Q&A Forums

Da Sha-Ver Post New Topic | Post Reply

Author	Comments
Mike Stephenson Posted: Aug 26, 2007 08:45 PM	Da Sha-Ver Has anyone used this machine? I've watched the video and it looks pretty good other than the massive clean up. I'm looking for a fast/easier way to trim open cell foam. Also, does anyone have any tips about vacuuming the mess up? Thanks in advance.
Dave Strnad Posted: Aug 26, 2007 10:35 PM	I would also like to know more about these. I noticed that they come with 2 heads. One for open cell and one for closed. Also do they make a head for cellulose?
Mike Stephenson Posted: Aug 27, 2007 07:34 AM	I did find a site that sells this item and they even list one with a vacuum attachment. I couldn't find any pictures or a video to verify this. It's not cheap and I'm not going to drop a large sum of money on a "gadget". Anyone used one? Anyone out there have marketing materials on the Da Sha-Ver?
Posted: Aug 27, 2007 08:41 AM	We have one and it works rather well. It is a little dangerous to operate due to the trigger mechanism, you cannot lean it up against anything or it will fall over and naturally hit the trigger and off it goes. My only other complaint is the cheapo drill motor on the unit. We will soon have to replace it with a top shelf drill. It does sling foam slices and peices EVERYWHERE so the operator has to wear a full face protection when using this machine. Kenneth
Mike Stephenson Posted: Aug 27, 2007 06:20 PM	Thanks for the info. How do you currently clean up all of the shredded foam that the Da Sha-Ver makes? Do you have any knowledge of the vacuum attachment they sell for the machine now? I spend 8hrs scrapping a floor and sweeping scraps into plastic bags. There has to be a better way!
Posted: Aug 28, 2007 08:23 AM	There are many vacuum machines out there for sucking up the shaved off material. We just sweep it up and bag it as usual. The vacuum machines are nice tho except if an unwanted chunk of debris hits the impeller it will break and costs a bunch of money to repair. (been there, done that) For now we will continue to sweep floors like a troop of janitors. Have you considered laying down floor protection to keep the scraping to a minimum? Maybe try laying down Insulweb or something similar? Kenneth
philip mullins Posted: Aug 28, 2007 11:53 AM	i stole an idea from a foamer i saw working in new orleans. i bought a dewalt sawz-all that takes the blade at any angle and attatches it right against the side of the saw. cost me $99 at home depot. we then buy hand saws and remove the handles and grind them down so that they attach to the sawz-all. works fairly well. dont cost a lot or tax the air compressor like some units do.
quentin Posted: Aug 30, 2007 12:52 PM	After looking at the monster video they did on it, I was wondering, wouldn't a hot wire system be better? You wouldn't have the shredded shavings all over the place for one and it would help create a smooth skin on the finished foam too. It would be easy to design one and make them as well as being cheaper to do with less weight.
Posted: Aug 30, 2007 08:28 PM	troutkiller,,i like your idea and have been wanting to get to the grinder and modify a blade or two for the sawsall approach.... i use pneumatics,,,dry air essential...we still oil machine Q3-4hrs...we have had better performance with continuous running of these sanders by running 1/2" hose for any run greater than 50'...our terminal hose is 3/8"...the 10hp compressor keeps up fine with it the stirrer and the foam processing equipment...
Mike Stephenson Posted: Sep 01, 2007 08:42 AM	Troutkiller, Do you have a model number on that sawz-all? I went to homedepot and could find anything like you described. The hot wire idea sounded pretty good, now if we had someone that knew how to construct it. Thanks for all the replies.
Tim O'Keefe Posted: Sep 01, 2007 10:11 AM	Yeah that hotwire idea would be great. Efficient, clean, and quick you can't beat that! Tim Granite State Spray Foam Co.
Grady Littlehale Posted: Sep 01, 2007 12:34 PM	How hot do you suppose you would have to get the wire? Was wondering if a hand held soldering gun would work.Would take quite awhile for it to heat up.
philip mullins Posted: Sep 01, 2007 04:08 PM	that model number is dw304pk. keep in mind guys, i am still a newbie. this setup seems to work ok for me but, i dont realy have anything to compare it to. other than what i have been told. now this hot wire idea sounds pretty interesting. and it would probably be easy enough to build a unit. my only concern would be fire. i mean, we have to install an ignition barrier with this stuff. how smart would it be to introduce super heated metal to our product? and how would it affect the chemical composition of the foam? would it shrink? maybe i will build one and send it to one of you guys to test. and if it doesnt burn down any houses we can patent it and split the money,lol. plus, i havent even bid an open cell job lately, so i have no oc on hand to test with rite now.
Mike Stephenson Posted: Sep 01, 2007 04:34 PM	Trout, Build it and i'll test it for you. I spray OC foam 99% of the time. Heck, i'll even help with the cost. If you build it, I will test it!
Tim O'Keefe Posted: Sep 01, 2007 06:23 PM	They use hot wire cutting to trim foam all the time in factory settings and production lines for boats etc. The wire is heated to red hot and only touches the foam in any one area for a split second. There is obviously some smoke. If you held it there for an extended period of time you could probably start a fire but it would likely go out once the wire was removed. Tim Granite State Spray Foam Co.
quentin Posted: Sep 01, 2007 10:17 PM	Tim, that is exactly why I was wondering we didn't use it in this part of the industry. I can easily build one that would run off a normal outlet or even off a battery setup as a possibility. I will design and build one if someone would like to run the tests also. I would like it to be tested near me where I could watch or try it and see what needs modified for better use. It wouldn't be hard to make it so you would have a roller setup that would go on the studs with the wire level with them. Just scrape the studs and run the cutter and done.
