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Hotwire on the cheep, my 1750 project

dstewart51

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 19, 2011
248
0
48
Lake Hughes, CA
I took advantage of the Midway sale on the Pelican 1750 last week. Thanks to nutzkicker617 for the inspiration to cut the center foam out my self.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2961775#Post2961775

I used only what I could find around the house to make my hotwire cutting bench. Used some .018" stainless steel safety wire I had (Nichrome would have been better), the side of an old dresser I had been saving for some reason, some pulleys I had laying around and a 5lb hammer for a tensioner. Some of my other hobbies is R/C cars and Ham Radio, so I happen to have a 30 amp 5-15 volt variable power supply laying around. Using some alligator clip test leads I just moved the contacts up and down and varied the power supply voltage until I got the right balance of heat in the wire.

For the cutout template I used the cardbard the case was shipped in. Not the easiest to cut but its what I had on hand in the proper size. Using a flashlight to create a shadow I traced my rifle. Start to finish I think I have 2 hours in it, cost me $0.00 and it came out pretty nice.

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Re: Hotwire on the cheep, my 1750 project

Wow we called that Red Neckin It in my area LOL. It would have been my luck the hammer would have fell and hit me in the braincase.It turned out well.
 
Re: Hotwire on the cheep, my 1750 project

I thought about that so i used a carabiner as a safety before the first pully. So the hammer could only drop a few inches.
 
Re: Hotwire on the cheep, my 1750 project

Damn, that's some "riggin". It seems to have worked well though.
 
Re: Hotwire on the cheep, my 1750 project

I used braided steel fishing wire and the power pack from a hobby lobby "hot knife" for mine. Not as beefy as your power pack so I tried to keep the wire as short as possible. I used a window latch to tension the wire after it had beed secured to the top and bottom. Works pretty well, such as it is.
 
Re: Hotwire on the cheep, my 1750 project

Nice job!

I might haveto try the steel safety wire as well.

Looking at my books, it has a slightly smaller coefficient of linear expansion compared to NiChrome.
 
Re: Hotwire on the cheep, my 1750 project

could you fit 2 rifles with a manners t5 stock in that case if a guy wanted to? looks like it might be close