Hey Doc
I have studied this method and been thinking quite a bit about it.
In the diagrams it all looks nice and simple.
But the diagrams have a nice square block of foam.
If you have cut out your rocker already, the foam may tend to want to rock and move about.
How do you line up the wire with the pencil marks on a curved surface??
How do you stablize it???
And do you cut with the rocker facing up or down???
Cheers
Ah… that can complicate the issue some. But you would want to cut the rocker first, as otherwise cutting it with a stringer or glue line in there would be a disaster. So I shoulda thought of this. Okay, here we go…
Plus you caught me in the middle of cooking supper ( Fettucine with Chef Jay Kew’s Shrimp Alfredo recipe, if you’re curious. Prolly gonna be in the Pirate’s Galley Seafood Cookbook, coming in a year or so… ) …anyhow…
But there’s a number of ways to skin this cat.
Now, I am gonna assume that the top and bottom are still flat…or at least the bottom is still relatively flat, rail to rail. If you already cut the outline shape, no problem. Lets go on that assumption
I hope you’ll forgive me for a hacked out sketch…eating and pushing a mouse around at the same time, it ain’t pretty. Coulda been worse, though. I coulda made soup…
And fire up the hotwire and then gravity does its thing. Prolly best to put the weights as close to directly over the wood blocks as possible. And your wood blocks should be placed so that the curve of the bottom rocker just kisses the table surface, and oh yes, put a weight there.
Wanna do it upside down, bottom up? Okay, same deal but a block in the middle ( weight right over it ) and weights at the ends. And now your choices are either to nail sticks to the table side ahead and behind your blank ( and put a string on it ) , line up the cut on the string, then set your hotwire rig against the sticks…or put in your bamboo skewers like before and use a square to get them at 90° to the bottom, lower your wire gently against the skewers and when it touches the foam, fire it up.
Prolly better to do it right side up. Heh- certainly easier to describe.
That help any?
doc…
Hey Doc
Thanks for all the advise
All clear now.
Cheers
Well, one more thing…
It occurred to me that if you’re cutting a blank ( with rocker in it already) right side up, there might be a slight tendancy for the cold wire to slip towards the rail if you’re cutting it off-center, lets say for two stringers. Which could mess you up some.
There’s two ways to deal with that. Either put in a couple skewers or toothpicks at your mark or make a very small knife cut at your marks that would tend to hold the wire there until you turn on the power.
hope that helps
doc…
I was going to suggest whiching the sides for the factory cut but now I’ve re-read the posy I see your intersted in multiple stringers. the above set up looks fine, I have no doubt it will work but unless your planning on making a lot of boards you’ll probably spend more time making the gimungus hot wire than hand sawing and trueing up the line with a large sanding block, just my 2 cents.
Doc your kabab stick idea is great, simple and effective, I love it.
Well, it was just one of those things: a nail might work but they’re short and , being metal, they can heat up and melt a hole or fall over and throw the wire off and melt a groove. Pins - same sort of deal. Toothpick, too short. Knitting needles are often plastic ( they’d melt ) and they cost some money.
So, what’s not gonna melt, has a pinty end, is cheap and long enough? One of the bamboo skewers that’s so handy for kebabs. .99 US for a packet of …many…
and there you have it…
doc…