GoE Labs: How-To!,Hot-Wire Foam Cutter, Core, variable power, Power Supply, for $20
Hot-Wire Power Unit:
Don't forget the accessories like the
Steve O The Mach 11 Foam-Erator Extreme (Turbo) How-To (deluxe Scroll saw unit) !
Also see the much simpler GoE Labs: How-To, The Mach 2 EZ (also Turbo) Anyone Can Make HotSaw..., inspired by Steve_O's but way easier to build !
Power Unit
shown with Optional switch/outlet combo +~$7.00
(because I always need another plug for something)
The Boring part:
DISCLAIMER: Knowledge of basic electric wiring applies as well as safety.
The information contained herein is supplied AS-IS. Suitability for any particular use is not guaranteed. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK, and have it be known that the GoE, publishers, designers and testers have made every effort to present accurate information. Use of this information is soley the at the risk of the builder and/or end user. The builder and end user shall NOT hold the GoE, Designers and Testers liable for any dammages consequential or otherwise, of any type for the accuracy, suitability of use of the project described herin
NOTE: if the PET-120-12-60 is out of stock the PET-120-12-75 will work nicely also The 75 is 75 Watts ( vs 60 Watts) it otherwise a form fit and function equivalent. It will heat the wires a tad more on full power, and could cause hotwires to burn out faster, but that is what the dimmer is all about.
Notes: Initial testing shows that a 1 foot section of the guitar wire works pretty well. The whole string was tested also and it too will cut ....
General simplified schematic of the circuit,
(shown with outlet and switch)
Notice that it was necessary to trim the aluminum on the dimmer so it would fit in the box correctly. This is usually for heat dissipation, but we are not even close to needing it
General Arrangement with initial wiring in place
Don't forget the accessories like the
Steve O The Mach 11 Foam-Erator Extreme (Turbo) How-To (deluxe Scroll saw unit) !
Also see the much simpler GoE Labs: How-To, The Mach 2 EZ (also Turbo) Anyone Can Make HotSaw..., inspired by Steve_O's but way easier to build !
Power Unit
shown with Optional switch/outlet combo +~$7.00
(because I always need another plug for something)
The Boring part:
DISCLAIMER: Knowledge of basic electric wiring applies as well as safety.
The information contained herein is supplied AS-IS. Suitability for any particular use is not guaranteed. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK, and have it be known that the GoE, publishers, designers and testers have made every effort to present accurate information. Use of this information is soley the at the risk of the builder and/or end user. The builder and end user shall NOT hold the GoE, Designers and Testers liable for any dammages consequential or otherwise, of any type for the accuracy, suitability of use of the project described herin
| Power Unit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Qty | $$$$$ | Description |
| 1 | 1 ea | $1.49 | 2 gang surface electical box |
| 2 | 1 ea | $4.79 | cheap dimmer, rotary |
| 3 | 1 ea | $ .79 | light switch |
| 4 | 1 ea | $13.50 | power low voltage supply PONY model PET-120-12-60 |
| 5 | 1 ea | $2.00 | appliance cord, grounded (aka suicide cord ) |
| 6 | 2 ea | $ .49 | Wire Fittings |
| 7 | 1 ea | $ .09 | medium small wirenut (the other 3 came with the dimmer) |
| 8 | 1 ea | $ 1.19 | Steel Cover, 2 gang Cutouts depend on swithch |
NOTE: if the PET-120-12-60 is out of stock the PET-120-12-75 will work nicely also The 75 is 75 Watts ( vs 60 Watts) it otherwise a form fit and function equivalent. It will heat the wires a tad more on full power, and could cause hotwires to burn out faster, but that is what the dimmer is all about.
Notes: Initial testing shows that a 1 foot section of the guitar wire works pretty well. The whole string was tested also and it too will cut ....
