Please recommend a hot wire cutter for freehand scenery.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Please can you recommend a hot wire cutter for freehand work such as carving hillsides.

I already have a Proxxon Thermocut 230/E bench mounted cutter which is great for neat square cuts

https://www.proxxon.com/en/micromot/27080.php

[AndrewBeasley]

Not sure I can give you a 'go to' but I know what I have learnt from my handheld:


1) Do not go with one with a wire acting as a spring.  Use one that comes with an option for longer thicker wires that can be bent into shape
2) Do not have a small flat base on one side as it restricts the material for some cuts
3) Make sure it has a longer power lead than mine
4) Get one with a jaw large enough for thick material when twisted at odd angles


I'm thinking about the foam factory knife and sculpting tool but TBH I think the knife on its own may well do.

[Dolmot]

Apologies for not being helpful, but the topic was truncated in the side panel as "Please recommend a hot wi..."

I don't know what I expected but I opened this anyway.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Dear Andrew,

Thank-you.

From your description, the Proxxon 12 E fits your description.
https://www.proxxon.com/en/micromot/27082.php

My other cutter is also a Proxxon and I am very happy with it, so it sounds like a good choice.

I will wait a day or two to see if there are other recommendations, or opinions about the Proxxon 12E.

Mick

[Mindenbrush]

I have the Woodland Scenics hot wire foam cutter which I use to cut slopes for hills. It is one of the more rigid ones so the wire does not flex as much as another make I had.

[Westfalia Chris]

Dear Andrew,

Thank-you.

From your description, the Proxxon 12 E fits your description.
https://www.proxxon.com/en/micromot/27082.php

My other cutter is also a Proxxon and I am very happy with it, so it sounds like a good choice.

I will wait a day or two to see if there are other recommendations, or opinions about the Proxxon 12E.

Mick

I've got the 12/E, used it for a couple of years now. It's not too bad, but I am not really happy with it. The plastic grip is not really robust, meaning that once you tighten up the bottom arm sufficiently, the plastic halves come apart slightly. The top joint does not properly fix the upper arm, so it is susceptible to pivoting vertically, and this is exacerbated if you cut anything more robust than styrofoam (EPS).

Essentially, I've found straight cuts to be nigh on impossible even using guides. I now it is not really designed for that, but even a bent shape of the wire will not hold properly unless in softer foams, I.e. EPS, so the resultant curves/profiles will be a bit uneven. Based on this, I wouldn't buy it again since I intended to use it for XPS foams, at least not at the listed price, considering you're also looking at the Micromot power unit unless you already have one for your stationary one.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Dear Westfalia Chris,

Thanks for your feedback very valuable. The Proxxon Thermocut 230/E bench mounted cutter has an integrated transformer so I would need to buy one for the 12E. The Proxxon Thermocut 12E handheld plus the matching transformer is certainly expensive and only worthwhile if it is very good. I am planning to cut XPS, so I do want a tool that works well on stiff foam.

Dear Mindenbrush,
Thank-you I will look at the Woodland Scenics device. I will look into it.

Does anybody have experience of the wand type cutters (i.e. a look like a thin screwdriver)?
How about this one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KQ8SH38/?coliid=I31VQRKZCV2FZA&colid=37YA14SYDRCEV&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it