Manufacturers love blister packaging, like to glue a variety of plastic packaging. At the same time, it is really difficult to open these packages for those of us who want to save, modify or even remake them!
This trick will help you easily and cheaply deal with plastic packaging.
Warning from the author homemade:
This is quite dangerous, as we are talking about Exacto knives (SHARP) and a soldering iron (HOT). There is a real danger of burns and cuts! Burnt cuts are possible! Please use it with caution! If you use this device carefully, it will most likely be safer than trying to do the same with a sharp knife under pressure.
For the first time, the author heard about such a tool from a guy who was restoring laptop batteries. He cut the old battery pack, then replaced the bad batteries (or all), and then glued the battery back.
This homemade product will be useful for cutting vinyl, for cutting viscose or vinyl fabric, plastic bottles, plastic packaging. It can probably also be used to cut plastic or wax, but there is a suspicion that the end result will be a little rough.
Step one: The necessary materials for making homemade
You need a cheap Exacto metal knife with interchangeable blades,
as well as one pencil-type soldering iron (from 25 W), where the tip can be removed by loosening the screw on the side surface (see photos).
That's all. (nippers, pliers, sandpaper may be needed).
Step Two: Getting Started
The author made one of these hot cutters many years ago to cut a bad laptop battery and fix it. It was very convenient. The disadvantages of the first design were that the author used very fragile iron, and therefore sometimes it was necessary to bend it back a little if it was necessary to cut under too much pressure.
Making this tool can be simple and difficult at the same time. It all depends on your soldering iron.
This green soldering iron used by the author is not an ideal choice because the tip was threaded and screwed. The best soldering iron is one that would have one screw on one side that would allow the tip to be pulled out when loosened. Therefore, the author had to slightly change his iron. (the author will comment on his actions)
Action One:
Unscrew the blade / grip from the handle on the cheap Exacto knife, move the blade to the side.
Action Two:
Remove the soldering iron tip from the soldering iron. If the soldering iron with the screw is on the side, loosen the screw and pull it out. The tip can be long or short, it does not matter. Just pull it out, set it aside, (you might someday want to bring it back).
* If the soldering iron has a threaded tip, like the green one in the photographs, it will be very good if the thread is the same as that of the blade holder. The author had to cut a thread on a smaller diameter holder.
Action Three:
Insert the blade holder into the grip of the soldering iron and slightly tighten the screw (the one that held the tip in the soldering iron).
Action Four:
Place the blade in the precision holder. If it is loose, turn the holder clockwise slightly so that the thread on the blade holder rotates past the screw. Once it is tightened, tighten the screw to hold it in place.
The fifth action:
Find a good safe surface so that you can not be afraid of heating the surface. The author uses spare tiles.
This tool is very sharp and will be very hot soon!
Step Three: Use
The blade heats up to 183 ° C or 361.4 ° F or higher, which is a fairly hot temperature. This temperature is more than enough to cut through most of the synthetic fabric, ropes and plastics.
The trick to using it is to be slow and assiduous. The knife will do all the work itself. This tool does not require much pressure. The tip temperature will do all the main work.
Care should be taken not to cut yourself or burn yourself. It is also not recommended to inhale smoke and fumes from the material being cut.
It may be convenient to hold another knife close by to clean off the plastic that sticks to the tip of the knife.
At the end of work, place the tool in a safe place to cool the tip.