a few weeks back. I’m going to call this my preliminary review because I received my Scroll Cutter last week and I haven’t had much time to play with it just yet. For those that don’t know the history, my band saw died on me and I have been researching the hot wire tables and knives in my quest to find a better replacement for my band saw. The thought of having to research, move, assemble and dial-in a big, expensive band saw was just not appealing to me. It’s overkill for what I (and most of us) need. And with a riser package and good throat depth you’re looking at spending $600 bucks easily for a decent band saw. Not to mention the amount of space needed in my shop and the DUST - I HATE THAT FOAM DUST - lol!  There HAS to be something better! And, I think I’m headed in the right direction. I actually purchased my Scroll Table through Amazon and have since been working with “Laura” directly from the Hot Wire Foam Factory. I wish I would have went to them first as it has been a learning process for me. And, I’m sure for Laura as well because this is really foreign territory as their products weren’t designed towards the Taxidermy industry.

I opted for the Hot Wire Scroll Table. It’s use is going to be for cutting out the outline of my fish after transferring my pattern to the foam. I had to use it for awhile before getting use to it’s sensitivity. Going from a ½” band saw blade to a thin wire was quite a change. It was a bit slower than the band saw, but it makes cuts I couldn’t do with my band saw. And actually, if you take into consideration the added clean-up time with the dust from the band saw the hot wire foam cutter is actually faster. After speaking with Laura I upgraded to the Pro power source and some thicker, “ribbon” wires. These two additions sped up the cutting process with the ability to turn up the heat and the thicker blade also made things a little less sensitive (a good thing for what I’m using it for). Also, I should note that in the product description the table states the wires are 8 inches. But, there’s actually 10 inches of top to bottom cutting clearance. An important feature for us fish folks. From what I understand there is also another blade type available that might even work better than the ribbon blade and I’ll be talking to Laura today to learn more about that.

Anyway, I just wanted to touch base and let folks know that I did take the hot wire plunge! And, the initial results are very encouraging. I’m thinking of also purchasing one of their hot knives for initial rough cuts and/or for really big fish. Holding an 8 foot long foam billet up to either a hot wire or band saw is difficult. In the past, I’d use a hand saw and manually cut out a manageable block of foam to transfer my tracing. My next step is to eliminate the hand saw too with hopefully the 8” hot knife! Ultimately, my goal is again to be able to cut my fish bodies quickly and creating ZERO DUST! Oh, one other plus – NO FUMES! I was very surprised to learn that once you figure out the correct temperature and speed to let the wire do the cutting, zero smoke is created!

Oh well, enough for now. More to come in the near future! Once I figure everything out I’ll post my results again with more details. In the meantime, take a peek at their website and let me know if you think any of their other products might prove useful in the shop. Again, I’m thinking that 8’ hot knife should be a winner!

http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/home.php

[FinMaster Mounts]

They have some neat stuff !!

If I figured correctly, you will still be at $400.00 plus    I was thinking about just the 8 in. knife - they are pretty proud of that rascal too. 

Looking forward to your next research installment.

RS

[FishArt]

They have some neat stuff !!

If I figured correctly, you will still be at $400.00 plus    I was thinking about just the 8 in. knife - they are pretty proud of that rascal too. 

Looking forward to your next research installment.

RS

Well, you certainly could run up a tab, but I'm not nearly that high (yet - lol!). The scroll table kit including the Pro Power Supply is $149 and the 8" inch hot knife is $49. It'll use the same power supply. So, about $200 bucks right now, $220-ish with shipping maybe. I think that also includes a fence and a few other things that I haven't begun to think about if I could utilize them too. But, the kit gets you the extra stuff for free basically vs. if you bought them individually. And if these two products do what I think they'll do they'll eliminate the need for a band saw and a hand saw (hey, a hand saw is another $20 bucks eh - lol!) Price is certainly a consideration. But, another is that darn dust!!! It gets everywhere!!! A good band saw with enough throat depth and riser kit and a 3/4 HP - 1 HP motor will run you upwards of $600 bucks. Probably another $100-$200 for a dust collector and that won't get all of the dust. Plus another few hours getting and assembling it. Blah!!!!

I'm actually getting the 6" hot knife because I just found out it's much faster than the 8" knife. One side benefit I've found from cutting foam with heat is it's pretty darn cool! No noise, you just kind've zone out and you get to be creative.

Oh well, I should get my hot knife in a few days. I'll let you know what I find out! Fun, fun, fun!!!

[Stephen Lafredo]

Marty,

Once dialed in, though you do not "see" smoke, are "fumes" still being released that you should not be breathing in?

Thanks.

Stephen

[FinMaster Mounts]

I think I counted the Pro Power Supply twice ............... gett'in too old for figures w/o electronic assistence.

Roger the dust, cost, dust, quiet, dust, vaccuum, dust, spouse PO'ed 'cause of dust  yada yada.

