The Proxxon has some flaws...How to deal with them?

What did I miss?

the entire gauge could've been aluminum for a few dollars more and it would be 10/10 on every review

When replacing the wire, make sure to push it all to way through the brass clamping piece, in such a way that the wire sticks a bit out of the underside of the clamping piece. Now you will not have to worry a bit of snapped wire gets stuck inside of the clamping piece, but you can pull out the remaining piece of snapped wire from the bottom out.

Your tip with the acetone worked Magic as well!
Great video, appreciated & loved it!

Before watching your video I am going to tell you what I think about this product.

I just got one. It has been nice, but it's number one flaw is that wobble on the metal guide. I had it at zero degrees and locked down, but it was easily moved because of the amount of leverage you have when pushing an item against it. It also has way too much play in it.

Second issue was that the spool of wire sprung apart when I removed the tape. That was pretty annoying. Maybe I was suppose to keep the tape on.

Third, the device make a loud humming noise.

For the price, this should not have these issues.

Excellent video. Just purchased one and a quick question: How hot does the wire get? Once I get past '3' on the heat setting, it glows red. Should it be this hot?

I liked the video a lot. I just got one and found it very helpful. Wish me luck. Cheers, Any.

Shifting lands' jigs are really great!

"All you do is put your hand on it" and then your face!!! I actually laughed out loud at that!!

I ended up buying the Hercules hot wire cutter for about 15 dollars more it comes with a lock on the guide a foot pedal and shows degreed cuts on the top arm bar.

what if the hole was blocked by the plastic?

Estoy teniendo algunos problemas con el cable de la proxxon al cortar en fomular, así que tuve que venir con el experto

I just ordered one. I can’t wait for it to get here. I went ahead and ordered a cold air intake and a Flowmaster exhaust to complete the installation!

Thank you for the link and tutorial! I just received mine and will need to practice so that I can attempt the witch’s hut.

Which Proxxon model do you use?

I know it's 3 years old but this is super helpful. I am on the fence about buying a Proxxon or just buying textured rollers and a bricks jig and a hand held hot wire cutter and making things work.

Awesome Video, thanks for the awesome information, PROXON should hire you!

How you talk about the flaws it appears like it doesn't have flaws but one just need some common sense on how to use it. Thanks, going to order one and expand my beloved Proxxon collection.

Does anyone have any good link to a replacement arm for the tool that will allow for taller cuts? Trying to cut standard 1inch insulation foam in half on a 6x6in or larger square is impossible when the arm gets in the way

How do you make nice even edges again after you’ve made a bunch of cuts that have left you with raged or wavy edges

You could possibly use a torch tip cleaner if things were really clogged up. They have some very fine wires on some of these tip cleaners.

Great content 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

How do you breakdown the foam board? I bought the big pink one from homedepot.

Hey brother researching hot wire cutting table to make dioramas for 1/6 scale figures. i am going in between this proxxon cutter or the Hercules 8500 with the foot peddle with is actually 10 bucks cheaper and comes with a foot peddle. Both have great reviews and are around the same price. Not sure which one to go with. Which would you recommend in your honest opinion. Thank you

use some blue tack to lock it, simple

This was really helpful. Thank you!

Mine only came with one knob on the fence

You can clean the bottom hole using round stainless files, used in dentistry. They come in different sizes. As for the foot pedal, i use an ordinary foot switch, connected by a 1/4" jack connector. If the is no connector with disconnect option available, a simple 2-way switch comes handy. You will need to make some wiring, but it's a 10 volt system on the hot wire side.

Just got my Proxxon, thanks for the tips

Great info!

Hello :) I totally agree with you about the flaws of this foam cutter. Then I simply used an heavy sqaure box as a guide. But I was not totally satisfied because the surface of the cutter is quite slippery and the box could move anyway. Then I realised that the groove width of the cutter is exactly the width of on single Lego brick ! So, I built one guide using Lego :) Only small flaw: the Lego walls are a little bit flexible on a "long" distance like that and I have to ensure getting 90° angle before cutting by using some square ... Maybe I could use more bricks and get it stronger, but, anyway ... Cheers ! :)

Just purchased a Guider Pro. Trying to rip 1" foam to 1/2" foam and was getting slight waves...

Does this machine cut Balsa foam board ? no one seems to know, thanks.

Hello Black Magic!
It was you and your videos that helped me first break into this amazing hobby. I started 2 years ago and fumbled my way through with an entry level hot wire cutter. It was better than not having one but that's all I can say.
BUT NOW, I took the plunge and so happy I did. Like you said, not perfect but definitely a staple tool for this kind of D&D crafting. I bought one using your affiliate links. Thank you so much for this video, for all your videos, and for the great inspiration you've been to me over the years. So grateful for you and happy to help support you via your affiliate links!

Can I cut 2 inch thick interlock foam mats with that machine?

I just use a piece of painters tape on the other end of the guide to hold it down. I bought the guider pro 2.0 as well. Both these pieces are a little difficult to get the hang of for left handed people. At least that’s my experience.

Some flaws...? I'd say a lot of flaws. In fact, I would say it's close to being unfit for purpose.

Or maybe I was just unlucky and got a dud...

My arm was offset some 3 - 5 mm to the rear. A lot of brute force and shimmying got it aligned. Almost...Still not perfect, but now it's down to just a single mm or so. And then there's the "guide"... I say "guide" because it doesn't really guide anything. There's so much flex in it that it will move several mm back and fourth during a cut. Yes, I could hold it down, as you suggest, but that's not exactly easy when I'm trying to cut a large Styrofoam plate down into smaller strips. Getting a straight cut is almost impossible.

So... Yeah... I'm kinda disappointed with this one. For the price I paid I was expecting better.

I learned a lot from this! Thank you very much!!!

Just bought this bad boy and I hate that I have to wait until Tuesday to get it in.

This is great. I'm about to get one myself and this was all good to know.

So far I've cut out 8 foam dicks to leave around my wife's office. This thing is great

Ugh, I was so excited to get mine, but I just set it up and the wire is not getting hot. Before I send it back, could I have missed something? Yes, I did connect the red wire.

Great info, thanks

I opted for the Hercules version of this. Got the foot pedal. Absolutely love it. It’s made crafting a lot easier! Lol my not real issue is the height of the arm that holds the wire. Is there an option to buy to make it taller?

Cheers for this information. Helped me make my purchase of one.

Proxxon should sponsor this video, very informative!

Thank you. Just got 1 for myself and trying it out, keeping your tips in mind.

"All you have to do is put your hand on it" HAHA brilliant! this made me chuckle! Ive literally just set up my proton now and I'm suuuuupppeer excited to start making terrain - your channel has inspired me so much so I just want to say thank you! :):)

duuuuude, shave a popsicle stick, loosen the sidewayscrew of the proxons metal arm and shove it on the gap up the top to fix the 90 degree frontways bracket.

Thanks. Just bought a cutter and this was great info. I can't find what gauge of wire to buy when I get a replacement spool. What gauge do you use?