: Aaron, thank you for suggesting the soldering iron. Mine had a
: straight wedge tip, and I figured I could make-shift something
: more appropriate. I had some 1/4 inch mild steel rod that would
: fit the holder. I heated and beat a flat area, and filed a
: v-groove on both sides, etc. It works!

: My iron is only 40 watt, and I can see that higher wattage would
: cut faster. I have to move along about an inch per second, with
: appropriate tension. Have to resist the temptation to force my
: "blade" groove to do the cutting, because the heat cut
: is clearly neater.

: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwfloyd/4150955771/

Btw, once in awile use a wet sponge to clean the tip (when the iron is hot), the char on the tip is an insulator and makes the cutting slower.

Bill H>