Best way to cut slots in Super Hotshot body?

[Peter_B]

Guys,

What's the best method for cutting the slots in the front of the Super Hotshot body?

[Juggular]

The little air scoop?  

I'd use a body reamer to make two holes on both sides.  Then carefully cut straight lines between two holes with a very sharp knife. 

For my Bigwig, though, I just painted it black.  I did not want to make a hole so close to another hole.  But Super Hotshot has no such problem.  

[Peter_B]

The slots that fit over the tabs on the top of the front gearbox, that help locate the body.

And having looked at the body instructions again, also slots in the rear wing.

I guess slots in lexan in general! 😀

[Juggular]

It looks like a good idea.  I'd cut it out for coolness-factor. I mean, to cool the gearbox... unless it makes the shell flap about at high speed?  I doubt it.  

 

[Baddon]

Following. Real pain on my Winger and my attempt is poor to say the least.. Still have a boomerang and BigWig to do.

[Peter_B]

1 hour ago, Juggular said:

It looks like a good idea.  I'd cut it out for coolness-factor. I mean, to cool the gearbox... unless it makes the shell flap about at high speed?  I doubt it.  

 

No not the air scoop. The slots for the black tabs protruding through the body just in front of the air scoop.

Basically, what's the best way to cut slots in lexan?

[WillyChang]

1 hour ago, Peter_B said:

Basically, what's the best way to cut slots in lexan?

The BEST way by far, is for the factory to have punched them out for you.  pretty sure the original SuperShot body sets had them prepunched?

Safest way to DIY... probably using sharp reamer to drill 2 end holes per slot then score the lines & remove the slit, as mentioned above. File & cleanup.

Quickest way... attach a hot knife onto soldering iron  but big risk you'll melt more than you want. 

[Juggular]

lol... don't listen to Willy, he's joking about the soldering iron.  

Slits that small, I'd just use a sharp knife like Xacto, or OLFA art knife. 

Xacto seems quite dull compared to OLFA.  It's the Japanese company that invented those snap-off blades. The Japanese sure know how to make a sharp blade.  

[Hobbimaster]

I use a Dremel diamond taper bit #7134. This makes short work of air vents, and any other small detailed areas.

[WillyChang]

1 hour ago, Juggular said:

lol... don't listen to Willy, he's joking about the soldering iron.  

Slits that small, I'd just use a sharp knife like Xacto, or OLFA art knife. 

Xacto seems quite dull compared to OLFA.  It's the Japanese company that invented those snap-off blades. The Japanese sure know how to make a sharp blade.  

Hah don't be too sure... I've got "hot knife" bits from both Portasol and Hakko  but yeah never tried using them yet.

 

Olfa makes the hobby knives for Tamiya, so they get T's vote.

But Olfa blades aren't all the same... they've got mild steel, stainless steel and the sharpest is black steel  

https://olfa.com/professional/product/18mm-black-ultra-sharp-snap-off-blades-50-pack-lbb-50b/

Different uses for different blades.

If you're scraping stickers off glass, use the mild steel. If you use anything harder you'll scratch the glass bad. 

Stainless is best for when I've gotta sterilise under a flame.

Black blades are as good as a Gillette razor  one could shave with it. Also good for fine work on ABS white plastics. They last a fair while too, worth the extra cost but not for general use.

 

Scotch 3M makes a gold (titanium? Tungsten? nitride Coating) blade too, yeah they feel sharper than basic but not as good as black. Cheaper though. Seems more flexible & not as brittle so they last a fair while too.

 

i don't bother with xacto style much. If I'm doing any fine work I'd rather use a proper scalpel... 

 

[WillyChang]

Yeah 3M calls it Titanium

https://www.3m.com.au/3M/en_AU/company-au/all-3m-products/~/Scotch-Titanium-Utility-Knife-Large-18mm

that does most of the lesson carving on RC workbench. 

Lasts longer than Olfa black blade which is brittle & breaks off bits if misused. 

[Peter_B]

1 hour ago, Hobbimaster said:

I use a Dremel diamond taper bit #7134. This makes short work of air vents, and any other small detailed areas.

