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Post by Phoenix on Mar 5, 2007 12:40:26 GMT -5
Does anyone use any sort of sharp knives other than Xacto brand?
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dvandom
30 Point Warrior
Joe Attacktix Contributor
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Post by dvandom on Mar 5, 2007 13:39:45 GMT -5
Well, I've got several non-X-Acto knockoff blades too. But I generally don't use my pocketknife or a straight razor or a utility knife, no. Before I got a big X-Acto I used to use a bread knife for some of the thicker stuff or for scoring sheet plastic that I wanted to just snap apart.
---Dave
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Post by turbomagnus on Mar 5, 2007 14:05:41 GMT -5
I use a utility knife to cut the glue on torso, then a pocket knife to seperate the piece and the base.
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Ataru
40 Point Leader
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Post by Ataru on Mar 5, 2007 14:54:25 GMT -5
Oh, boy, this is a rough subject. Finding just the right pair of gloves may help. Many would be insanely safe, and you could spend all day slipping up and hitting your titanium hands with no negative results, but they would limit mobility to the point of uselessness while operating on a 3" figure. Others would be great in the range of mobility but would be like butter to the knife. When I make customs, I don't wear gloves, but I do things very, very carefully. Keep your hands out of the way, and make sure you push the knife so that if it slips, it will go away from your hand, not at it. Definitely the sharper the knife the better, because it's more likely to do a clean job and not slip. Small buzz saws may work, too. What I do often is to use a wirecutters to snip a figure apart. It doesn't do a very clean job, but I can take a file and fix that. All in all, I would say my advice on tools, etc. would be useless. Just be careful.
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Post by bobafetch0007 on Mar 6, 2007 6:36:49 GMT -5
Well lets see,first of all Ive probably made about 4 customs (not that many I can understand) and I have never cut myself. heres a few reasons why....
1. When your cutting a head off of a figure lay it down!!!! This way you can sorta slice it downward, like a tomato.
2. When I go over to Ben Kenobi's house he has these really sharp wirecutter things (not wirecutters) They are like scissors, this way when it cuts through the other part of the scissor will prevent it from going towards your skin!!!
3. Don't use an Xacto knife when cuting a fig off their base! Xacto's are'nt sharp enough to cut a fig off the base (often) so use something else, or pry them off. If you do use an Xacto what is likely to happen is, the blade will slip around the peg and go in the direction oppostie of which you are applying force to it!
I don't have too many ways to prevent cuts, but these are some things you should try and take into account.
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Post by webhead817 on Mar 6, 2007 10:12:23 GMT -5
I found a 42 teeth per inch hobby saw that works wonders...it's almost like you've sanded apart the pieces, cheap too, about 5 bucks. Not great for detail work but perfect for separating pieces from one another cleanly. Yes...I've learned from my mistake...my thumb is still not 100%...
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Post by superflytnt on Mar 6, 2007 11:54:08 GMT -5
Ok, I sell tools, so I have an advantage. I have access to some VERY nice tweezers, cutters, etc. from Excelta (www.excelta.com), but there are other knockoffs that work as well for 1/3 the price. TechniTool (www.techni-tool.com) has a line called "Techni-Stat" that are inexpensive Chinese imports, and they are quite nice and durable. They have some X-acto knock offs, but the BEST that I have seen as far as hobby knives is a 12.99 kit that they sell at Harbor Freight Tools (www.harborfreight.com). I spend an enormous sum of money with them, and I have a 10$ gift card that I could part with if someone wants to get the number off of it to get some tools. I've only got one, so first come first served.
Now as far as safety, the best thing to remove figures from bases is a piece of steel pallet-straps (the metal straps that hold parcels or materials onto pallets). It is ultra-thin, razor sharp, malleable and formable. This stuff is also wonderful to open up bases to replace bad wheel mechanisms, repair or replace 'tix tires, or if you are making a custom, to remove the bottom to change out the "white/black wheel" mechanism to change the % that a power comes up. It also helps the painting process to clean and paint each subcomponent of the customs individually to avoid paint runs/smears and mitigate the taping process for fine-line applications like "the Spider Man chest spider" that has quite obviously caused many of you a day's worth of grief.
There's my 2c!
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Post by malform on Mar 6, 2007 11:58:16 GMT -5
Thats so funny... I LOVE harbor freight.. Its like one of my favorite stores. In fact, Im headed there this weekend. ;D
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Post by bobafetch0007 on Mar 6, 2007 20:03:01 GMT -5
This is hilarious!!!! Phenoix wants good suggestions to help prevent injuries and were all saying stuff like " Well I know where to get a knife that can cut through Metal!!!! If you hold it too close to your finger you might not have one!!!! (a little exaggeration lol)!!!!!!!
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