Hot cutting knife: how to make it yourself

The hot knife has become a convenient assistant for needlewomen and craftsmen. They can easily cut any synthetic materials. The edges of the products are smooth, processed, thanks to melting, and without effort, easily touching.

It greatly simplifies the cutting process:

ribbons,
felt,
foamiran,
plastic,
expanded polystyrene,
foam and other synthetic materials.

Hot knives are available in three types:

stationary, equipped with a housing with a power supply and a tensioned string,
manual, equipped with knives with blades,
desktop

Advantages and disadvantages

Thanks to the thermal knife, the creation of multilayer products is greatly simplified.

Its advantages for needlework are obvious:

No need to use candles or scissors.
The cuts are obtained without soot.
High cutting speed increases.
The ability to neatly join the edges of the material.
Comfortable to work both sitting and standing.
Backlight,
Ruler for cutting cut calculations,
Uneven temperature conditions in different areas.

Disadvantages include:

Electricity costs.
Unpleasant odor from materials such as brocade, organza, plastic, which provokes coughing.
Lack of quality certificates for many models for home use.

How to make a thermal cutter for ribbons with your own hands

To make your own hot knife for cutting satin ribbons you will need:

a simple transformer with a power of 30-60 watts for halogen lamps,
insulated wire with a cross section of 1.5 mm,
a piece of nichrome wire 12-13 cm long,
bolts, screws, nuts.

6 steps to make a hot knife for cutting satin ribbon

Convert the transformer to 5-volt voltage using the secondary winding.
Make a rectangular body from wooden blocks with a fiberglass lid, where to fix the transformer.
Make holders from galvanized bolts 90 mm high and approximately 6 mm in diameter. Secure them to the body parallel to each other.
Using a hacksaw, cut 12 mm long holes at the bolts of the holders for fastening the wire, which, after inserting into the slots, is wrapped around the bolts and then clamped with nuts.
Tension of the wire when heated will occur due to the elasticity of the surface material of the device.
The front panel is equipped with an on/off toggle switch.

Foam Linear Cutting Cutter

To create a device for horizontally cutting foam sheets, prepare a table. Attach a pair of vertical risers with insulators to it. Stretch a piece of nichrome wire between the risers, the end of which is connected to the contacts of the transformer.

When a hot foam cutting knife is heated, the thread cuts through the foam easily and stays taut with the help of a suspended weight. For vertical cutting, the wire is stretched vertically, and a manufactured frame made of metal or wooden blocks is fixed on the working surface.

Cutter for shaped cutting of foam plastic

Processing large foam sheets with a stationary cutter is difficult, so it is better to use a hand knife for cutting foam. It can easily be made from a jigsaw, replacing the cutting part with nichrome wire.

First, the cutting part of the jigsaw is removed. A wire is connected to the handle. They are isolated. Nichrome wire is connected to the cable using nuts. In addition, you can take a soldering iron and replace the heating element with nichrome wire. Thanks to this device, it is easy not only to cut sheets of foam plastic, but also to make recesses in them.

Metal plate cutter

To modify a soldering iron into a hot knife for foam or synthetic materials with your own hands, you can use a copper or steel plate, carefully sharpened on one side.

It is important that the sharpening angle is small, because the material is cut using both the blade and the plate. This device has one drawback - the optimal temperature is selected experimentally. With such a hot knife it is convenient to cut even plastic.

How and with what to cut plexiglass at home

Plexiglas is a common synthetic material. It is produced from an ester of methacrylic acid. In everyday life it is often called acrylic glass, acrylic, plexiglass. It is cut using power tools.

But difficulties often arise with this method due to the fact that microscopic particles of organic material stick to the disk. In addition, a power tool may simply not be at hand.

We will tell you how to cut plexiglass using other methods and available means in this article.

Peculiarities

It is important to consider that the physical properties of the polymer influence the power tool when cutting plexiglass. Because of them, problems often arise on how to cut plexiglass at home.

It begins to melt as soon as the temperature reaches 160 degrees. You can bend it when it reaches only 100 or even 90 degrees. As a result, thick slabs cannot be processed using a simple circular saw. We have to resort to other options.

This material has plenty of pros and cons. The benefits include:

high light transmittance;
low thermal conductivity;
resistance is five times higher than that of glass;
environmental cleanliness;
resistance to bacteria, moisture, microorganisms;
electrical insulating properties.

