Hot Wire Foam Cutter/Initial Review

[Brian W]

Only used the 4inch balde so far. The 6 inch should handle even the biggest fish I do. 6 inch shoulders on a fish is mighty big....lol. Here's a couple of shapes I cut out in practice to see how tight I could get the cuts.  The second one I cut out on the right shows my immediate improvement in getting a smoother cut by adjusting the temp and cut speed..........

[FishArt]

Brian, assuming UPS hasn't lost mine - we'll have to do some controlled tests of some sorts to compare these two different types. I want to be able to do the show and backside cuts as well. I think with either you're going to be able to do what you've shown. The hardest part for me with the wire wasn't what you've shown (In fact the tight curves were easy). It was holding it steady enough to cut a nice, smooth, long subtle arc or line. It was a bit too accurate. So, I'm hoping the rod-type one I have on the way does better in that aspect. The rodtype SHOULD allow me to turn on a dime if need be w/o actually turning blade. That was one possible downfall I saw with the type you got. But, is the rod-type going to be too sensitive? I think if they both can cut the straight lines and subtle arcs (we really don't need something super accurate) along with being easy to keep the blade perpendicular. And then being able to also cut the show and backside curves - in otherwords IF their abilities are comparable I think ultimately it will come down to the speed test. We'll have to each try cutting say a 20" long, 4 inch thick piece of foam, straight line cut as quickly and accurately as we can and time it. And just see where we're at. Wish you were closer! C'mon UPS!!!!

[Brian W]

I think they'll both do what we want. You have a muscle car racing mind Marty.....lol......line em up for a speed test.....thats funny. We'll log it under the "quarter sheet" in seconds. Just for kicks, I think I'll try it. Might have to kick in the Nitrous though.....

[FishArt]

I think they'll both do what we want. You have a muscle car racing mind Marty.....lol......line em up for a speed test.....thats funny. We'll log it under the "quarter sheet" in seconds. Just for kicks, I think I'll try it. Might have to kick in the Nitrous though.....

Years ago, when I had our minivan (no woodgrain panels at least - lol) I always thought it would be cool to drop some nitrous into it! How cool would it be to be able to smoke some guy in a Vette or Firebird that was showing off for his girlfriend?

Btw, I just did get my foam cutter and I did some quick tests. I have a winner here! I don't have time to go thru the whole regiment of tests today, but it does a great job so far - MUCH easier to control than the wire was. As with the other one, you learn to play with the speed to control any smoke. No smoke if you're good. It's faster (speed is pretty important here I think. But, if we're talking 30 seconds to cut 8 inches of 4" thick foam vs. 35 then that's not an issue). One thing I had thought it would do - it does. Being a skinny rod I can change direction instantly without having to flex the blade. One thing I did NOT foresee and this is a plus was this one actually can cut nearly 8", but still gets plenty hot enough to cut quickly. (Laura told me the 8" rod was a bit slower). Reason being is the base that holds the thin wire/rod is only slightly bigger and it too gets hot and can cut. So, show and backsides of fish bodies can easily be cut too. Depending on what you do, 6" length should handle that cut for many fish. But, it's nice to be able to step up for wider fish like Stripers, Pike and musky, salmon and trout and even some bigger bass. Basically, I think this one eliminates any need for a band saw and any hand saw in my shop! As of today, I think foam dust is a thing of my past in my shop baby!!!

P.S. We'll need to test apples to apples and you'll need to try that 6" blade when we have our "Top Gear" head to head competition - lol ! (Btw, I LOVE that show!!!!)