Português:
Eu chamo isto de o pêndulo. É usado para cortar o perfil básico do bloco de isopor.
O corte é feito por um fio níquel aquecido. Nesta imagem, estou usando um fio níquel nº23 aquecido por um sistema de lâmpadas que somam 400W.
English:
I call this the pendulum. It's used to cut the basic profile from the styrofoam block.
The cut is made by heating a nickel wire. In this picture, I'm using a No 23 nickel wire heated by a system of lamps totaling 400W.
Ann Chevrefils
ReplyDeleteI love your work. I especially admire the large Styrofoam pieces you have made for Carnival. They are beautiful from the first cut. I look forward to seeing what you have planned for the coming year.
I'm curious about your "pendulum" foam cutter. I currently use a couple of handheld cutters shaped like large cheese cutters. I don't know much about how the electrical parts work (I have friends that do) but the essential information is that they require 1 volt per inch of nichrome wire. I think the wire is about 24 gauge. I've also seen one man work with a long wire hooked to a variable power supply with a trusting assistant holding the open end. If you don't mind telling me, I'd like to learn how to make a cutter like yours. Does the pendulum itself do anything more than provide weight? In the photo it appeared to have a wire leading away.
I've used foam that has no beads for masks and details. It is my favorite because the surface can be smoothed and carved with a snap blade (long and flexible) and the surface holds its form without expanding the way regular Styro does when it has been cut. It is also harder to break.
Good luck in all that you do. It is always a pleasure to see your work.
Hi Ann
I've been working with styrofoam since 1999. I started working with absolute no tech. All my tools are developments from another carnival sculptor tools. I'm explaining that to you because you have to have in mind that my equipment is just one option for the Rio's carnival environment. The pendulum's purpose is to cut profiles (but you can cut angles as well). The lenght of the nickel wire you shall use depends on the thickness of the block. There's others tools for cutting profiles. There's the "cutting table" (large or compact), there's also the "tchaco" (to be used by you and an assistent - I will post images of all those stuffs later).
The eletric system that provides the energy to heat the wire is made by five nozzle for incandescent. The practising gave me the exact power needed in any given work situation. For exemple: when I'm using a nickel wire No19, the amperage needed to heat the wire will be provide by lamps totaling around 700-1000 watts (for the same lenght you see on the photo).
But there's many many others tools that use nickel wire. The most important is the bow. I've developed a nickel wire knife too. Everything will be posted on my blog soon.
Does my reply answered your question?