Power Unit Assembly
General simplified schematic of the circuit,
(shown with outlet and switch)
Notice that it was necessary to trim the aluminum on the dimmer so it would fit in the box correctly. This is usually for heat dissipation, but we are not even close to needing it
General Arrangement with initial wiring in place
Nearly Finished, All we need is a terminal Strip
Tags: goe labs, carving, cutter, foam, goe, hot wire, hot-wire, hotcutter, hotwire, how to
Comment
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Comment by dionicia on May 5, 2010 at 3:47am -
I would love to build this, but my electrician suggested I stay away from building things that require contact with electricity after I burned out the wire going to my kitchen island.
Who knew you couldn't use needle nose pliers to bend live wires. Luckily I didn't hurt myself, but then again it might have been fools luck.
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Comment by pagan on May 1, 2010 at 8:10pm - I just fired my new table up (figuratively thank god!), but it does make an evil humming noise if I turn the dimmer up. I am using 22g NiChrome wire (supposedly designed for hot wire cutting) instead of a guitar string.. Any thoughts?
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Comment by Pete on March 11, 2010 at 9:32am -
In theroy that is the right thinking, and it should work.
In practicality, it may be more effective to either:
a) use thinner strings for the cutting 'blade'
b) use a 24v supply (same wattage) you may roast a couple wires getting this right
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Comment by FoamHeadMike on March 11, 2010 at 7:55am -
very cool Pete
Am I right in thinking that a 75 watt ballast will allow me to use a longer wire for a bow like 40" or so long?
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Comment by Steve on January 10, 2010 at 3:05pm - I got it working great. Man this thing is cool. I will add photos in a few minutes
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Comment by Pete on January 9, 2010 at 8:39pm
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It could if your outlet is wired wrong, and you're using a grounded cord to plug it in with
Side note, some of the Power leads I have used use the international color standard where green(with a yellow stripe) is not always ground with brown and blue (I can never remember what is what). The green/yellow usually is ground, assuming it was made correctly
.
The safest way to check is to buzz them out (old term from when they actually used batteries and buzzers) to check Continuity....
On a standard outlet the smallest slot is always HOT, and is the black wire (US Standard). The screws on the HOT connections are generally a brass color, and the neutral/return is the larger slot, with a tin/silver color screw. And the ground is to the surrounding metal and the roundish hole of teh receptical
Rule of thumb Black to black , white to white, green (or bare wire) to chassis ground (box ground)
Be sure your ground wires (if bare) don't accidentally hit any of the hot screws .....
Use an outlet tester to verify what you are plugging into is properly wired !!!
Alternate if you have access to a ohmMeter, you can pretty quickly trace things out, and use teh volt meter(on a sufficiently high scale) to measure the AC on your outlet, Thin slot Hot and you shoudl read 120V(ish) from that to the box(or cover screw) as well as the ground (round) hole and the larger slot . If you dont see voltage on these, you have a problem on the wall outlet side. If you read any voltage between the larger slot and the gounds (the round or the screw/box) ITS not wired right
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Comment by Steve on January 9, 2010 at 6:11pm
- A push knob rotary dimmer. How important is the green ground wire. it was attached to the alluminum bracket that I had to cut off to fit it in the box. I know grounding is important but everything else is grounded but the dimmer. Could that make a difference?
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Comment by Pete on January 9, 2010 at 1:34pm
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Doublecheck your wiring.
Are you using just a dimmer, or a switch/dimmer (etc) ... Sometimes these can be a bit tricky to wire just right (the box usually has some good diagrams to sort things out).
Also be sure to sleeve the incoming main wires, especially if they are 'zip cord' types, as the hardware can sometimes pinch into the insulatino .... not so important if its a good heavy round cord
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Comment by Steve on January 8, 2010 at 11:11pm
- Just finished wiring mine turned it on and it flipt the braker.......@##$T#$G#%
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Comment by Pete on September 23, 2009 at 10:26pm
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yes the diagram is correct, and it shouldn't matter which black. Check the docs with the dimmer just to be 100%,
I've not seen one that needs a specific black.
If they're both black with no differences eg stripes dots etc, then it doesn't matter
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