foam cutter

[Ron Mowry]

I noticed someone mentioned nichrom wire for cutting foam, what gauge of wire and where can I find it?

Ron westernslope colorado

 

[Chris Toy]

Don't know from personal experience, but I remember reading somewhere you can rip the element wire from an old toaster and use that to make the cutter.

 

[Derek and Xena]

I get my wire from Hobbytown USA. $3 for 4ft. of it. Not sure the gauge, they only have one size here but it has been working fine for me. I set mine up similar to a bandsaw and it works great! I'm using a 12volt/1.5amp power supply, with alligator clips on the ends that hook to the nichrome. It gets plenty hot to melt the foam. Just go slow so you don't break the wire. Getting the right tension takes a little time at first, but the wire's fairly cheap! When the wire gets hot it expands and gets real loose so you have to have it tight to begin with, but it's tricky to get it tight without breaking it.

 

[Huntindave McCann]

When the wire gets hot it expands and gets real loose so you have to have it tight to begin with, but it's tricky to get it tight without breaking it.

Derex,

The trick to that would be to mount a compression spring under the top nut on your eye bolt and leave the lower nut (if the is one on the upper eye bolt) loose. That way when the wire expands the spring will take up the slack and keep your wire tight.