What are the tips for using a Dremel on lexan?

The only time I've used mine on plastic it melted more than it cut.

[WillyChang]

28 minutes ago, Peter_B said:

What are the tips for using a Dremel on lexan?

The only time I've used mine on plastic it melted more than it cut.

yeah, best tip would be "don't"... I can never Dremel a straight line

haven't got that tapered diamond bit though

[Theibault]

I always use the score and snap method for my bodies. I snapped the long sides first, cut the middle and snapped the short sides. Was pretty simple and effective. You can alternately use a drill to drill out the short sides and scissors for the long sides.

[Hobbimaster]

7 hours ago, Peter_B said:

What are the tips for using a Dremel on lexan?

The only time I've used mine on plastic it melted more than it cut.

I only use 2 Dremel tips, the sanding drum to smooth out rough wheel wells ect, and the Diamond tip for small openings. I must also make note that I do use the flexible shaft that will allow me to hold the handle like a pencil. This allows for much more precision and avoid melting the lexan.

[WillyChang]

2 hours ago, Hobbimaster said:

I only use 2 Dremel tips, the sanding drum to smooth out rough wheel wells ect, and the Diamond tip for small openings. I must also make note that I do use the flexible shaft that will allow me to hold the handle like a pencil. This allows for much more precision and avoid melting the lexan.

yeah I've got flexshaft for the trusty 200 multitool years ago... but it gets a bit unwieldy doing fine work. Need a way to secure the Dremel from falling off the bench (I don't have the drill press nor drip hanger thingy to mount it in) and it's not convenient being so far away to switch on/off/speed change.

Started to look at a cordless unit, then the lithium models came out... held off... didn't want the AA-powered lightduty ones either... then they released the Stylus.  It's fantastic for plastic modelling!! Proper small, lightweight, pencil grip with on/off control at fingertip, no torque twist or vibration thru flexshaft. 

Less torque & lower max rpm than the mains multitool but I put the diamond disc on it and it'll still cut thru 3mm inox screws & allthread = perfect.

i see there's a new one on their site now, Cordless Micro... hmm... haven't seen it locally yet, didn't notice it when I took a peek at the Dremel rack week before. 

[Hobbimaster]

1 hour ago, WillyChang said:

yeah I've got flexshaft for the trusty 200 multitool years ago... but it gets a bit unwieldy doing fine work. Need a way to secure the Dremel from falling off the bench (I don't have the drill press nor drip hanger thingy to mount it in) and it's not convenient being so far away to switch on/off/speed change.

Started to look at a cordless unit, then the lithium models came out... held off... didn't want the AA-powered lightduty ones either... then they released the Stylus.  It's fantastic for plastic modelling!! Proper small, lightweight, pencil grip with on/off control at fingertip, no torque twist or vibration thru flexshaft. 

Less torque & lower max rpm than the mains multitool but I put the diamond disc on it and it'll still cut thru 3mm inox screws & allthread = perfect.

i see there's a new one on their site now, Cordless Micro... hmm... haven't seen it locally yet, didn't notice it when I took a peek at the Dremel rack week before. 

I totally forgot mine is the cordless, variable speed lithium one. When I'm doing cutouts with the diamond bit, I probably use it at half to 3/4 speed since it will remove lexan quickly, it tends to chew through than melt the body. I actually learned about the diamond bit by watch a video of a guy who paints short course body's, and cuts out all the venting on those body's to prevent the parachuting effect.

[WillyChang]

haha yeah, cordless is cool  I tried the fullsize cordless but with my tiny paws I still need to use both to hold the tool... leaving none to hold the work with.

With the Stylus it's single handed, I can hold the work in the other.

SCT vents I just use my Hudy reamer. Mark a spot on the taper as a stop so both holes are same sized.

 

have you tried DIYing bits?

Used to cut lexan discs, mount them on the disc shaft. Think they were good for buffing paint & rust off steel without eating the metal.

Recently tried sticking short bits of PLA filament into Dremel. Turns out when you spin it fast enough, it generates enough heat to melt & weld PLA 3D prints