The bad thing is that acrylic is prone to surface damage, catches fire easily, and microcracks often occur at the bend points.

There are many tools on the market that allow you to make an even cut.

Hacksaw for metal work

One of the most affordable options is to use a hacksaw. A good alternative to sawing plexiglass at home.

In terms of its hardness, plexiglass can be compared with beech. So you can imagine how difficult and time-consuming it will be to saw the material. In addition, you will need to ensure that the glass does not heat up. Therefore, you will have to work very slowly.

It is convenient to make markings with a marker; it leaves a bright and noticeable mark. The cutting line is well applied with a knife or nail.

At the same time, a hacksaw is an option for cutting plexiglass at home, only if you have to cut in a straight line. It will not be possible to make curly cuts well.

Good to know. When the blade gets stuck during operation, add some water. This will help cool the cutting line.

Hand cutter

Another option for cutting plexiglass at home is to make a handy tool from a hacksaw blade. Take a blade (even if it's used) and a file.

On the forums they advise making a sharp nose on a grinding wheel. To make it easier to work, you should wrap the handle with something. For example, electrical tape. The whole job will take a few minutes.

You can also buy a ready-made cutter for plexiglass in the store. A convenient tool for home craftsmen. True, it is effective only for one-time work, when you have to cut sheets with a thickness of no more than two to three mm.

If you are looking for how to cut plexiglass in half, then it is enough to make only a few cuts and then break the material. There is no need to cut all the way through.

Three-tooth disc

When it becomes necessary to process large numbers of sheets, more efficient tools are needed. To mechanize this process at home, use a three-pronged disk for plexiglass and wood. This is an effective tool to figure out how to cut plexiglass evenly.

In essence, this is an improved grinder. Among the materials with which it is recommended to work with a three-pronged disc, not only plexiglass is mentioned, but also wood. This is a great way to cut plexiglass at home in a straight line.

It is important that the temperature of the acrylic does not increase, it does not begin to melt and stick to the disk. With its help you can cut sheets up to 10 mm. When deciding how to cut plexiglass, use a three-prong blade.

Useful tips

There are several tips on how to saw plexiglass without chipping. To achieve a clean cut, leave the acrylic over a gas burner for a while.

Another option: you can use the simplest lighter. True, you will have to spend a lot more time.

You can cut plexiglass using a jigsaw. Use narrow saw blades.

When you purchase them, look for ones that have the MP.S designation on them. These are the most effective devices to solve the problem than cutting off plexiglass.

While working, monitor the speed of the tool. The number of revolutions depends on this. In practice, the speed is selected experimentally. The most important thing is that the plexiglass does not start to melt.

Be sure to wear a protective mask on your face. This will protect you from fragments that will fly at great speed during cutting.

Nichrome spiral

If you are deciding how to cut curved plexiglass at home, it is recommended to try such a spiral.

The main thing is not to forget that plexgilas melts at about 160 degrees. A nichrome spiral is an excellent tool for cutting plexiglass. But keep in mind that it can heat up to a temperature 6 times higher. To control and regulate this process, have a rheostat on hand.

Otherwise, this is a good option for cutting plexiglass. The main thing is to follow the recommendations.

Acrylic can burn. Therefore, when working with a spiral, allow an allowance of 0.2 to 0.5 mm.

With the help of this device you will solve the question of how to cut plexiglass at home. You can bring the workpiece to perfection using sanding paper. The material lends itself to such processing.

When figuring out how to cut plexiglass with a nichrome spiral, keep in mind that there are 2 methods of using it. The horizontal cut should only be straight, and the vertical cut should be curved.

Conclusion

This is a good device for cutting plexiglass. Adjust to the speed at which the coil penetrates the plexiglass. Soon you will easily get used to the work.

Then there will be no problem cutting off the plexiglass. A wood burning device is also suitable for these purposes.

Now you know in detail how you can cut plexiglass. There are many modern technologies that allow you to use different methods with maximum efficiency.

When figuring out how to cut plexiglass in your case, remember that it also bends well. We hope you found the article useful.

Manual processing, materials and tools

How to cut plexiglass if you need to use a sheet of acrylic for work, but you don’t have a power tool at hand? To begin with, you can try to cut it with an ordinary hacksaw.

