DIY Hot Knife Weller 940 solder

Believe it or not but the Weller pistol solder gun can easily be used as a hot knife. I purchased this gun new for $40.00 a year ago and am now finding other uses for it in my sewing room.

So for $10 I ordered a R type tip for fabric cutting and yes I was completely aware that it may not fit.

It arrived and I verified that this does not fit. The gauged metal was too thick and set too far apart to align with the pistol collar and hex nut. So back to the drawing board.

Next I discovered that the weller tips are made of copper. I ultimately bought a thick 4ft 12 gauge copper wire from Home Depot for $1.25.

CAUTION: There are multiple diameter 12 gauge copper wires. DO NOT mistakingly buy the thin smaller diameter wire. Buy wire that is comparable in thickness to the Romex 12/2 or slightly thicker. A 3mm thick cable is the largest size that this soldering gun can take.

I was able to easily use my wire strippers to cut and strip a 7” piece.

Using my bench vice I was able to easily bend the copper to mimic the cutting tip that I purchased.

Next I used my bench vice and mallet to easily and quickly hammer down the tip to a fine edge!

Don’t forget to obtain a piece of 1/4 inch thick tempered glass for cutting on!

I ordered my cutting glass from a local glass company.