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After ruining 3 foam shields with bad heat shaping, I finally tried a $15 heat gun from Harbor Freight and it bent perfectly on my first try.
My old hairdryer just wasn't getting hot enough for the EVA foam, but that cheap gun made the curve smooth and even in under 2 minutes, has anyone else had luck with budget tools for foam work?
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samw471mo ago
Wait, you used a hairdryer for foam shaping? I totally get it though, I was stubborn with my old craftsman heat gun for years because I thought spending more meant better results. Then I grabbed a cheap one from a pawn shop for like ten bucks and it worked way better than my expensive one EVER did on 6mm foam. That's what forced me to admit I was wrong about budget tools all along. The heat spread is just different, more even and less spotty.
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brookekelly1mo ago
You're giving the cheap tool way too much credit. Just because a ten dollar pawn shop find worked for one specific material doesn't mean budget tools are better across the board. That Craftsman probably still outlasts anything you'll get from a pawn shop. My expensive heat gun has a much narrower nozzle that lets me focus heat exactly where I need it on thicker foam. With a cheap one you get that wide spread and it melts detail work before you even get close. Plus the build quality matters when you're using it for hours on a project.
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