In terms of hardness, plexiglass can be compared with beech, and sawing beech with a metal hacksaw is quite a long task. To keep it from heating up, you need to cut slowly. The mark of the felt-tip pen is clearly visible on the surface of the acrylic. Draw a cutting line with any sharp object: a nail, knife, etc.

This blade cuts metal, and organic glass even more so

A hacksaw can only cut straight lines. It is difficult to cut curved surfaces with this tool.

Tips: To prevent the blade from sticking, pour a little water onto the cutting line to cool.

For one-time jobs, make a cutter from a hacksaw blade.

Processing acrylic by hand

You can actually make a hand cutter in the shape of a tooth yourself at home. To do this you need to have at least:

old hacksaw blade;

How to make a homemade hand cutter, watch this video:

All of the above methods are labor-intensive and are only suitable for one-time small jobs on thin sheets of acrylic 2-3 mm thick.

For home handymen, the industry produces ready-made knives for acrylic. They are easy to buy in the online store.

This knife can easily cut plexiglass

To saw a workpiece in half, you do not need to cut it all the way through. It is enough to make a few cuts and break off the required piece.

If a home craftsman needs to process many sheets, he will have to mechanize the cutting process. Meet the three-pronged disc for wood and plexiglass.

Cutting plexiglass with a three-prong blade

How to cut plexiglass in large volumes? Technical improvement of hand tools does not stand still. For more efficient use of the grinder, the industry has released a three-tooth saw blade for wood.

Three-tooth saw blade

In its technical characteristics, organic glass is also mentioned along with wood. It excels at cutting acrylic for straight cuts. The material does not heat up, melt or stick to the saw blade. This disc is tough enough, with a thickness of 5 to 10 mm.

How to use an angle grinder with a three-tooth saw blade, watch this video:

In addition to the grinder, craftsmen use a jigsaw with special saws for plexiglass.

Cutting with a jigsaw

The use of an electric jigsaw is quite justified, but it must have a speed control. For cutting, special nail files for organic glass are used.

If you can’t buy them or need to cut them, then use wood saws. There is a main rule here: the teeth should be small and the cutting speed should be low. At high speeds, the cut begins to melt and turns white. For some products such white seams are not suitable.

Advice: in order to remove burrs and make the cut clean, it must be heated with a gas burner flame. In extreme cases, you can use a lighter.

A jigsaw also allows you to make curved cuts. For this purpose, you need to choose narrow saw blades.

Tip: When purchasing nail files for organic glass, pay attention to the markings. It must have the Latin letters MP . S. _

Cutting curved parts with MP.S files

While cutting, pay attention to the feed speed of the tool. The higher the rpm, the higher the feed speed can be. The feed speed and revolutions are selected experimentally so that the acrylic does not melt. When cutting, it is necessary to use a protective mask over the entire face from fragments flying at high speed.

If the parts have a complex curved shape, then it is permissible to use a nichrome spiral for cutting organic glass.

Nichrome spiral cutting

When using a nichrome spiral, you must remember that the melting point of acrylic glass is about 160 °C. The nichrome spiral heats up to 1,000 °C. Therefore, to regulate the temperature you need to have a rheostat or a set of resistances.

Adviсe:

remember acrylic glass burns. When processing using a nichrome spiral, it is necessary to give an allowance of 0.2-0.5 mm and then bring the parts to the required dimensions manually;

Acrylic glass can be sanded perfectly with all sizes of sanding paper.

There are two options for using a nichrome spiral:

horizontal straight cut;

vertical curved cut.

Straight-line cutting of organic glass with a nichrome spiral

Any DC or AC step-down transformer is suitable for these purposes.

Acrylic curved cutting device

Even a welding machine at minimum currents will give the required heating temperature. The main thing is to adapt to the speed of penetration of the spiral into the acrylic. A wood burning device is also suitable for these purposes.

: Cutting plexiglass with a heated spiral

conclusions

Modern technologies make it possible to use different methods of cutting organic glass with great efficiency. This material is not only easy to cut, but also bends.

What you need to know about cutting foam

Due to its low cost, polystyrene foam is widely used for insulation. When cutting, due to the low density of the structure, a lot of debris is formed, which becomes electrified and sticks to everything.

