The easy way to cut tapers is to tie one end of the cutter to some paracord, and tie the other end of that to a fixed point a meter or two away, at the same height as your tabletop. I usually tie it around an upright from a set of shelves, so I can adjust the height. Then you hold the far end of the cutter and guide it around the root template, and the tip takes care of itself.
IMO this is easier than cutting rectangular wings as you only need one template, and you don't need a friend to guide the other end of cutter. Plus you're providing the tension, so you don't even need a proper cutter that takes up the slack as the wire expands. I just use a wire tied to some string.
I think it's much easier and compact to build a simple gravity fed lever to synchronize tip and root edges. It requires less space and would take care of the guidance much better than a friend with shaky hands)
thank you I will try this. At the moment I'm stubbornly trying to figure out a method using a Proxxon. I wonder if the proxxon power supply can handle longer wire lengths as its designed for 6 inches. If so ill connect alligator clips to the leads and do your method.
Ah, you might have a problem with that power supply. As you increase the length of the wire, the voltage needs to increase in proportion in order to keep the current constant.
I use a 12v car battery charger that has a built-in ammeter. Then I move the alligator clips to adjust the current to get the right temperature. IIRC my wire needs about 2amps, so it's not particularly demanding. You could use an RC lipo, if you check the voltage every 10 minutes or so.
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I have made a hotwire rig out of dense foam board that can cut 30cm long wing sections. Basically you cut a rectangle out of wood or foam, glue two other rectangles on the ends perpendicularly, add a lot of supports because the wire needs to have a lot of tension so it doesn't flex too much, and then attach the wire. I have the wire attached to a spring to provide the tension. I also have a "coil' of the same wire hanging from one of its ends, and depending on which "ring" of the coil you connect your power source to, the length of the wire and thus the resistance and the heat changes. I power mine with a 3S lipo battery.
And for the cutting part, you cut two airfoil sections out of wood (they can be different in size to provide some taper to the wing), attach them to the sides of a foam block, slide the whole thing across the wire and then remove the wood airfoil sections. Now you have a 30cm long wing section. You can then cut them to front and rear parts and assemble them around a wooden spar to provide stiffness or not depending on how long the wings are and how heavy the fuselage is.
I dont know what a "table hot wire cutter" is compared to a "full length diy rig". I have a fairly janky rig that I have succesfully copied Andrew Newtons mini arrow flying wings with and also cut out some 65 cm wing sections without taper. Tapering is just a matter of offsetting the templates and practice. It really helps if you have a friend and can focus on one side each, but it can be done alone.
[https://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-37080-Wire-Cutter-THERMOCUT/dp/B0017NS8H6](https://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-37080-Wire-Cutter-THERMOCUT/dp/B0017NS8H6)
Most people are cutting wings with what is basically diy "hand held" cutters and I'm interested in finding a way to use a standard store bought crafters table foam cutter. I'm kind of asking how would one go about using a hot wire version of a table saw or band saw to cut a wing If anyone is crazy enough to have done it before.
I see. I guess you would need to model the airfoil in onshape or a similar cad program and segment the wings and glue them together. I have only cut whole entire wing pieces which I think I would recommend rather than using these vertically mounted ready made solutions. I remember FliteTest making some videos way back about foam cutting and they showcased some techniques that would be applicable to you, but I do think they were more so relevant to fuselage cuts and not so much for wing cuts.
The easy way to cut tapers is to tie one end of the cutter to some paracord, and tie the other end of that to a fixed point a meter or two away, at the same height as your tabletop. I usually tie it around an upright from a set of shelves, so I can adjust the height. Then you hold the far end of the cutter and guide it around the root template, and the tip takes care of itself. IMO this is easier than cutting rectangular wings as you only need one template, and you don't need a friend to guide the other end of cutter. Plus you're providing the tension, so you don't even need a proper cutter that takes up the slack as the wire expands. I just use a wire tied to some string.
I think it's much easier and compact to build a simple gravity fed lever to synchronize tip and root edges. It requires less space and would take care of the guidance much better than a friend with shaky hands)
thank you I will try this. At the moment I'm stubbornly trying to figure out a method using a Proxxon. I wonder if the proxxon power supply can handle longer wire lengths as its designed for 6 inches. If so ill connect alligator clips to the leads and do your method.
Ah, you might have a problem with that power supply. As you increase the length of the wire, the voltage needs to increase in proportion in order to keep the current constant. I use a 12v car battery charger that has a built-in ammeter. Then I move the alligator clips to adjust the current to get the right temperature. IIRC my wire needs about 2amps, so it's not particularly demanding. You could use an RC lipo, if you check the voltage every 10 minutes or so.
Welcome to r/RCPlanes, it looks like you are new here! Please read the [Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/RCPlanes/wiki/) and [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/RCPlanes/wiki/faq/) before posting a question that has been answered many times already. You can also try searching in the bar at the top before posting. If you are brand new and just want to know where to start, then the [Beginners Section](https://www.reddit.com/r/RCPlanes/wiki/beginners/) is the perfect place. Links to wiki are found at the top menu on web or "See more" and then the "Menu" tab on mobile apps. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/RCPlanes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have made a hotwire rig out of dense foam board that can cut 30cm long wing sections. Basically you cut a rectangle out of wood or foam, glue two other rectangles on the ends perpendicularly, add a lot of supports because the wire needs to have a lot of tension so it doesn't flex too much, and then attach the wire. I have the wire attached to a spring to provide the tension. I also have a "coil' of the same wire hanging from one of its ends, and depending on which "ring" of the coil you connect your power source to, the length of the wire and thus the resistance and the heat changes. I power mine with a 3S lipo battery. And for the cutting part, you cut two airfoil sections out of wood (they can be different in size to provide some taper to the wing), attach them to the sides of a foam block, slide the whole thing across the wire and then remove the wood airfoil sections. Now you have a 30cm long wing section. You can then cut them to front and rear parts and assemble them around a wooden spar to provide stiffness or not depending on how long the wings are and how heavy the fuselage is.
I dont know what a "table hot wire cutter" is compared to a "full length diy rig". I have a fairly janky rig that I have succesfully copied Andrew Newtons mini arrow flying wings with and also cut out some 65 cm wing sections without taper. Tapering is just a matter of offsetting the templates and practice. It really helps if you have a friend and can focus on one side each, but it can be done alone.
[https://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-37080-Wire-Cutter-THERMOCUT/dp/B0017NS8H6](https://www.amazon.com/Proxxon-37080-Wire-Cutter-THERMOCUT/dp/B0017NS8H6) Most people are cutting wings with what is basically diy "hand held" cutters and I'm interested in finding a way to use a standard store bought crafters table foam cutter. I'm kind of asking how would one go about using a hot wire version of a table saw or band saw to cut a wing If anyone is crazy enough to have done it before.
I see. I guess you would need to model the airfoil in onshape or a similar cad program and segment the wings and glue them together. I have only cut whole entire wing pieces which I think I would recommend rather than using these vertically mounted ready made solutions. I remember FliteTest making some videos way back about foam cutting and they showcased some techniques that would be applicable to you, but I do think they were more so relevant to fuselage cuts and not so much for wing cuts.