NSW
490 posts
I am planning to have a go at making a boom tent using Wethermax material. I had a play at making a small item first to get the hang of it and it seemed to sew fairly easily on the home machine (using uv thread). However, cutting the material with dressmakers scissors tends to leave threads that will probably come back to haunt me later. So probably I should use a hot knife to do the cutout.
It seems that there are a couple of different brands of hot knives out there stock in marine stores, plus some additional ones on e-bay and a specialist rope place in Sydney. Any one have experience that they can pass one.
Also, the project will have some long seams so it would probably be best to use some 3/8 basting tape to hold it in place while sewing. Is the stuff that is available from spotlight etc suitable, or do I need some expensive marine grade stuff?
NSW
1213 posts
We made our boom tent from material from Sootlight and gf sewed it on her sewing machine. We waterproofed it with some kind of spray (from BCF I think). That was 5 years ago and its still like new.
NSW
7756 posts
I just run a cigarette lighter flame along the edges. Double sided tape is handy.
NSW
913 posts
For a hot knife I use a sharpened paint scraper & heat it with a butane torch from Bunnings - > $20.
Works for me!!
TAS
824 posts
Cheap hot knives are dangerous, I've seen a number of them fail, blow up, melt.
They are basically passing 240V straight through a blade so if they are not made very well, watch out.
The German (Engel) made one is the way to go if you want something to last a lifetime. I know of one that has lasted over 10 years in a chandlery
NSW
71 posts
I have the one sold online by the Sydney rope shop. Works fine. They also have a range of different blades for them.
NSW
331 posts
Also have an Engel brand hot knife. Was more expensive than average (over $100), but have abused it for 10 years and still using the original blade so good service. In addition to rope, I also use it to cut acrylic canvas and shade cloth. For very occasional use, I would think a product circa $50 should work, whereas a $25 no-brand cheapie may be tempting fate too much.