To cut foam plastic you can use:

sharp knives,
hacksaws for wood or metal,
soldering irons,
"Bulgarians"
thermal cutters,
machines,
jigsaws with heated files.

When using non-heating devices, the material will crumble.

Assembling a hand cutter on nichrome thread

To make the device, prepare:

nichrome wire 0.8-1 mm thick,
a couple of ice cream sticks,
a couple of metal strips from a children's construction set,
bolts and nuts with a diameter equal to the holes in the metal strips,
block for a pair of AA batteries,
a couple of AA batteries,
small button.

Attach wooden sticks to the battery pack. Apply hot glue to their edges and attach them to the battery pack from the side where the metal terminals are located.
Drill holes in the strips for the cable. Stepping 5 mm away from the battery pack, drill holes in the wooden sticks with a diameter of no more than 2 mm.
Pass one wire from the battery pack through both holes to a parallel wooden strip. Pin the button. Cut a piece of wire at a distance of 1 cm from the power supply.
Solder a button on one side of the wire, and a piece of wire on the other. Glue the button to the bar. Use the same hot glue to insulate the soldering areas.
Drill holes at the top of the wooden sticks. Bolts are inserted into them to secure the metal strips. Screw the bare ends of the wires from the power supply onto the bolts.
Thread nichrome wire through the holes of the metal strips. Secure its ends with a screw, nut and washer. Remove excess. Insert batteries into the power supply.

Assembling a stationary vertical cutting machine

Using a stationary vertical cutting machine is more convenient than a manual one, because you only need to move the foam sheet. This promotes precision of movements.

To make the device, you need a flat and smooth table surface.

A block is attached perpendicular to it, and a wooden crossbar is attached to it at a right angle.
Using an angular ruler, mark the point where the filament will pass, and drill a hole with a diameter of 6 mm into which the wire is threaded.
The lower end of the string is put on a self-tapping screw, which is screwed in next to the hole.
A spring is attached to the top screw, and a nichrome thread is attached to it.

How to cut plexiglass at home and industrial conditions

Plexiglas is one of the first composite materials; it well combines the properties of plastic material and glass. Thanks to the special physical and mechanical properties of this polymer material, among which are strength and flexibility, it was possible to create a product that is amenable to a variety of processing methods.

Plexiglass, which is also called acrylic or plexiglass , can be cut, sawed, carved, sharpened and other types of impact. The different names are mostly associated with manufacturers and brands. It not only replaces glass well, but also surpasses it in a number of indicators:

has high mechanical strength compared to glass;
withstands heavy loads, which allows you to create large containers from it;
due to its ease of processing, it is used to create elegant interior elements or other small objects of complex shape.

DIY cutting methods

But how to cut plexiglass at home, which tool would be preferable? This largely depends on the chosen type and thickness of the material.

Some craftsmen prefer to use a cutter or cutter knife , which is sold in hardware stores. You will need a flat surface and a metal ruler. After measuring, you need to run the cutter firmly along the edge several times.

The ruler will act as a limiter. If the sheet has been cut by more than half, then all that remains is to break off the material along the cut line. After this, you need to start cleaning the edges and use a joiner's jointer.

If you don’t have it on hand, a needle file or sandpaper will do just fine.

Nichrome thread has proven itself well, as it can make not just a cut, but also create a certain notch or a complex curly shape. For its operation, the simplest 24 Volt transformer is usually used. When the thread is heated, the plexiglass begins to melt, and even a complex pattern can be made in a matter of minutes.

We must not forget about the simplest and most accessible method. Cutting glass with your own hands at home or in the garage usually involves using a tool such as a hacksaw. Of course, the cut will be somewhat rough, but this can be easily corrected with a needle file, file or fine sandpaper.

A slotted screwdriver can also help in a deadlock situation. It is enough to heat its blade with a soldering iron with a power of more than 25 W, and then press the end part against the plexiglass and draw a straight line. The organic glass begins to melt and a groove appears. The operation will not take much time, and the steel ruler will serve as a guide.

As a result

Working with plexiglass at home in most cases is not particularly difficult and requires the use of a simple set of tools. Despite its simplicity, when choosing a certain cutting method, you should first test it on a small part of the material, and after a kind of “training”, begin finishing work.

