Vevor vs Proxxon: Is this your new hotwire cutter?

Crafters, Foamers, Craftsmen of all kinds!

So I've worked with the Proxxon for years now. And it's my beloved hotwire cutter tool! But when I was in Austria, I discovered the Vevor hotwire tool. So there's a new cutter in town!
Let me take you through this new cutter!

Get it here:

---

And check out the Shifting Lands store:

Let's get crafting!

[donniecatalano]

I managed to get a couple of decent jobs, so I invested in the Proxxon. Wow, coming from cutting by hand, it feels like paradise. I also think that some people complain about thinhs for nothing.

[CampaignTerrain]

Nice rundown, Gerard. Thanks for this

[Karlmakesstuff]

When I saw the cutting height I thought this might be useful, but the other stuff is a bit much. It has an interesting tensioning system though. Thanks for this review!

[DIORAMABOX]

Thanks for so much explanation! I've been using the Vebor for several years, and it has a few things you have to deal with with it.
- When you cut very fast or at a very high temperature, cutting waves appear in the XPS.
- If you use it with a temperature of 10, the wire deforms due to the temperature and a non-straight cut appears throughout the piece, it may vary by 2 mm.
- It also becomes more flexible so the distance from the height of the thread changes and also the inclination changes, causing cuts that are not at right angles.

But in the end, if you manage to control all this, you can make very good cuts, I can cut sheets of even 2mm without imperfections... but always with the window open or with a mask hahaha.
And the guide is very bad, it does not tighten well and breaks the edges of the wood, I made myself a taller wooden one and held it with pliers.

[dkaustin]

Why can't Proxxon create a stiff arm that can be swapped with the standard arm to get the heights you desire? I would think Proxxon would take your advice as you are one of the major influences in their market? I bought my Proxxon because of your videos as I am sure many other have too.

[thecraftydm]

Really enjoyed the review. I think I will stay with my Proxxon despite the limitations. However, if budget was a concern or the Proxxon wasn't available I think the Vevor would be a good alternative.

[MyklCarlton]

Try replacing the wire with the standard thickness Proxxon wire. It's possible that having the controller separate from the table makes it harder to get the wire temperature to where it will cut without burning - you can also get your Thermocut to smoke if you push the heat too high.
I built a hot wire cutting table with a 25cm height, 32cm depth using hardware store supplies, an old PC power supply and Nichrome wire available at most electronics stores. Thicker wire means greater resistance/length for a little more physical strength, but I regularly use mine for cutting thick pieces of XPS at reasonable cutting speed and haven't had more breaks than I get on my Thermocut. I built the larger table because I wanted to cut larger styrofoam pieces down for use in my Thermocut and the hand-held cutters were too imprecise (in my possibly shaky hands!).
I don't advise trying to make your own cutting table without learning some basic electronics and safety first! Should you decide to go ahead, there are excellent tutorials and instructions out there.

[patrickbrun]

Ich arbeite mit dem Proxxon. Ein gewisser Gerhard hat mich dazu motiviert. Ich werde bei diesem Gerät bleiben. Ich habe auch die Proxon Bohrmaschinen. Ersatzteile und Zubehör sind beim Händler immer verfügbar und ich habe mich auch an dieses Werkzeug gewöhnt. Trotzdem: Alternativen sind immer schön.
P. S. : Was die Musik der Saiten angeht... wenn man den heissen Draht genug lange anfasst, kann man auch wunderbar in hohen Tönen Singen!

[Stephen-rkto]

I have the Vevor. Its true its not the best quality but it does work just fine. I might fiddle with mine a little more to get everything right but that doesnt bother me at less than half the price. Maybe one day I'll break and get a proxxon.

[NicolasPhilippini]

J'ai acheté la Vevo thermocut la petite, elle est valable pour faire des grosses découpes, mais pas pour faire du modèle réduit. Le fil est difficile à régler avec la roulette, il n'y a pas de pédale comme sur la Proxxon. Penser à bien régler les pieds, et faites attention qu'ils ne se dérèglent pas Incliner l'arc pour certaines découpes est compliqué .

[LeonardAndHisBiscuit]

The custom fence for the Proxxon doesn't work as well as it should for the tall cuts, since it can't have an even weight applied against it due to the much higher height range. I feel it would need its own custom fence to make full use of that feature.

That said, just spitballing an idea here, the fence it does come with could have its own custom inserts due to its more unique shape, see those almost dovetail spaces in it? Getting a dovetail to fit in like that for an 8" tall cutting side, then another platform fitting on the opposite side with braces to fit against the cutting side can work, and it can be taken apart and collapsed much easier as well, but is it really worth the hassle just for that ten inch cut?

[robertmartin]

love the review but I have made my own and I have used the wire for the proxxon and it doesn't make fumes like that. ( For only $40.00 Canadian at the time )

[Bespelled]

I have a Chinese cutting table very similar to the Vevor. Probably a knockoff. It works fairly well but it is a bit fiddly. Also it produces a lot of smoke and the wire is substantial. In the US we can’t get the foam like He uses. The closed cell sheet foam either pink or blue is only up to an inch thick from most suppliers so the Vevor does fine for most applications. For a beginner it’s not a bad machine. On a budget I call it a win. The Proxon is the gold standard but for cranking out terrain for the gaming table some of these other cutters work fine. If you are doing high detail crafts get the Proxon. PS I never use the miter adjustment either. Better to make a jig.

[aaronbono]

I like the height and large surface but it looks like dealing with a broken wire is a royal pain in the rump. I get that regularly and would be incredibly annoyed at having to do so much work dealing with a broken wire. It is too bad they don't have a T-track on the X and Y axies. I do like its simplicity. Maybe soon someone will combine the pluses of the two cutters to make one even better.

[ben_r_]

Good in between and better bang for buck would be the Hercules 8500 with the included foot pedal.

[fraserhardmetal]

Just bought the Proxxon and the additional TA 300 fence - which surprisingly leaves a gap at the bottom of the fence/table - it is, however, completely stable in use and produces great results on deeper and angled / compound cuts.

For smaller cuts the standard fence leaves a lot to be desired - having dismantled the unit Proxxon should be ashamed of the fit tolerance between the plastic protractor and the metal centre bushing - not their normal German excellence.

To mitigate this I cut down strips of 3M clear repair tape and wound it round the metal bushing to achieve a snug press fit into the protractor - then using the same tape ( which has a slight rubbery feel ) I stuck two strips to the underside of the fence extrusion which stops the fence sliding about on the table.

Result - not perfect, but 100% better.

[gluuuuue]

I assume the wire needs to be thicker in order to have lower resistance for the longer length.

[Sqalman]

With the circle cutter, I think you tightened the mounting skrews the wrong way. If you turn them the other way they pull the nut in the rail up to grip instead of pushung down. :)

[PsiQss]

6:18 The higher the wire
The more heat it does require,
It needs a tad bit more power
But you can build a bigger spire!

Cut whatever you desire,
I ain't a liar,
Get it hotter than fire!
...
Uhh, sorry, I felt inspired 😎

[Walsfeo]

The one you are reviewing doesn't look exactly like the one you linked in the description. That linked one looks like it could be deeper.