Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I cant remember nuttin this evenin or should I say mornin now.... Bad case of CRS ....
Has it been mentioned at all as to how to go about making a nice groove cut in styro insulation for the electrical wiring? Ok other than a knife..

Mine will be inside of flexible coil... (plastic) but Id like to make the cut out so it looks nicely done even though it wont be seen...

Here is what I mean.. the wiring is already inside of this premade..





But Im Finnicky by Nature... Cant help myself...

Classic Finn

You could use a router. But watch the flying stuff!

toypusher wrote:You could use a router. But watch the flying stuff!

Gee Kerry ....Wont a router melt it real fast like?

Classic Finn

I wouldn't think so at the temps you seem to work in! If it starts to get plugge up at bit it certainly would. But a straight bit the size of your wiring conduit should stay pretty clean. I must admit that I have not tried to use a router for this purpose. Just an opinion. Try it on some scrape insulation.

toypusher wrote:I wouldn't think so at the temps you seem to work in! If it starts to get plugge up at bit it certainly would. But a straight bit the size of your wiring conduit should stay pretty clean. I must admit that I have not tried to use a router for this purpose. Just an opinion. Try it on some scrape insulation.

Classic Finn

Kerry I may just be crazy enough to try it.... Once

Might I suggest a dust mask or even a respirator??

Heikki,
Perhaps if you make a shallow pass you will be able to see if it melts. You need to wear good eye protection. The little beads that come off this stuff (on a saw at least) are hot. I have a melt in my eye glasses and I used safety glasses.

You could melt a channel with a large soldering iron. Use a straightedge as a guide. If you want a curved channel, draw a curved line with a marker and follow it by hand. Go slowly to keep it smooth. I've done this in foam wing cores on R/C model planes for years.

I can't seem to find anything tonight. I can remember that someone here did cut their channels with a router and it worked well, just very messy. But I also remember someone used some sort of wire in their "gun type" soldering iron that was much less messy. I just can't seem to find either one tonight


Tom

Heikki,

OK, I am not nuts. Here is a link where Cracker used a hot wire to cut the channels. http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=7618&highlight=insulation+grooves+gun

Sorry about the long URL, tinyURL just disappeared from my computer.

Tom

If you have an old gun type of soldering iron with the copper two-conductor tip like Weller makes. You can take a piece of #14 copper house wire and make a U shape hot wire cutter that will go through the foam like greased goose s!*$.

Chuck

I put my foam on the table saw w/ a dado blade..

Soldering Iron

Keith B wrote:I put my foam on the table saw w/ a dado blade..

Keith

Ok tell me what does a dado blade look like ? As the word is not familiar to me... Im sure we have them here ...Would you show a photo of this blade? Perdy Please..

Classic Finn

Ok we have a soldering iron here good and hot... just looking for a good size tip for it...

Classic Finn