Is anybody still doing this or interested in doing this?
Years ago I bought a variac and built a hotwire from plans I found here on Sways. It works perfect and the process of cutting a blank is oddly satisfying… I was super excited about EXACT and easily repeatable rockers. I built a couple “compsands” that came out pretty good but now I am just not in to it… I have gone over to the “dark side”: PU blank with epoxy resin as my go to build… I actually just pulled out my hotwire a couple days ago and finally made a blank out of my last pieces of EPS and XPS.
So, is anybody interested in Hotwiring their own EPS or XPS blanks anymore?
I still cut blanks. Less cost, perfect rockers to my specs, and I mostly do stringerless anyway. I’m sure PU is more satisfying to shape, but I am still a virgin and likely to remain one. I do shape an occasional Marko Foam super fused blank.
One knock I see with Epoxy on PU is the shrinkage issue after glassing. I may be mistaken, but that is a problem I need to avoid.
Just getting ready to cut 2 or 3 EPS blanks hopefully this week. A spin template and 2 rocker pieces CNC-cut and jigsaw-assembled from 2’x 2’ pieces of 1/8" Masonite. They are glued with Titebond III, mallet and wax paper optional but recommended. Rocker pieces are screwed together and weighted while the glue dries and then sanded together to maintain the same curves.
The last couple sets of these CNC-cut ones are for 8 and 9 footers. I have done these by hand up to 12’6", by gluing the Masonite together first before lofting, with fiberglass cloth and resin over the seams.
I am putting my whole hotwire setup including the bow and the variac with the GOOD wire from SurfDing up for sale in the surfshop section of Sways if anybody is interested…
Also, if anybody is interested, I can explain how to build one and what parts to source, etc.
Hi crisp. I’ll gladly buy your set up if it is still available. If so, I can send you a check now if you can hold onto it until I have time to shoot down and get it. Around Christmas at the earliest. Mike
Thanks Greg. It’s really not so clever considering I have been doing 2D CAD/CAM work like this for almost 30 years. It is still a thrill to see it come together without much sanding or another trip to town for more Masonite. I did get one rocker segment in upside down which I was able to correct before the glue set.
I am pretty sure its Inconnel…
Back when I got started with this, there were lots of people hot-wiring Blanks on swaylocks. People were complaining about the wires breaking after a few Cuts. McDing spoke about a wire that he used for hundreds of blanks that was not breaking I believe it was Inconnel… I contacted him and he sent me some.
I am fairly certain the wire SurfDing used/uses is Inconel Wire.
Years ago I spoke with Ken – aka airframe @ Sways – on the phone. Ken is an electrical engineer. He suggested using nichrome or inconel.
I believe the main advantage of Inconel is that it is more durable than Nichrome. But I am pretty sure Inconel is pricey.
