Woodland Scenics Hot Wire Foam Cutter

I had one of these back when I was a kid. My mother was big into arts and crafts and I have done everything under the sun. I mean everything. We used a similar device to cut foam for some art project that I was required to do. It was not as nice. It was plastic, not as versatile and ran on batteries.

Last October I had the need to cut large panels of foam to use as tombstones. I had originally thought of using a knife but what a mess that makes.

This tool is great for cutting foam. No mess. Easy to use.

It has a small power supply which plugs into the handle. It has a trigger which sends a low voltage to the wire which gets hot and melts the foam. As soon as you let go of the trigger the wire cools quickly to the touch.

I did purchase the add-on Foam Cutter Bow & Guide and extra wire. The bow allows you to work on larger pieces of foam. The extra wire is in case I break it while working....which didn't happen.

I would suggest this tool to anyone working with and cutting foam.

This has been "The" foam cutter for decades now. If you are a model railroader, table-top wargamer, or diorama maker. Or for that matter if you do foam work for arts and crafts projects then this is the foam cutter to get. It works well and gives you good heat and good control over what you are cutting. The design of it is also great because it allows you to make very straight cuts by running the fork along a flat surface like the table top (see my picture of this process in the user submitted pics) . You can also get the Foam Cutter Bow & Guidefor more detailed and accurate work. There is no need to order a replacement wire for this cutter. When you install the wire you will be able to use only 1/3rd of it and you can set aside the rest of the wire as replacements.

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I purchased this as a hopefully cheap solution to cutting the outline of a couple rifles for a pelican case. The shape of the cutter is not conducive at all to cutting anything besides a straight exterior line. Trying to cut an interior edge, or a curved line was nearly impossible. After fiddling around with it and reversing the metal pieces in order to open up the wire as much as possible, I had a small amount of success. Overall, it was more of a pain and less effective in cutting the foam then hoped. It did a very crude job. The wire refused to stay taught, when attempting to keep it tight it would break, and the fact that you had to continuously hold the trigger wasn't annoying.

If you are using this for any sort of serious project, your best bet is to make your own cutter, or use something else.

Read Best Reviews of Woodland Scenics Hot Wire Foam Cutter Here

This is awsome, I love using it, its easy and fun to do. A must have for modeling.

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I purchased this item from Amazon as well as a different foam cutter from my local Hobby Lobby, and I have to say I like this one much better than the alternative. I am a hobbyist who makes wargaming terrain, and this cutter is my favorite so far. The one I purchased from hobby lobby has just a single metal rod that is heated, unfortunately it is too wide and does not heat up enough to get a really clean cut. The only thing I like about that cutter over this one is it has a toggle switch that you don't have to hold down.

I am unsure of how hot this cutter gets exactly, but I think the small surface area of the wire helps it cut through foam with ease. The momentary switch as I mentioned before is a bit of a pain, but only if you use it for 'extended' periods of time. Once you press the switch, it takes about 2-4 seconds to warm up to where it can start to cut. Wait a little longer for the heat to build, and it gets even better. Once I am finished, I just get two or three paper towels, hold it on to heat it up for a few seconds, and what little styrofoam residue that is left on the wire I just quickly wipe off. Be careful to fold the paper towels over a few times, otherwise the heat can catch you off guard.

Other than the switch, the handle is a little flimsy which would normally not be a problem except you attach the two metal rods into the handle with thumb screws.

In summary it is not the highest quality item, but I would recommend this to a friend, and I would purchase it again myself.

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