A hot wire cutter is the only practical way to do detail work with builders foam. Knives can be used for straight, through cuts, on the large sheets of builders foam. Most other cuts are made with the hot wire cutter.

The hot wire tools pictured were developed for cutting the foam holders used to transport accessories, engines, and rolling stock for the K 'n G Railplex. They have also been used for detailing layout scenery.

The hot wire cutter consists of a power unit, connecting cable, and a large variety of cutting tools. The cutting tools employ a section of Nichrome heating wire. Various gauges of Nichrome wire are used.

The cutter is powered with a line variable auto-transformer feeding a twenty-ampere step down transformer. Eight-foot leads of #14 hook up wire connect cutters to the power unit. (Hook up wire is rather flexible.) The connecting cable and cutting tools have 1/4 inch quick-disconnect terminals for making the power connection.

A clamp-on AC current meter is used to set the variable auto- transformer for the desired wire heat. The power unit will accommodate any alloy, size, and practical length of Nichrome wire.

Cutters shown include "router" bases, a coping saw-like frame cutter, a pencil cutter, and a free-hand cutter. There are also jigs for converting a workbench into a bandsaw-like tool for cutting an eighteen- inch foam stack or slab cutting a wide block into thinner panels.

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