I had an old metal Dewalt drill case collecting dust, so I converted it into a new home for my German Sig P228 and my Sig P226 MK25. I added a lock hasp so I can lock the case while traveling. Now it is easier to take them to the range together.
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Below is the hot wire setup I made to cut the foam for my pistol case. The arrangement is very simple. I used my drill press for the frame to hold a piece of nichrome wire. The drill press is never turned on, it is only used as a frame to hold the wire taught. On the top the wire is connected to an eye screw in a small section of wooden dowel to insulate the wire from the drill. The dowel is held in the drill chuck. On the bottom the wire is connected to an eye bolt threaded into a board below the drill press table. Both eyes are also connected to wires that go to the train transformer terminals. You have to experiment with the best power setting on the transformer. Just apply enough power so that the foam cuts easily. Too much power and you will trip the circuit breaker in the transformer. Too little power and you will not get a clean cut. On my transformer 60 percent power was perfect. For inside cuts disconnect the dowel from the chuck, thread the wire through a slit in the foam then tighten the chuck on the dowel.
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It is pretty easy to cut out the foam with the hot wire setup. First, I traced each pistol profile on poster board using a pen cartridge. After I cut out the pistol profiles I checked to see if the pistol fit in the holes in the poster board and adjusted the cutout as needed. When I was happy with the fit, I traced the pistol profiles on the closed cell foam with a fine tip white magic marker. Finally, I cut a hole in the middle of each of the tracings, threaded the nichrome wire through the foam, turned on the transformer and followed the white line. A littile rubbing alcohol removed the residual white marker.
Below is the hot wire setup I made to cut the foam for my pistol case. The arrangement is very simple. I used my drill press for the frame to hold a piece of nichrome wire. The drill press is never turned on, it is only used as a frame to hold the wire taught. On the top the wire is connected to an eye screw in a small section of wooden dowel to insulate the wire from the drill. The dowel is held in the drill chuck. On the bottom the wire is connected to an eye bolt threaded into a board below the drill press table. Both eyes are also connected to wires that go to the train transformer terminals. You have to experiment with the best power setting on the transformer. Just apply enough power so that the foam cuts easily. Too much power and you will trip the circuit breaker in the transformer. Too little power and you will not get a clean cut. On my transformer 60 percent power was perfect. For inside cuts disconnect the dowel from the chuck, thread the wire through a slit in the foam then tighten the chuck on the dowel.
It is pretty easy to cut out the foam with the hot wire setup. First, I traced each pistol profile on poster board using a pen cartridge. After I cut out the pistol profiles I checked to see if the pistol fit in the holes in the poster board and adjusted the cutout as needed. When I was happy with the fit, I traced the pistol profiles on the closed cell foam with a fine tip white magic marker. Finally, I cut a hole in the middle of each of the tracings, threaded the nichrome wire through the foam, turned on the transformer and followed the white line. A littile rubbing alcohol removed the residual white marker.