Mike Stephenson Posted: Sep 01, 2007 10:48 PM	http://hotwirefoamfactory.com/product.php?productid=16194&cat=103&page=1 Check out this website. They have a hotwire foam cutter that might do the trick. What do you guys think?
Mike Stephenson Posted: Sep 01, 2007 10:55 PM	http://www.aerofoam.com/HotWire.htm Here is another one. I think this could work. Ideas?
Posted: Sep 01, 2007 11:39 PM	re: hot wire,,,an associate tried a commercial hot wire on closed cell foam some time ago... this was the wire we use on sips panels and on board stock,,,it did not work well on the closed cell foam re: der shaver...look at the cellulose supply houses for a similar device,,i wonder what happens to the brushes in the drill if they get any of the plastic shavings in them. all phase fabrications: quickplane...works great on closed cell,,,my original is 8yrs old and has only been rebladed due to use....well built safe machine that requires a large amount of air.. i use pneumatic sander type for open cell with the long blades...demands dry air,,or it wont run well for long..ie:bogs down... we have noticed increased performance in our pneumatics by increasing our hose size from the trailer into the work area..we went to 1/2 with a 3/8 whip...beyond 150'you may want to consider 3/4 for a section or two...
philip mullins Posted: Sep 03, 2007 04:01 PM	STFI, that first one you posted looked like a good idea. that second one looked a little fragile. not sure if it would hold up very long. i have a very busy week ahead of me. but i should have a little play time this weekend so i will try to build it then (too hot to fish anyway). i think i will build the first one out of fiberglass. light wieght, durable, and well insulated. i also think i will use piano wire so that we can have a little sawing action if need be. maybe 22-24 inches wide? and i now know to expect smoke. how toxic would this smoke be? should we clear the building before we cut?
Posted: Sep 16, 2007 12:05 AM	any luck with the hot wire?
philip mullins Posted: Sep 21, 2007 11:53 PM	got the frame and adjuster built. was gonna use my old ho scale train set for an adjustable power sorce but i couldnt find it. then i got busy... then the fish started biting,lol. supposed to rain tomorow. if so i might get it done. the frame was easy. just glassed a paper towel roll to a toilet paper role to form a t. some aluminum stock and allthread... very rugged and cant wiegh 2 pounds. just gotta fab some sort of isolater so the resin dont melt.
Matt Ganz Posted: Oct 04, 2007 07:33 PM	Sounds like a cool project, but the smoke from the foam sounds nasty for the lungs to me.
Joshua santillan Posted: Oct 07, 2007 12:25 AM	we built a hot wire cutter using a e string off an electric guitar, some pvc pipe and a transformer. It is the most toxic smoke i have ever dealt with. I suppose if we had a hotter blade the smoke would be a lot less. If you are intrested PM me for pics of the cutter.
Posted: Oct 31, 2007 03:43 PM	We are the manufacturers of "Da Sha-Ver" and i just found out about this posting so i will try and answer some of the questions. The reason for the sha-ver was to do away with the air file/saw method of trimming the foam. We were spending more time cleaning up than we were foaming and having to go around the house twice because you can do only every other cavity was eating up time that we could have been on another job. Add to that an employee who would occasionally saw thru a wire and not say anything and we needed a new way. The sha-ver was made to cut the foam flush, clean off the studs, not cut any wires and reduce the waste to as small of a piece as possible. This way you only make one trip around the house to foam and the shavings are easily disposed of. We use an electric leaf blower to blow the "feathers" to a corner of the house and then we vacuum them up with a modified dust collector that discharges into a 75 cu.ft. cloth bag that we just throw in the dumpster. If your guy spraying is accurate, you need about 3 bags per set of foam. We go thru about one dust collector a year due to the high use of it (about 100 sets of open cell foam). The reason for the electric drill was to keep price as low as possible and do away with the need for an air compressor. It is the cheapest way to buy a high torque electric motor in a housing complete with switch and cord. The reason for the Hitachi is because of the rpm it turns. If you use a slower drill it slows down the cutter reducing production. If i could find a 4000 rpm drill this thing would be awesome. We sell them with a sock over the drill to keep out the shavings and this dramatically lengthens life of the drill. We have one now that is almost 3 years old and has shaved over 250 sets of foam without replacing the drill or the cutter head. I don't know if i covered everything but i will check this posting to see if anyone has any questions. Andy
Dave Strnad Posted: Oct 31, 2007 04:39 PM	Somewhere I saw that it came with heads for open and closed cell. Does it do both or is it mostly just for open cell? It seems it would not be heavy enough for closed cell.
Posted: Nov 01, 2007 11:45 AM	We have been working on a closed cell head and have one that is close but run into problems when it gets to alot of contact. The drill doesn't seem to have enough power to aggresively remove the product. We have been using a horse curry comb to remove the excess foam and this seems to work the best and fastest for us. If you spray a .5 lb, 1.0 lb or 1.2lb foam the sha-ver works good on those. We made the sha-ver light on purpose so that a guy could run it all day and not have his arms fall off. They were originally made of steel but we are using aluminum now to make them more user friendly. The cutter heads are still steel but it lightened up the whole unit alot. I don't think that we will get an agressive closed cell head until i can find a higher torque motor to power the unit at a reasonable price.
Posted: Jan 16, 2008 11:24 AM	Have you guys seen the Thermo-Planer. Go to www.thermofoamsystems.com. They also have a smaller vacuum system that isnt shown on the website.