# -How Cutting Off The Feeding Hole On The 32 oz Cups?



## CockroachYet

-Hello all, how do you cutting off the feeding hole ((principally for avoid causing cracks on the edges of these hole while cutting)) on the 32 oz cups where lives your mantis?

-I talking about the hole which is then covered with a little piece of foam where the feeders are then introduced inside there.

-Thank you in advance, best regards. Roberto.


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## ABbuggin

I havent done it yet, but Rick told me he uses a razor blade.


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## robo mantis

i tried it with a few (works realy good)


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## Ian

I have always found a very quick and easy way to get a small skewer, or something of the kind (preferably with a wodden handle), heat it up under a lightly, and just roll it round the centre of the lid.

Quick, and easy.


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## Rick

> I have always found a very quick and easy way to get a small skewer, or something of the kind (preferably with a wodden handle), heat it up under a lightly, and just roll it round the centre of the lid.Quick, and easy.


\\They are talking about a hole into the side I believe. I score it with a razor knife first then cut it out.


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## CockroachYet

-Hello, thank you to all for your help. I asked that because I don´t want cracking any of these holes using wrong methods. Best regards. Roberto.


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## Jwonni

i stabbed a sharp blade from scissors in then cut a circle none cracked but i guess i was lucky


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## hibiscusmile

I find the heating works best for me also. I keep a steak knife just for that. It always has melted plastic on it, so best to heat outside with torch. For holes just use a ten penny nail and pair of pliers to hold the nail.


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## Chuck

Try an eBay search for &lt;hot wire cutter&gt; for plastic cutters or &lt;nichrome wire&gt; if you want to make your own.

They're easy to make and incredibly useful for modifying plastic containers.

Chuck

Spider Pharm


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## yen_saw

Hi Chuck!! glad to see you make it here and sharing some of your feeders related info.

I have been using razor for cutting plastic container, this one will be useful! Thanks!


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## jfmantis

Has anybody ever used a power drill? I used a razor blade the first time I made one of those holes. It made a really awful cut, hardly a circle. The next time though, I used a power drill. I had to use the thickest drill bit, but the cut was very clean, and surprisingly not rough.


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## Asa

I use a power drill for the thicker ones.


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## Rick

> Has anybody ever used a power drill? I used a razor blade the first time I made one of those holes. It made a really awful cut, hardly a circle. The next time though, I used a power drill. I had to use the thickest drill bit, but the cut was very clean, and surprisingly not rough.


I make a square hole with a razor. You have to score it before you cut to prevent cracking. A drill does nothing but crack the thin plastic.


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## Asa

But for the thicker kind of plastic it works quite well.


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## AndyWatt

Hi,

Just out of interest I use a compass cutter or a reamer. Both work great and creates a perfect circle of varying sizes.

*Reamer*







Compass Cutter


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## Asa

Nice and smooth...


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## Wade

How big of a hole are we talking here? Big enough to pass a feeder insect through, correct?

Although I've kept a few mantids, I'm not up up date on the current methods, so forgive me if I'm misunderstanding the concept, but I've found that the best thing for making a hole (up to 1/2" diameter) is a soldering iron. The cheapest one you can get ($8 to $12) is actually the best for hole burning. The small pointed end burns a nice 1/4 inch hole, but if you push it all the way through to the thicker part, it'll burn a 1/2 hole which can be widened a bit by kind of rolling it around the edge.

The advantage of this method is that not only does it not crack the plastic, the melted plastic around the edge actually re-enforces the hole. Also, it works on anything from deli cups to thicker styrene plastic display boxes etc. AND you don't have to constantly re-heat it, which is nice if you've got a lot of holes to make.

Do it in a well ventilated area though, as the smell of burning plastic is not pleasant!

Wade


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## sufistic

> How big of a hole are we talking here? Big enough to pass a feeder insect through, correct?Although I've kept a few mantids, I'm not up up date on the current methods, so forgive me if I'm misunderstanding the concept, but I've found that the best thing for making a hole (up to 1/2" diameter) is a soldering iron. The cheapest one you can get ($8 to $12) is actually the best for hole burning. The small pointed end burns a nice 1/4 inch hole, but if you push it all the way through to the thicker part, it'll burn a 1/2 hole which can be widened a bit by kind of rolling it around the edge.
> 
> The advantage of this method is that not only does it not crack the plastic, the melted plastic around the edge actually re-enforces the hole. Also, it works on anything from deli cups to thicker styrene plastic display boxes etc. AND you don't have to constantly re-heat it, which is nice if you've got a lot of holes to make.
> 
> Do it in a well ventilated area though, as the smell of burning plastic is not pleasant!
> 
> Wade


Indeed Wade, I use a soldering iron myself.


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