Cutting ABS plastic??

[daniel hallman]

I'm going to do some major cutting on an ABS hull and thought maybe I could get a little input here. I have a dremel with cut off wheels but I also have a soldering iron that has a knife tip I can put on it. The iron is only 25watts and I was thinking that if I masked off the areas I am wanting to cut I could make my cutting marks with a pencil and then just cut on the line. Has anyone got better ideas?? I'm just kinda shooting in the dark here but the hot blade would probably give a smoother cut . THANKS!!! THE LAB RAT...:cool: :cool: :cool: ...

[RickE]

If you're removing material from a space where you can't just scribe the plastic with a hobby knife and snap-off the piece, first make a cut with your Dremel/cutoff wheel and then work towards the line you've made to show how much plastic you want to eliminate. Limiting your Dremel speed/RPMS will prevent melting too much ABS, and it should work well. As for the soldering Iron, I haven't ever tryed that method, but I've heard that with practice you can get a very smooth cut on ABS.

Hope this helps,
RickE