It is better to entrust the use of a circular saw, milling or laser machine to specialists, especially since the number of workshops that offer these services is constantly growing. Often you can choose the right type of plexiglass there.

Step-by-step production of a thermal cutter from improvised materials

For one-time use of a hot knife for cutting plastic or other materials, the purchase is not economically rational.

The most primitive thermal cutter can be made from a guitar string and 5 large flashlight batteries. Connect the batteries into one cell. Connect a string to the ends of this block, creating a closed electric arc that will heat up. When the heated string comes into contact with the surface, the material will melt, breaking into halves with smooth edges. This device can easily handle cutting a sheet of plastic or 2-3 blocks of foam, and then you need to replace the batteries.

Classification and types of pipe cutters

A large number of pipes nowadays are made of plastic. Since certain types of pipes require certain specific characteristics, manufacturers make pipes from different types of plastic. Therefore, pipes made of different materials have to be cut using different devices.

Many manufacturers produce universal pipe cutters so that users can use one tool. But this also has its disadvantages, which I will discuss later.

Due to great competition, manufacturers come up with such a design of scissors so that it differs from products from other manufacturers. But in essence, it is all more or less the same and comes down to two design features: the pipe is cut either with a roller or with a blade.

Roller pipe cutter

No matter what the manufacturers write, I have come to the conclusion with my own hands and brains that it is best to use a roller pipe cutter to cut only metal pipes. Plastic pipes can be cut with a roller pipe cutter, but there are tools that can be used to do this much faster.

Guillotine shears

These scissors can perhaps be called the most versatile. They can cut most plastic pipes without any problems. But there is a nuance: as I said earlier, different plastic pipes have different plastic compositions.

Therefore, different shears will cut pipes differently. Some will do it easily, quickly and smoothly, while others will have to struggle to cut the pipe.

Blade

I have seen 2 types of blades on scissors: flat and trapezoidal. I came to the conclusion that you only need to buy scissors with a trapezoidal blade. Now I will explain why.

We have 2 types of scissors: some with a straight blade, others with a trapezoidal one. For example, we need to cut a polypropylene pipe with a diameter of 25 mm. If the pipe has a thick wall, such as a PP-R pipe, then our scissors will cut this pipe well and evenly. But, the handles of scissors with a straight blade will require more effort.

If we need to cut a pipe with thin walls, for example, the new generation PP-RCT pipes, then scissors with a straight blade will cut much worse than with a trapezoidal blade.

This happens because the trapezoidal blade first pierces the pipe and then cuts it.

The flat blade presses down on the pipe until it begins to cut the pipe.

Very often the blade becomes bent due to backlash and the cut turns out to be crooked. Because of this, pipe welding may turn out to be of poor quality.

Therefore, it is best to use scissors with a trapezoidal blade. In addition, they will always be easier to cut pipes.

And when you are doing heating or plumbing and you need to cut a pipe 100500 times, the force on the scissors is very important. The easier the scissors cut, the less tired you will be.

Also, when buying scissors, pay attention to the fact that the blade of the scissors is changed. It is cheaper to change the blade than to buy new scissors.

Ratchet mechanism

If you use scissors to cut pipes with a diameter greater than 20 mm, be sure to choose scissors with a ratcheting mechanism. Otherwise, your hands will fall off after a couple of hours of work.

Pipe cutter without ratchet

Non-ratchet shears are suitable for cutting soft plastic pipes such as polyethylene. When you install a heated water floor and use pipes made of cross-linked polyethylene or make drip irrigation from polyethylene pipes with a diameter of up to 20 mm, then scissors without a ratchet mechanism will cut such pipes much faster than scissors with a ratchet mechanism.

I have only used pipe cutters without a ratchet mechanism from Rehau and Uponor. I liked the scissors from Rehau better.

Vitaly, author of the YouTube channel “Everyday Life of a Plumber,” says that he likes Milwaukee pipe cutters. In their design, the tip of the blade protrudes from the body of the scissors so that they can be used to remove insulation from pipes.

He also uses cordless shears to cut plastic pipes. He says that this is a very convenient thing that saves a lot of effort.

I also wanted to buy myself such scissors, but then I thought that I would have to carry batteries and a charger with me. That's why I use hand pipe cutters.