Dear TFW2005 members,

I few weeks ago, I bought a Weller Electric 25-Watt Soldering Iron that develops 750°F temperature.

To my disappointment, the iron did not make the razor blade hot enough for me to cut through Transformers plastic more efficiently.  

Are there other soldering irons that make a razor blade hot enough to cut through Transformers plastic?  

If so, what brand/type are they and where can I find them?  

 

I've honestly never tried using my soldering iron to heat up a razor blade to cut through plastic (always used a dremel or a hobby knife and carefully cut, little my little, or made scores/grooves and continued until it was cut).

I have a cheap Wall Lenk soldering iron from Wal-Mart that I use to remove pins (especially those in wheels on Transformers). It's 25 Watts, hits 850 degrees, and gets VERY hot. I would assume you could just hold it to the blade longer to get it hot enough. I'm just not sure it would ever get hot enough to easily cut through thick/hard plastic though. Once you heat the blade and remove it from the soldering iron, it starts to cool, so that may be why you're having a tough time cutting through.

What exactly are you cutting? Just curious, because there may be alternatives you can go with. My suggestion would be to pick up a nice hobby saw/jewelers saw or a dremel for cutting plastic.

Here's a couple links that might be helpful if you go that route:

X-Acto Adjustable Jewelers Saw - hobbylinc.com

Hobby Knife & Miter Saw Craft Set - Target.com

Good luck and I hope you figure out what you need to cut through your stuff, man.

 

I believe I have figured out a way to make the 3 fingers and 2 thumbs of both hands of my ROTF Voyager Starscream movable!  

But for this task to be accomplished, I need a good soldering iron to precisely cut off the fingers and thumbs!

 

you could always try radio shack. I saw a decently priced soldering iron set there about a few months ago.

 

I added articulation to leader starscream's fingers, I cut them with an exacto knife and a new blade - no heating required but you do need to put a bit of force into it.

Wear safety glasses incase the blade snaps.

Hakka.