a while back there was a thread about making a hotwire cutter for rail bands. I am not sure who exactly came up with the idea, and I DO NOT take credit for it, but I made a little prototype tool that I used for my last few boards. It is nice for me, because I have a very limited work space, so the tool eliminates a lot of time with the sanding block, and it eliminates a TON of the mess!
The tool is adjustable, I can cut pretty much any railband I want and they are equal on each side with no measurements! Using the tool saved a lot of time too. I have worked my rocker template to be at nearly the final thickness flow of the board, so shaping is a breeze. The last board took me, from hotwiring the blank to spackle, about 90 minutes! I am not in a rush, but college and work doesn’t exactly leave much free time.
Pic 1 - the hotwire rail band tool. Sorry about the crappy workmanship. It is just a prototype built with stuff I had laying around. Plus it was hacked out by hand, seeing as my less than a year old skil jig saw decided to commit suicide…
Pic 2 - railband tool again, this time using my railing to show you how it works! I put it up against the edge of the blank, cut to outline.
Pic 4 - My “limited” workspace…aka my living room. I shape on the deck, but you can’t beat the living room for climate control when glassing with epoxy!
Pic 5 - More limited workspace…haha
These ones show the current board in progress. 5’10 x 12 x 19 x 14.75 hipped small wave short board for my brother! Stringerless too! Strong and light!
An improvement, if I may, would be to flip it so the guide follows the bottom edge of the squared-off rail, rather than the deck edge. This will allow you to keep a constant rail cut depth relative to the bottom (where it should be measured from anyway) rather than the deck. Going from the deck, if you keep your wire a constant distance from the deck edge, a well-foiled blank will wind up with a knife-edge rail in the nose and tail. Cutting from the bottom, you just set your rail thickness and go. Plus this way, you will be able to incorporate your foil into your rocker templates and save even further shaping.
Of course, I don’t usually use the same rail thickness from nose to tail, but a good clean even cut would be a good start. Now, just have to figure out how to get that thing to cut balsa rails!
Mine is a little different, the adjustment came from moving the wire from hole to hole and being able to push down on the allthread rod to close the angle a bit when needed. Works OK with a board that has already been crowned a bit with a harp.
An improvement, if I may, would be to flip it so the guide follows the bottom edge of the squared-off rail, rather than the deck edge. This will allow you to keep a constant rail cut depth relative to the bottom (where it should be measured from anyway) rather than the deck. Going from the deck, if you keep your wire a constant distance from the deck edge, a well-foiled blank will wind up with a knife-edge rail in the nose and tail. Cutting from the bottom, you just set your rail thickness and go. Plus this way, you will be able to incorporate your foil into your rocker templates and save even further shaping.
Of course, I don’t usually use the same rail thickness from nose to tail, but a good clean even cut would be a good start. Now, just have to figure out how to get that thing to cut balsa rails!
Shwuz,
You definetly may! Thanks for the suggestion! I had originally designed it to be used from the bottom, like you suggested. The problem when using it from the bottom, is that the cut wavers on the deck too much. For example, if I were to set the cut angle with the wire in the center of the board, and if the guide was on the bottom, as I get towards the nose and tail the cut is lessoned too much. Since I am trying to foil the crown of the deck, this messes me up.
What I do instead is to use my rail band marking tool, like the one Paul Jenson designed(<—I think??) to mark from the bottom. I put I light pencil line on the rail before I do any cuts, that way I have my reference line and I can even it out from that point. I use the railband hotwire more for the wide but shallow cuts associated with the crowning of the deck than the deeper narrower cuts. I still use a sanding block or surform as well, but I take most of the heavy sanding out of it.
I understand what you were getting at though, I when I design Vol. 2 I think I will make it so the guide can be reversed, so it can cut from the bottom or the top, which would really let me have the most control.
On a side note, Shwuz, your balsa composite sandwich board trickery is nothing short of amazing! You boards are among the best I have seen…I am currently vaccumless, but what you guys are doing with the composite boards is above and beyond what can be acheived with simple EPS/Epoxies, and I want in!! So as soon as $$ permits your style of board making is next on my list. If mine come out half as good as yours I would be stoked!
AKA, your tool looks great as well! I saw pics of yours on here before and you are one of those that I credit with the original concept! What is used as a guide…I am not sure how the tool fits onto the board?? Does the bottom “foot” for up against the side of the board?
Nice little cutter. not sure exactly how I am going to approach that part yet. Better make my mind up since the balsa order will be filled in less that seven working days.
FYI the vac setup I built (less bag) cost less than AU$50. It’s a matter of your cash:time ratio/tradeoff. Coulda done mine cheaper, but it would have taken significantly more time and I was getting quite impatient. The bag itself is quite large and made of 0.3mm PVC, that was about AU$60. Rather go with a bag that’s going to last a while and managed to come up with that bit of cash, so… And it sounds like you have most of the rest of the gear.
hey sbvfive, have you ever tried masking tape to cut your rail bands?
The hot wire will not cut through the masking tape…just make deck lines and rail lines with masking tape…the hot wire should flow along the tape with no problems. (use a tongue depressor to make sure tape is on the blank good)
down side…tape price may add up. I have not tried cheap tape yet…I’ll give it try someday.
I’ll be shaping a 12’3" eps board, I can send you pics of how I cut my rail bands.
I have been using tape for my rail bands with sanding blocks, for the same purpose. I never thought that it would work for a hotwire.
What tape are you using now for that?
All the ideas on this thread are great. It would sure cut down on the tiny foam ‘floaties’ in the shop. And cheaper, until I can afford a planer. (if it is even worth it after mastering all these tricks)
