Ways to Prevent Injury Making Customs! HELP!

[Phoenix]

For all the customizers out there - can you please offer some suggestions and tools to prevent injury?

My husband has sliced his finger, not once, but TWICE now (deeply! thank goodness I am a first-aid master!) messing around with custom attacktix. I know it's dangers.

Webheads Blog had a similar theme recently. |

All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[ionicdesign]

Perhaps wear mail gloves, or don't use x-actos? This is far and away the main reason I've not customized more...being a graphic designer and having cut myself badly before already.

[AWOL]

Knives & Attacktix = bloody mess

My customs are made with a dremel. Cuts through the plastic like butter. The only real danger in this is getting a tiny plastic shard in your eye, but then that's what goggles are for.

[Radar]

Yeah, I've been meaning to buy a dremmel all week.

I use a pretty dull razor blade. It takes a lot more effort to cut with, but if you do cut yourself (right there with ya Joe ), the cut is fairly shallow.

I also like to use wire cutters (professionally known as d**es or d**es, (sp) ), it seems the biggest problem is getting the feet off the base, so if you have a blade on each side, it makes it a little safer and easier. But, try to get a pair that is flat on the bottom or you risk losing some of the feet.

My favorite way to cut now is with a soldering iron (cheap one from the $1 stores). Those heat and cut very well, then if you need to fine tune anything, the plastic is hot and cuts away quickly and easily. However, a fan is needed to prevent breathing toxic plastic fumes.

Most important, cut away from the body (that includes fingers). Make sure that when you are cutting, no part of yourself is in the path that the blade will cut if it moves forward.

Also (good call Awol), if you are using any power tools, take the appropriate precautions.

[turbomagnus]

Well, my advice for using X-Acto or carpet knife when customizing is to cut slowly, away from you, and if possible, hold what you're cutting with a pair of pliers or behind the blade so it's not moving towards your fingers. The pliers are better though.

[Joe Manzo]

awol said:

Knives & Attacktix = bloody mess

My customs are made with a dremel. Cuts through the plastic like butter. The only real danger in this is getting a tiny plastic shard in your eye, but then that's what goggles are for.

I also have the dremel, but it doesn't allow for the "feel" you need when trying to separate the feet from the base pegs. The dremel is ok if you want it straight through the peg, but you need the X-Acto to feel that peg and slice the glue around it.

I used the dremel to remove the striker mechanism from the Jedi Knights, so I love the dremels, but I hate cutting the pegs off the bases.

Plus, chicks dig scars.

Webhead mentioned a tiny saw, that sounds a bit safer. If the saw slips it shouldn't remove a finger

[jman888]

Id consider getting all the protective gear at ur local stores

[imvader3]

if your trying to cut the pegs off,DEFINITLY wear some thin gloves...i cut my finger and it stayed for a month

[attacktixguy900]

I was cutting off padme's head once when, my knife sliped and cut really deaply into my skin. i was wounded for a month... no attacktix at all that month...

[dvandom]

Dull blades are BAD. They're more likely to skid through. You want a realllly sharp blade, so that the cutting is smooth and steady. I learned that one the hard way, having a dull knife suddenly cut through a piece of plastic...and the excessive force it had needed meant it also went into my hand.

---Dave

[Phoenix]

dvandom said:

Dull blades are BAD. They're more likely to skid through. You want a realllly sharp blade, so that the cutting is smooth and steady. I learned that one the hard way, having a dull knife suddenly cut through a piece of plastic...and the excessive force it had needed meant it also went into my hand.

---Dave

And you make a lot of customs! Looking at all the responses, I guess it just comes with the territory. Yikes!

[captainjo]

i use a real strange knife that comes out and goes in when you release the button so ive never been cut!!!!

[dvandom]

Well, I haven't sliced myself much from customizing in recent years. You do eventually get the hang of it. But for a while I had very distinctive fingerprints. (Ironically, now that I have diabetes, I deliberately prick my fingertips four times a day.)

---Dave

[superflytnt]

Use a dremel tool and safety glasses. I've never hurt myself. Oh, also RADAR, go to www.harborfreight.com and search dremel or rotary tool. Nice packages from 14.99$!

[dvandom]

Dremels are good, but if you need to make a relatively delicate cut, there's no avoiding blades. Even a thin Dremel cutting wheel eats a good millimeter of material in the process (it's not a millimeter thick, but it tends to melt plastic on either side a little).

---Dave