Word to the wise

[Kissker]

Word to the wise, when going to cut foam using a hot knife - do not buy a 5 in 1 tool with blade attachement unless the blade is secured extra strongly to the heating wand.


I bought a 5-in-1 tool (solder, wood burning, hot knife, etc) from Harbor Freight and assembled the cutting blade like "that... doesn't look sturdy" but sure enough it was the only way to do it so I thought, 'let's give it a try'

Yeah... it won't cut - any pressure to the blade and it shifts in it's housing, cuasing very dangerously HOT metal to potientially fall out of the socketing.

Get a nice one... this thing is trash.

It has a screw in bit with a slit in it that you basically force the blade into. It won't hold though, I thought maybe "it gets hot enough to cut with the heat" so It wouldnt need a lot of pressure - but it doesn't even heat up as much as the bit.

Stay clear!

On a related note - anyone got a recommended hot knife for foam/etc cutting?

 

[chitwood1775]

If I were you I would go to a hobby shop and ask for a hot wire. I've never personally used one, but I've seen them in action. They are pretty awesome.

 

[WrathPrime]

I think the hot wire is for styrofoam and I don't think it will work on the rubber foam.

And I know what you are saying because I got the same one there and it just melted and burnt my foam. Also the blade that came with it wouldn't cut paper it was so dull.

 

[Kissker]

Well a 'hot knife' can be 'dull' because it's meant to apply heat in a focused blade instead of use the blade to cut- the heat melts it in a precion way... but yea.. it's junk.. sadly no receipt either so I can't return the sucker.

They have the other hot knife - but it's real thick and I imagine the heat off that sucker would cause way more problems then it's worth. Sooo I went with the break away craft knife (blade is in several pieces made to snap off to replace) by using it carefully (not bending when cutting) it cuts real nice - and if I mess the blade up it came in a 2 pack (one 18mm 1 9mm wide, 9mm one is great for misc/paper cutting) for only like $2 (where replacement blades are like 3 for $8... lolz) So far it's cut real well, left shoulders prolly gonna look better then right.


Also - word to the wise, if you have long hair.

Ponytails are great for keeping your hair out of a mess, like when your fiberglassing.... but remember... to tuck it under your shirt (if your female your a bit luckier - you can tuck it under your bra strap for extra secure ness!)

I HAD a long ponytail... sadly I moved to work on my fiberglass torso mannaquin and the breeze+movement flopped my 'tail right into the project. I had to snip a few inches off, could have been worse, but still Sad Panda Face.

Tuck your Tails! Iam thinking of buying more 'girly' accessories just to keep my hair pinned back

 

[Starvinartist80]

Also - word to the wise, if you have long hair.

Ponytails are great for keeping your hair out of a mess, like when your fiberglassing.... but remember... to tuck it under your shirt (if your female your a bit luckier - you can tuck it under your bra strap for extra secure ness!)

I HAD a long ponytail... sadly I moved to work on my fiberglass torso mannaquin and the breeze+movement flopped my 'tail right into the project. I had to snip a few inches off, could have been worse, but still Sad Panda Face.

Tuck your Tails! Iam thinking of buying more 'girly' accessories just to keep my hair pinned back

I'm laughing here only because I had a similar situation while painting a house in highschool. It was the last time I ever had long hair. Leaned over to refill my paint tray an dipped the tail right into a 5 gallon bucket of oil based exterior paint. Did make for some hilarity on the job site when we left it in a horn to dry. LOL

 

[Akademee]

God bless the buzz cut!

 

[Kissker]

Found out if you soak the fiberglass-resin coated hair parts in conditioner it helps a bit. (mine hadn't fully cured yet if that matters) soaked it up and it allowed the fiberglass to "shell off" a lot of parts - but those that had been completely soaked still had issues.

Ended up trimmin a few inches, maybe an inch and a half.

Can't help but wonder if the conditioner actually helped or if fiberglass just didn't want to bond with my hair. Lolz. Still a huge hassle to peel the shells off the hair without damaging the hair itself.

 

[Roadwarrior]

I was hot gluing some foam in side of my helmet, waited a minuet then tried it on, it felt warm, then after a minuet or so realized what happened and took off the helmet. And found that I had a 2inch diameter spot of glue in my (Short) hair. It brushed out after a bit, or most of it did, I can't remember.

 

[FearlessMonguse]

hey i work at harbor freight now- u have 90 days to return it with the receipt ^^'

 

[tsau mia]

Super simple hair solution: Alligator clips. If you're a man, this is going to be the girliest thing you've ever done in your life (unless you cross-dressed). Wind your hair into a bun and alligator clip into place. For extra manliness, wind into a loose bun and use an elastic hair tie to pin in place, then throw a ball cap over it.

I'm a jack-of-all trades kind of artist, and I have always had super long hair, so that's my advise.

As for the hot knife, most places will take things back for an in-store credit. Just tell them that it didn't work well AT ALL and that you had to return it, but you would like to get something better instead. That is, if you still have the original packaging with UPC code on it.

 

[Kissker]

no receipt - I think it got tossed on accident. Just out $10 I guess. Sucky, that's another 4 pack of foam.

Already tried last weekend, talked to a dude that clicked on the 'nerdscale' of what we do here (not the typical "I know tools" guy, but a renny) and just gonna have to eat the loss though - If i remember right it was thrown out with a batch of actual biological waste (food product) when the table was cleared.

Nothing I can do about it now. Lol.