Cut and Assemble PVC Bow

• 1). Cut four 10-inch sections of PVC pipe with your hacksaw. Next, cut two 2-inch lengths of PVC to act as couplers.
  
  
• 2). Fit one of your 2-inch couplers onto the open end of a right-angle elbow piece. Fit your other 2-inch coupler onto the open end of your other elbow piece. Slide both elbow pieces onto the ends of one of your 10-inch pieces of PVC pipe so that the 2-inch couplers are pointed in the same direction, forming the shape of a bracket.
  
  
• 3). Slide the end of another 10-inch section of PVC pipe onto the bottom part of the T on one of your T-joint fittings. Slide the other end of this 10-inch section into the bottom of the T on your other T-joint fitting and twist both fittings around so that they are parallel to one another.
  
  
• 4). Place the open ends of your 2-inch couplers inside of the open ends of the T-joints on either end of the 10 inch pipe. Your foam cutter body should now look like two rungs on a ladder.
  
  
• 5). Slide your remaining 10-inch pieces of pipe into the end of both T-joints, creating the cutter's prongs. Your foam cutter will now resemble a football goal post.
  
  

Attaching the Wire

• 1). Select a drill bit large enough for the shank of your eye bolt. Drill a hole about 1/2 inch down from the top of one of your prongs, going from the outside of the pipe all the way through to the other side. Thread your eye bolt through the hole so that the eyelet end is facing inside the two prongs. Slide the washer onto the exposed bolt shank and then loosely screw on the wire.
  
  
• 2). Repeat this process to attach the eye bolt to your other prong. Make sure the two eye bolts are perfectly level and parallel to one another.
  
  
• 3). Open the package containing your steel E string and carefully unwind it. Thread one end through one of your eye bolts and then secure the wire in place by wrapping the loose end around the body of the wire and then tying several knots. You may want to crimp the wire down with a pair of pliers to prevent it from working its way loose.
  
  
• 4). Thread the other end of the wire through the other eyelet, forming the wire cutting blade. Secure the wire tightly to the second eye bolt by wrapping and knotting it, as you did the first time. Don't worry about the wire being too tight at this point. Just get it reasonably taut and then tighten down the wing nuts to create tension. Cut off any excess wire with your wire cutters.
  
  

Building in the Wiring

• 1). Disassemble the body of your PVC wire cutter and lay out each of the pieces so that you can easily reassemble it. Cut two 5-foot sections of 16-gauge electrical wire.
  
  
• 2). Drill two holes, large enough for your wires to fit easily through, in the center of your foam cutter's spine (i.e., the horizontal piece of the "goal post" shape).
  
  
• 3). Thread your first wire through the hole on the left and feed it into the pipe until it comes out of the end on the left side. Thread it through the elbow piece, then the T-joint, then the prong, so that the wire ends up at the eye bolt. Strip about 2 inches of insulation off the wire and wrap it carefully around the eye bolt's shank on the inside of the pipe. You may need to unscrew the bolt to wrap it around securely.
  
  
• 4). Repeat this process for the other wire, threading it through the hole on the left side, the stringing on the components like beads on a necklace and finally wrapping the exposed wire around the shank of the eye bolt.
  
  
• 5). One by one, coat the ends of each piece of pipe and the insides of each pipe fitting with PVC cement and then slide them into position, fully enclosing the wire in the body of the foam cutter. When the body has been fully cemented and reassembled, allow the cement to dry for 24 hours.
  
  

Using Your Foam Cutter

• 1). Strip about 1/2-inch of insulation from the ends of the two wires now protruding from the spine of your foam cutter. Connect the positive lead from your variable transformer to one wire and the negative lead to the other wire. Wrap both exposed sections in electrical tape to prevent electrical shock during usage.
  
  
• 2). Tighten the wing nuts on your eye bolts until the E string is taut and does not bend easily, but not so tight that it will snap or bend the PVC prongs.
  
  
• 3). Hold your foam cutter by the two spine pieces and plug in your transformer. Do not touch the wire or the exposed eye bolts or wing nuts when they are connected to live current. Set your transformer to its lowest setting. The wire should begin to heat up within several seconds. Test the temperature on a piece of scrap foam. If it cuts easily through it, the wire is hot enough. If it does not cut easily, turn the transformer up to the next setting, wait several seconds, and try again. Repeat this process until your wire easily cuts the Styrofoam. Remember what setting you use on your transformer for future usage. Do not turn the voltage on your transformer higher than it needs to be. You could cause the transformer to short or the wire to overheat and break.