cutting table for hotknife
Gene Kittrell
top surface? Can
Formica take that kind of heat. I've hot cut on glass but when I parked the
soldering iron over the glass for a while when I was not cutting, the glass
shattered.
Thanks in advance
Gene
Steve Ferrel
using??? I never heard that happening......
A few years ago I published an article on how to build an economical light
table... and I just uploaded it to kitebuilder. Take a look, maybe it will
be useful. If you are going to hot cut, really, a glass top table is the
best IMO. It is only improved with the addition of light.....
Go to the tech sheet section of the web page and look for the light table
article. Sorry about the file size, I couldn't find the original file and
had to scan it.
"Thoughts on the Construction of a Light Table" by Tony Ferrel:
The best way to hot cut ripstop is over glass...right? But do you also know
the best way to improve the glass is to put a light under it.... Presented
here is an economical way to build a very functional light table.
Let us know what you decide to do.
~Steve
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"Gene Kittrell" <ge9...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:sT3_6.17339$Ga.23...@news1.rdc1.md.home.com...
Michael Moss
board, a couple 2X4's for support, and 2 sets of folding table
legs..... really pretty cheap...
for hot cutting, I have a 2'X4' piece of masonite that I lay down. I
use a 6', 3', and 18' steel rules.... Also use a 4' "drywall square" -
handy for squaring off a roll of fabric...
I don't have any steel curves yet tho... ;-(
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Steve Ferrel
PERFECTLY SQUARE already (right off my glass table) !!! ;)
Just cock your head a little if it looks crooked....
~Steve
Stan Swanson
Steve Ferrel <st...@kitebuilder.com> wrote in message
news:tjiciac...@corp.supernews.com...
> Hi Gene! What kind of glass did you use? and what kind of hot knife are
you
> using??? I never heard that happening......
>
I know more than a few people that have had this happen. Problem is
they(and I) were using un-tempered glass.
I've found tempered sheets of glass at window manufacturers. the glass is
salvaged from sliding glass doors, and you can often get it in large pieces,
36" x 80" for about $5. check building material salvage yards, glass shops,
and the like. a chipped or scratched piece can't be used for windows, but
is fine for hot-cutting.
Stan
Mary Annette Neurdbird
news:sT3_6.17339$Ga.23...@news1.rdc1.md.home.com...
> I want to make a table as economically as possible. What's an affordable
Hi, Gene.
I'm over at Aunt Tilly's tonight, but check this out:
"The (Re) Making of The Light Box"
http://members.nbci.com/PuppetKites/litebox.htm
I use Formica (you can see it throughout all my kitemaking pages) for
hot-tacking because the Formica melts ever-so-slightly, just enough to hold
the pieces in place on the table... addicting process, once you get used to
it.
..._but_ hot-cutting is a different story... you don't want this effect....
so the mentioned light box has a great old thick piece of glass that looks
indestructable that I use for hot-cutting.
Mizz Kid shoots. Mizz Kid scores.
From Aunt (Mary Annette) Tilly's house,
TPKK
http://www.yelmtel.com/~rmaddy
Sam Ritter
for about $20 a few years ago. A nice advantage of this is that you can use
magnets to hold your patterns down ...
Sam
Gene Kittrell
here, but since I know an hvac contractor that's probably going to be the
most accessible method. I do like the concept of magnets- sounds like that
would make it easier to freehand cut several pieces at once. Thanks
everybody !
"Sam Ritter" <fly...@provide.net> wrote in message
news:3B39C4BA...@provide.net...
Steve Ferrel
Well Sam, thats a pretty 'cool' idea...... do you have any problems with the
sheet metal acting like a heat sink.... drawing heat from the hot knife and
slowing down your cut?
~Steve
"Sam Ritter" <fly...@provide.net> wrote in message
news:3B39C4BA...@provide.net...
Gene Kittrell
one of the unique properties of tempered glass your stuck with the size that
you find. If you try the score & snap method for cutting tempered glass you
will end up with a pile of diced glass cubes. Sometimes it happens in slow
motion you can hear the glass breaking & popping but it takes a few minutes
to pick up speed.news:tjjrggr...@corp.supernews.com...
