....cleanly & squarely?

I bought a universal knife block off of ebay ( this sort of thing
http://preview.tinyurl.com/akktv4) that is basically a tall wooden box
packed with bristles. I liked it so much I bought a second one for my small
knives intending to cut down the box & bristles to reduce the height.

Whilst cutting the box was a doodles I'm struggling to find any way of
cutting all the bristles cleanly. The bristles look like nylon and are
about 1mm in diametre.

The first thing I tried was leaving the bristles in the box (but wedging
them all tight with wooden wedges) and then attempted to cut both at once.
Unfortunately the saw blade kept jamming on the bristles and pulled some of
them out.

I've tried strapping and taping them up securely into a bundle and cutting
with a very fine tooth saw but again no joy. I've tried scissors but it
looks a bit like a haircut done with garden shears. I've also tried cutting
with a very sharp blade.

None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Tim

on 10/03/2009, Tim Downie supposed :
...cleanly & squarely?

I bought a universal knife block off of ebay ( this sort of thing
http://preview.tinyurl.com/akktv4) that is basically a tall wooden box
packed with bristles. I liked it so much I bought a second one for my small
knives intending to cut down the box & bristles to reduce the height.

Whilst cutting the box was a doodles I'm struggling to find any way of
cutting all the bristles cleanly. The bristles look like nylon and are
about 1mm in diametre.

The first thing I tried was leaving the bristles in the box (but wedging
them all tight with wooden wedges) and then attempted to cut both at once.
Unfortunately the saw blade kept jamming on the bristles and pulled some of
them out.

I've tried strapping and taping them up securely into a bundle and cutting
with a very fine tooth saw but again no joy. I've tried scissors but it
looks a bit like a haircut done with garden shears. I've also tried cutting
with a very sharp blade.

None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Tim

Angle grinder - seriously.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
...cleanly & squarely?
....
None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Hot wire?

"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
...cleanly & squarely?

I bought a universal knife block off of ebay ( this sort of thing
http://preview.tinyurl.com/akktv4) that is basically a tall wooden box
packed with bristles. I liked it so much I bought a second one for my
small
knives intending to cut down the box & bristles to reduce the height.

Whilst cutting the box was a doodles I'm struggling to find any way of
cutting all the bristles cleanly. The bristles look like nylon and are
about 1mm in diametre.

The first thing I tried was leaving the bristles in the box (but wedging
them all tight with wooden wedges) and then attempted to cut both at once.
Unfortunately the saw blade kept jamming on the bristles and pulled some
of
them out.

I've tried strapping and taping them up securely into a bundle and cutting
with a very fine tooth saw but again no joy. I've tried scissors but it
looks a bit like a haircut done with garden shears. I've also tried
cutting
with a very sharp blade.

None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Not sure about this, but you could dipping them in a tray of water to the
depth that needs cutting off, then let the water freeze. With the water
holding the bristles in place, use the sharp knife to cut the strands as
they enter the ice.

Second thoughts is to use plaster of paris or polyfiller instead of water.

On 10 Mar, 17:32, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
...cleanly & squarely?

I bought a universal knife block off of ebay ( this sort of thinghttp://preview.tinyurl.com/akktv4) that is basically a tall wooden box
packed with bristles. *I liked it so much I bought a second one for my small
knives intending to cut down the box & bristles to reduce the height.

Whilst cutting the box was a doodles I'm struggling to find any way of
cutting all the bristles cleanly. *The bristles look like nylon *and are
about 1mm in diametre.

The first thing I tried was leaving the bristles in the box (but wedging
them all tight with wooden wedges) and then attempted to cut both at once..
Unfortunately the saw blade kept jamming on the bristles and pulled some of
them out.

I've tried strapping and taping them up securely into a bundle and cutting
with a very fine tooth saw but again no joy. *I've tried scissors but it
looks a bit like a haircut done with garden shears. *I've also tried cutting
with a very sharp blade.

None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Tim

Tin snips.

dan.

In message , Tim Downie
writes
...cleanly & squarely?

I bought a universal knife block off of ebay ( this sort of thing
http://preview.tinyurl.com/akktv4) that is basically a tall wooden box
packed with bristles. I liked it so much I bought a second one for my small
knives intending to cut down the box & bristles to reduce the height.

Whilst cutting the box was a doodles I'm struggling to find any way of
cutting all the bristles cleanly. The bristles look like nylon and are
about 1mm in diametre.

The first thing I tried was leaving the bristles in the box (but wedging
them all tight with wooden wedges) and then attempted to cut both at once.
Unfortunately the saw blade kept jamming on the bristles and pulled some of
them out.

I've tried strapping and taping them up securely into a bundle and cutting
with a very fine tooth saw but again no joy. I've tried scissors but it
looks a bit like a haircut done with garden shears. I've also tried cutting
with a very sharp blade.

None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Tim


Hair clippers/beard trimmer?
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

Clive George wrote:
"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
...cleanly & squarely?
...
None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Hot wire?

This is my favourite suggestion so far. The bristles really are tough and I
can't see that clippers or an angle grinder is going to do the job.

Any suggestions for DIYing a hotwire cutter?

Tim

On Mar 11, 8:17*am, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
Any suggestions for DIYing a hotwire cutter?

Dunno about anybody else, but if I tried this, it this would have A&E
written allover it in large burny electricuted letters.

A bit of googling reveals lots of home-made foam cutters, which may
serve. An example being:
http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/H...#AssortedTools
and another
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hot-wire-foam-cutter/

Then somehow I ended up on the DIY tunnelling site
http://www.cornerstonehousing.org.uk...el/tunnel.html
looks like an interesting hobby...

