A video showing the start to finish process of cutting out a wing using a hot wire bow. I wanted to demonstrate one way to go from a sheet of insulation foam to a finished wing core. This is the technique that has been working for me so far. I am sure there are many ways to improve on the process, please share your tips in the comments.
Thank you to all of the folks who have taught me how to do it! In particular the guys of Garage Rats, Flight Club, FirmCore, Convict State Wings, and Team Hazard.
Sources:
Foam: Home Depot 2" x 4' x 8' R-Tech R7.7 Rigid Foam Insulation
Airfoil plots: airfoiltools.com
Charger for powering the hot wire: Tenergy TB6AC + 80W
Airfoil templates: phenolic sheets, 0.093" x 12" x 24" bought from Amazon.
Spray adhesive: 3M Super 77 spray adhesive
Nichrome wire: 26 guage, from Amazon.
"Automated" foam core cutter: Curtis Suter has an excellent PDF available online of how to build and use the drop arm pull device (also called a feather cut device) I show in this video. We used his instructions to build the hot wire bow and the pull device. There are several YouTube videos on how to setup and use the cutter. It was originally sold as a kit, Feather Cut foam cutter from Tekoa. Apparently the kit is no longer sold new but can be found used from time to time.