Goodwinds
>one of the unique properties of tempered glass your stuck with the size that
>you find. If you try the score & snap method for cutting tempered glass you
Hello,
I have used tempered glass almost exclusively. I tried masonite and formice
but they tend to leave a little burn on the edge and the edges are not clean.
The drawback is that glass gets pitted after while. You can turn it over but
once both sides are pitted you have to toss it out
I like the idea of a metal sheet with magnets. No pitting but then you can't
make a light table out of it. I wouldn't worry too much about the heat sink
since everything that is cooler than the hotknife will be a heatsink.
It is the nature of the Universe.
Tempered glass cannot be cut but you can get a piece that is the size you want
by ordering it that size. You just won't be paying $5.00 a sheet for it.
I very rarely use hot knives any more. If you are using just a fold over seam,
hot knifed edges are over kill. If you use the Randy Tom technique of applique
you won't be hot cutting anyway.
The only thing I use hot knives for are convenience in cutting strips or a
small accent piece on applique or when using
forward applique.
Kathy Goodwind
rec.kites
Sam Ritter
I mostly use a Engel Hot knife with the longer blade.
Adrian Conn, who set me on the idea of the sheet metal, uses the bigger Weller
soldering irons, with brass tip. It's a little slower going with the soldering
iron, gotta
keep resharpening it alot also ...
The only thing that I find is that the Engel knife scores the table a little
bit, depending
on my downward pressure.
Sam
Bri
indestructible and doesn't seem to melt under the hot knife, then you
can still use a roller cutter or exato knife as well. THe ripstop stays
put too instead of sliding around like on glass.
Goodwinds
>>
>> >crud I didn't think of that. In case there's someone who hasn't heard
>about
>> >one of the unique properties of tempered glass your stuck with the size
>that
>> >you find. If you try the score & snap method for cutting tempered glass
>you
>>
Hey I didn't say that part!
Kathy Goodwind
rec.kites
Simo Salanne
Put glass sheet on iron sheet. Magnets works
through the glass.
Simo
Peter & Ann-Maree
I have a 2m x 1m, old, tinted, plate glass window, which is 6mm thick. It is Very
heavy. I Haven't cracked it yet.
I would need some preety mean magnets to grip through a template, the fabric and 6mm
of glass. I just use old scraps of hardwood. They stick well enough.
ooroo
Peter
--
- Carpe Ventus -
Simo Salanne
Peter & Ann-Maree wrote:
>
> Hello Simo,
>
> I have a 2m x 1m, old, tinted, plate glass window, which is 6mm thick. It is Very
> heavy. I Haven't cracked it yet.
> I would need some preety mean magnets to grip through a template, the fabric and 6mm
> of glass. I just use old scraps of hardwood. They stick well enough.
>
I have some (broken) tweeter loudspeakers, cone removed.
They are heavy AND strong magnets.
Simo
Michael Moss
glass.... maybe with a texture so the fabric won't slip too much....
Oh, and lightweight and Cheap!!!
C'mon, all you engineer types out there - This is a Worthy cause!! ;-)
;-)
I think everything has it's drawbacks.... Did I ever tell you folks
about my idea of using a long (8') length of 2" Aluminum angle for a
straight edge??? well, it didn't work... the Angle was straighter than
my table top - and sucked the heat out of my hot knife faster than it
could put it out... had to stop in the middle of a cut to let the iron
heat back up... ;-)
Shay Walters
get a couple of very strong magnets out of the magnetron tube.
"Simo Salanne" <Simo.S...@iki.fi> wrote in message
news:3B40E62E...@iki.fi...
Stephen Hui
magnetic...maybe we could apply the same manufacturing technique to steel
and make "transparent steel"....
Hey, if Scotty can make "transparent aluminum" with '80s technology,
surely *someone* out there can make "transparent steel" with 2000s
technology...of course Scotty was somewhat of a miracleworker....
Just a thought...
Steve.
In article <3B410909...@cloudnet.com>, "Michael Moss"
Atomic Skull
>I think everything has it's drawbacks.... Did I ever tell you folks
>about my idea of using a long (8') length of 2" Aluminum angle for a
>straight edge??? well, it didn't work... the Angle was straighter than
>my table top - and sucked the heat out of my hot knife faster than it
>could put it out... had to stop in the middle of a cut to let the iron
>heat back up... ;-)
>
Use a teflon straight edge and a teflon cutting surface
--
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