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Project help

I would like to cut some two inch thick styrofoam for an audio project.I started with a wire saw and it not only was a mess but the cut looked terrible.My next thought was to make a wire saw(so-to-speak).This one was to be powered by ac or dc.The wire would heat up and I could cut without the mess.I tryed by using a battery and it heated up the battery and scared the heck out of me.I made the saw out of some four layer plywood with handles and I can apply tension to the wire with a mechanism on the back of the saw.It looks cool but sits cold.Help.
kgveteran
rives
953 posts
 
What kind of wire are you using? A Nickle Cromium wire probably available from radioshack and a 12 volt battery should work quite well.
kgveteran OP
377 posts
 
I started by using a copper wire.The lenth was about a foot.At one point it worked but the battery got hot and freaked me out.I'll take a ride today and let you know.Just to let you in on the project.I'm making RPG diffusers.Not perfect but the prototype works fine.
sean
6,231 posts
 
While i haven't done anything like this, i think that a band saw would work pretty well. Just a guess though.

As far as your "wire saw" goes, be careful in regards to the fumes produced. I would make sure that you had plenty of ventilation and were wearing some type of mask.

In terms of what you are using for this wire saw, if you've got a good sized variac with a fuse on it, that's what you need. I would not use copper wire for several reasons. As Rives mentions, nickel chromium wire ( the stuff that they use for toasters ) would be ideal. I don't think that Rat Shack has this, but it would probably be worth checking out. Sean
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kgveteran OP
377 posts
 
the fumes were bad.I will be using a resperator.Saws are out as they make a mess and require me to sand to a paintable finish.Thanx guys.Keep the idea's coming .
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