New (?) way to cut foam for those nervous around electricity

General Discussion
1

Hey all! So i've been tossing and turning with the thought of making a hotwire foam cutter using electrical current to heat the wire. So iI was thinkign how else could i heat the wire. Flame works.

So i bought a coil of 16 gauge galvanized wire, cut 10 inches longer then the foam i was cutting, I turned the BBQ on to medium heat and let the wire sit for 3 mins (havent tried any longer but im sure it could make a faster cut but you may risk the wire breaking). Used my firefighter gloves to hold the wire taught (but two sticks of wood would work fine) and just started cutting my foam.

Total cost: $3 for wire. Sticks:free

Yes it did take a bit longer to cut and I love things done fast like anyone else, but i found this worked just fine and negated the use of any electricity or any extra parts. Plus you can cook dinner while cutting foam :)

I have only tried it on 14inch wide foam but it worked, all-be-it slow (est. 15 mins for each rocker)

Any input or new ideas to make it better are much welcomed!

Jay

2

Way to think outside of the box Jay! This might work for smaller cuts.

I don’t know if this will work slicing a full blank. The foam cools the wire as it pulls through.

I think you’d get part way in and the wire would cool and be stuck in there.

3

It does help for smaller cuts. Full blank i could see being more difficult. Yeah i had the wire cool mid cut but just backed it out and reheated. Takes longer and may not make the most beautiful cut but it works :)

4

Thats genius man, we tryed to make an electric one but didnt get the right wire so it kept snapping