[FishArt]

Marty,

Once dialed in, though you do not "see" smoke, are "fumes" still being released that you should not be breathing in?

Thanks.

Stephen

Probably not a bad idea to wear a respirator. But, when I first started I was going too fast and it was quite easy to smell the nasty stuff when I'd leave little shaved edges or something on the wire from going too fast. It stunk! Once I learned what speed to go, I'd rarely see smoke or smell any fumes. I certainly would recommend wearing a respirator and/or having a well ventilated area as the manufacturer recommends. However, I expected a lot worse than I'm seeing. Fumes originally were one of my higher concerns. But, that has since dropped down on my worry list quite a bit. When I do get things figured out and am in production mode I'll probably do three or four fish bodies at a time and wear the respirator...

[FishArt]

I think I counted the Pro Power Supply twice ............... gett'in too old for figures w/o electronic assistence.

Roger the dust, cost, dust, quiet, dust, vaccuum, dust, spouse PO'ed 'cause of dust  yada yada.

The dust is simply NASTY and one of the main reasons I'm spending the time to find an alternative. After cutting a few fish bodies with the saws I'd shake off what dust I can, strip down to my skivvies and throw the dust-bowl clothes in the utility room to be washed! The REAL fun is when you get some of that dust in your eyes and you can't get it out. That's happened to me TWICE! My eyes are SO sensitive I can't even think about that again without them tearing up!!! (But, then again I can't even watch others put contacts in w/o my eyes watering - lol!)

[Rob L.]

Demand Products, Inc.www.demandproducts.com
Marty and all you foam cutters,
Try the link above. I have been using their hot knife for decades. Very durable.
The hot wire and hot knife tools work on styrene and not on urethane.
Rob

[FishArt]

Demand Products, Inc.www.demandproducts.com
Marty and all you foam cutters,
Try the link above. I have been using their hot knife for decades. Very durable.
The hot wire and hot knife tools work on styrene and not on urethane.
Rob

Rob, cool - a manufacturer that I hadn't found! Lot's of stuff to go thru. I think I went thru all of their products and unless I'm missing something, I didn't see any hot knives that were like the 6" and 8" I'm currently looking at - at the Hot Wire Foam Factory. Demand Products has the industrial type (Craftsman) one that's similar to one that the HWFF has along with a similar price. But, I had already eliminated that one due to it being quite a bit slower than the one I'm currently looking at. And actually, if that's something you want the one at HWFF is suppose to be able to run a lot longer without the worry of overheating and burning out your power source.

I also didn't see anything similar to the wire scroll table??? I saw some of the bow cutters - I don't think that's of interest here. And I saw a lot of very high end foam cutting products that I'm sure would be overkill and way too expensive for our needs. Again, unless I'm missing something??? Please point me to the exact product if you have time Rob as there's a lot of stuff to sift thru and I may have missed it?

Yeah, I don't think any of the heated cutting tools work on urethane. But, I know they work on the Dow blue billets many of us use to carve our fish bodies.

Thanks!

 

[John C]

So for 120 bucs you could not put a motor on the band saw?

[FishArt]

So for 120 bucs you could not put a motor on the band saw?

Motor was fine. It was an off-brand P.O.S. to begin with. There were several things wrong with it. I ran out of band- aids and a fine young gentleman was happy to take it from me for scrap value (And I was happy to see it go - lol!) Botom line, I need to replace it with something John and IMO IF I'm not using a band saw for anything else (which I wasn't) a bandsaw was big-time overkill and expensive. And, there's still that dust issue! Who knows, when I'm done with all of this I MAY end up realizing that a band saw WAS the best tool to get the job done.  But I want to exhaust all other possibilities before I am willing to accept that!

[Rob L.]

Marty, I thought I just replied.... did not go through I guess. Navigate through Demands site to hot wire products.
Look at the Hot Knife foam cutter ( original) and the Heat Dial Hot Knife foam cutter. Also look at the Styrocut 15 for ripping billets. I made a billet cutter that will handle 4' x 8' x 14" thk billets out of wood and steel scraps. The hot wire can be set at any elevation, push the billet through as you would use a table saw. The power supply is off an old train set DC power supply. I purchased the ni-cad wire locally. Slick unit. I break it down and file it when I don't need it. The hot knife with a straight edge will cut up to 10" thick material plus sculpting and trimming.
No styrobeads all over the shop along with the static cling you have to deal with. The knife is an indispensable tool around here. Protect your respiratory as always and good ventilation is imperative. Good luck Sir. Rob

[CrabCrazy]

there not that hard to build with a transformer,dimmer swich,spring and guitar high e string...thats what i used when i use to build RC boats and planes

[Cory]

The hot wire and hot knife tools work on styrene and not on urethane.

If I read the above statement correct, the two part foams we get and pour together WON'T cut with a hot wire?  I thought all foams would cut with a hot wire? Now I'm confused.

[Tracy]

will be chekin this out thanks