[CRO-josip14]

well few weaks ago I found this topic ( http://slingshotforum.com/topic/1948-cutting-bands-on-the-cheap/ ) on slingshot forum...and this is apsolutly great idea...it works excelent...
what do you think??anybody else try it??for me work great....
P.S. sorry about my bad English im from Croatia...

 

[harpersgrace]

I believe that the rotary cutter would give a smoother cut but if you have a good sharp blade and a steady hand it should work.

 

[stelug]

it works. thats my experience from one year ago
cutting bands the easy way

 

[NaturalFork]

I think I only paid like $6 for my rotary cutter.

 

[Holzwurm]

I think I only paid like $6 for my rotary cutter.

I also bought a no-name one for 7€ in a sewing and textile fabrics store the other day , .......exactly the same design like a brand one for 29€ , even the available spare blades were interchangeable , as the lady there told me .

greetz , Holzwurm

 

[BaneofSmallGame]

I've tried cutting bands with this method before, sometimes it works great, sometimes you can get a bit of a jagged cut. But its a good option to have....

Then again I bought my rotary cutter for $4 dollars on sale, unbeatable

Cheers - John

 

[Rayshot]

Hi guys, I went to the link about using tape and that obviously is a fine method and posted on that thread about a tip(s) for getting the most out of a rotary cutter as the blades aren't cheap. Here is what I have done and the life I am getting out of my rotary cutter blade.

With a rotary cutter the blade can be stropped and keep an ultra sharp edge. The blade I have is 1 1/8 in. (28mm). I am still on the first rotary blade I purchased. I have gone through a roll of Thera gold and thera blue. The way I cut my bands, that is approximately 130 band sets. I also cut against a plastic ruler and across the grain on my wood cutting board.

I also lay wax paper on the cutting board then on top of that the Thera gold. The wax paper on my cutting board makes the cut be clean through, no little spots uncut. I purchased a self healing cutting mat but haven't used that yet. Looking forward to it.

If anybody owns a rotary cutter you might want to learn how to strop a blade. By the way I have stropped the blade twice in the process of the 130 sets and at this point it is still perfect cutting ready.

 

[NaturalFork]

When cutting rubber the blades last a while.

 

[Hrawk]

If your blades are wearing too quickly, perhaps you need to look at a different cutting surface.

 

[Rayshot]

If your blades are wearing too quickly, perhaps you need to look at a different cutting surface.

 

[shot in the foot]

I still cut my bands that way, i use the snap off blades, i get a pack of 6 now for £1, each knife has 15 blades, so that 90 blades, i cut one band and snap the blade off for the next, i never get a jagged edge, if you have a glass chopping board, jeff

 

[CRO-josip14]

well I don"t know for you but i am buy packet of 10 very sharp blades for only about 2$....and i cuting with this only flatbands and nothing else so this is long time sharp..for me works great.....
sorry about my bad English im from Croatia...

 

[Rayshot]

if you have a glass chopping board, jeff

[/quote]

These little nuances with a method can make the difference for people. I have seen and tried the glass as a cutting board surface when I hung wallpaper and had to trim off the selvage on hand screen paper. I only tried it and found it works.

 

[PJB21]

If your blades are wearing too quickly, perhaps you need to look at a different cutting surface.

when cutting bands, food, cardboard etc with a knife the cutting surface is the thing that bluntens it the most not the material your cutting. a good cutting mat/chopping board etc will help keep the blades sharp. think about it if you rubbed a knife against elastic and did the same against stone which would blunten the knife first?

 

[Henry the Hermit]

I buy chinese-made rotary cutters for $1.69 and use them for cutting both bands and pouches. I bought 3, and had used the 1st one for two months before I left Panama. I use a 1 foot square of cheap plywood for a cutting surface.

 

[ZDP-189]

The sticky tape method works as long as the adhesive bonds well enough to prevent stretching. It works best on wide thin bands with a clean surface. On Thera-band, you must stick on the non-talked side. It did not work for me with Linatex.

You need a sharp knife. A hard surface like granite, steel, glass or ceramic will blunt a round bellied blade. It will also blunt the very tip of a straight edged scalpel because that is the only contact point.

A rotary cutter will always be superior to this technique, but should be done on a soft plastic cutting mat. Rotary cutters are cheap and asy to buy and you can combine the tape and rotary cutter.

The bestway remains a steel rule die cutter.