"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
Clive George wrote:
"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
...cleanly & squarely?
...
None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Hot wire?

This is my favourite suggestion so far. The bristles really are tough and
I can't see that clippers or an angle grinder is going to do the job.

It occurs to me that one potential problem is welding the bristles together,
so need to try it first higher up than your final point IYSWIM.

On Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:17:17 +0000, Tim Downie wrote:
Hot wire?

This is my favourite suggestion so far. The bristles really are tough and I
can't see that clippers or an angle grinder is going to do the job.

Hmm, I would have thought a cutting disc on an angle grinder would work -
but I'm not sure how nice the ends or the bristles would be afterwards
(if that matters)

Any suggestions for DIYing a hotwire cutter?

Last time I cooked one up was just with the +12V from an old PC power
supply - it'd heat about 8" or so (enough for what I needed) but didn't
have enough grunt to do any more - not sure if that'd be enough for what
you're doing...

On 10 Mar, 17:32, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
...cleanly & squarely?

I bought a universal knife block off of ebay ( this sort of thinghttp://preview.tinyurl.com/akktv4) that is basically a tall wooden box
packed with bristles. *I liked it so much I bought a second one for my small
knives intending to cut down the box & bristles to reduce the height.

Whilst cutting the box was a doodles I'm struggling to find any way of
cutting all the bristles cleanly. *The bristles look like nylon *and are
about 1mm in diametre.

The first thing I tried was leaving the bristles in the box (but wedging
them all tight with wooden wedges) and then attempted to cut both at once..
Unfortunately the saw blade kept jamming on the bristles and pulled some of
them out.

I've tried strapping and taping them up securely into a bundle and cutting
with a very fine tooth saw but again no joy. *I've tried scissors but it
looks a bit like a haircut done with garden shears. *I've also tried cutting
with a very sharp blade.

None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Tim

Does it look any better if you turn all the bristles over so the cut
ends are at the bottom of the box? You'll get factory finish ends
visible again, even if they're not all exactly the same length.

wrote:
On 10 Mar, 17:32, "Tim Downie"

Does it look any better if you turn all the bristles over so the cut
ends are at the bottom of the box? You'll get factory finish ends
visible again, even if they're not all exactly the same length.

The bottom ends are embedded in a block of plastic so unfortunately, that's
not an option.

Tim

Clive George wrote:
"Tim Downie" wrote in message

This is my favourite suggestion so far. The bristles really are
tough and I can't see that clippers or an angle grinder is going to
do the job.

It occurs to me that one potential problem is welding the bristles
together, so need to try it first higher up than your final point
IYSWIM.

That's what I've been doing so far. I am however getting near to "final
height" so I'd rather not get it wrong too many more times. ;-) I agree
though that welding the rods together might be a problem.

Tim

wrote:
On Mar 11, 8:17 am, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
Any suggestions for DIYing a hotwire cutter?

Dunno about anybody else, but if I tried this, it this would have A&E
written allover it in large burny electricuted letters.

Oh good. I do like dangerous tools. ;-)

Thanks for the links.

Tim

On 10 Mar, 17:32, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
...cleanly & squarely?

Freeze to a block of ice, then bandsaw.

Andy Dingley wrote:
On 10 Mar, 17:32, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
...cleanly & squarely?

Freeze to a block of ice, then bandsaw.

Now there's a thought. No access to a bandsaw alas but perhaps some other
saw might do.

Tim

Tim Downie expressed precisely :
Clive George wrote:
"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
...cleanly & squarely?
...
None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Hot wire?

This is my favourite suggestion so far. The bristles really are tough and I
can't see that clippers or an angle grinder is going to do the job.

Any suggestions for DIYing a hotwire cutter?

I fancy an hot wire cutter might leave the bristles melted and fused
together. An angle grinder with a proper wafer thin cutting disk will
cut them without heating them up much.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Tim Downie wrote:

Any suggestions for DIYing a hotwire cutter?

I used to make them for "projects" some years ago. A fretsaw shaped
frame cut out of MDF with a push to make switch screwed to it as a
trigger. Get a length of bicycle brake cable and unwind a single strand
of wire from it. Straighten out the wire by grabbing each end with a
pair of pliers or Mole grips. Then pull them apart hard, the wire will
stretch very slightly and that's enough to end up with a straight
length.

Fasten the wire across the open end of the "C" shape of MDF. Connect it
via the switch to a 12V source - I used to use knackered old car
batteries, preferably via a rheostat so that you can adjust the current
and hence the temperature of the wire.

It used to work a treat for me for cutting polypropylene, polyethylene
or polystyrene sheet or rod.

"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
Clive George wrote:
"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
...cleanly & squarely?
...
None of these is producing acceptable results.

Any suggestions?

Hot wire?

This is my favourite suggestion so far. The bristles really are tough and
I can't see that clippers or an angle grinder is going to do the job.

Any suggestions for DIYing a hotwire cutter?

My dad and uncle played with this using my uncle's car battery and a variety
of materials (saw blades etc) once.
My uncle's car caught fire after a long run two days later.

Probably just a coincidence. . .


PS is anyone else having trouble posting using news.individual.net?

On Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:00:39 +0000, Tim Downie wrote:

That's what I've been doing so far. I am however getting near to "final
height" so I'd rather not get it wrong too many more times. ;-) I agree
though that welding the rods together might be a problem.

I'm sure I saw one of those 'How do they do that' programs a while ago
about making fancy toothbrushes - with the wavy ended bristles etc. They
had a large, profiled sanding disc and the initial rough cut brushes were
just held against it briefly.

I wouldn't have thought melting the rods together would be much of an
issue if you do it in short bursts and 'disturb' them in between...?