Cutting Nomex fabric for chute protection?

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car3107

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Haven't worked with Nomex before and was wondering, can the 6oz/yd fabric be cut with a red-hot knife?
 
Haven't worked with Nomex before and was wondering, can the 6oz/yd fabric be cut with a red-hot knife?

Maybe but not likely, the stuff is pretty heat resistant due to what its made of, Wayco's recommendation of a Olfa Rotary cutter is an excellent one and its what I use as well, sharp scissors will work good as well.
 
Well, I gave it a go, and as far as I'm concerned, it worked a treat, really.
nomex.jpg
Clearly not as professional-looking a result as you'd get by cutting with scissors then stitching the edges and shock cord hole to stop them fraying, but good enough for me. If you're planning on re-using your homemade nomex protectors and don't want them to fray, but can't be bothered with needlework, this is an option, at least.

As expected, with nomex the hot knife does NOT just effortlessly glide through the material as it does with nylon/polyester. The knife is actually burning & cutting, rather than simply melting the fabric. But the resulting edges do seem to be "sealed" enough that they look like they're going to resist fraying (for a while at least).

The knife needs to be RED hot. I was managing to cut no more than a couple of inches at a time before needing to put the knife back on the flame.

My tips would be:

Use a sharp, broad-bladed knife
Use a plank of wood (that you don't mind trashing with burn/cut marks) as a cutting board.
Get the knife red hot for each cut and press hard, cuz nomex is tough stuff.
 
:facepalm: What's the logic behind using a hot knife? :facepalm:

Just use scissors. Worried about the frayed edges, use some CA on it and then trim the fuzzies off with... wait for it.. scissors.
 
So is the 6oz/yard fabric what all the vendors use for their blankets?
 
:facepalm: What's the logic behind using a hot knife? .

Quite a few "man made" cloths are cut with a hot knife to leave a nice clean & sealed cut edge. Many sail makers have bene doing ti to reduce turbulence & build height.

In this case, the OP assumed it would work on Nomex, like it does on Nylon, Dacron, poly..

He tried it, and realised it ain't that easy!

I would personally not use CA for the edges, but use silicone or white glue. CA can get very hard, stiff, and sharp. you want something with a bit of give, something pliable..
 
Please dispose of that knife properly. It is now ruined for cutting purposes (other than the one just completed), but could still cause harm.
 
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