Does anyone in this state have one? Willing to cut some foam for me for a fee? I tried a razor knife before a few times and it just doesnt come out as clean as the hot wire. I really don't want to invest in one for this one project...

Thanks for the link, I couldn't remember where it was at and I looked for it. I see that Hobby Lobby sells one for $35 so I am going to pi k it up.

I have one... where are you located?

I'm south of Bloomington...

If you want to build one skip the model train transformers too costly for what they are. Instead, find a 120 VAC input to 12 V output (6 or 8 V would be better but they are a bitter harder to find) transformer (that has a higher current rating) and hook the input side up through a light dimmer. The light dimmer acts as your variable voltage (power) control by varying the input power to the transformer.

If you want to borrow the wire cutter PM me. If you want me to do the cutting PM me and we might be able to work something out.

Okay, thanks I appreciate they offer. I did pick up one from Hobby Lobby and it was $21.00. I just need to get some book shelving to move the support arm back about three inches and it will allow me to maneuver the foam around while I am cutting a lot better.

I don't have any specific recommendations. It's really sort of a science as to how you build these. Your wire size dictates the current rating of the setup. You want to use Ni-Chrome wire. There are some other, super-duper-special wire alloys that work better (higher heat with less deflection which will yield a better cut quality) but they also command a super-duper-special price. The only real purpose I can see one of those wires being useful is for profiles or cuts that don't completely penetrate the foam where-in you can't stretch the wire tight. I know there is a special wire made for this that you can bend to shape and just plunge & drag; IIRC it's about $15/foot.

In general, your wire size depends on what you're doing. Slowly cutting thin foams when you won't be pushing hard or need the wire tension to maintain straighness and you can get by with some of the smallest wires. However, if you're cutting fast, or cutting thicker foams where the wire needs to withstand some abuse I recommend stepping your wire size up a bit. I forget what size I'm running, I'll have to check.

After you figure out roughly what size wire you need you can appropriately size your transformer. Most websites that offer this wire have charts for sizing transformers. I'll see if I can find the website I used.

Unfortunately, I don't have anymore info than that. I did not build my wire cutter like I'm suggesting. Why not? I have a lab-grade variable voltage AC/DC power supply that works really well for this; 24 V, 5 amps. I bought it in college for a project and it's proven valuable for MANY different things. As far as suggestings, I know that the 5 amps circuit breaker on my power supply trips at about 4 amps (according to the meter) and that is barely enough to run my cutter. Sometimes I have to go slower than I want because it can't keep up and I'll break the wire if I push it too hard.

If you ever want to borrow my cutter you can; I drive pretty close to where you live on a daily basis...