£72.49 ex. VAT
3.78 / 5.0
9 reviewsThis is a mobile, roll-up workplace for glass artists and hobbyists that allows you to cut precise strips between 5mm and 300mm (when 3mm glass is being used) and circles from 50mm up to 600mm diameter.
This set includes the following:
A good cutter but not as great as the one in the warm glass studio. But at about 1/3 of the price a good piece of starter kit. I am saving up for the better one though! Handy that it can be rolled up and put away.
It is a solid cutter for users that do not require a total precision. However, it is not recommended for highly precise works. The glue below guide rail leaked on the rubber mat so that glass cannot be pushed all over to the rail. This can be fixed but what cannot is that it fails to achieve cut that is totally parallel to the guide rail. The problem is in the design of the product which allows micro movements (both in guide rail and in handle) which together result in cuts that are not equal to 90 degrees. This means that no strip will have the same width on the top and on the bottom (the difference might be 1-2 mm on a 30 cm long strip). For less demanding users it is a solid and practical tool as it can be rolled up and stored when not in use.
A brilliant idea, but flawed execution.
First, as other reviewers note, the circle cutter is problematic because the centre piece moves around too easily. Luckily there is a simple and low-cost workaround: simply fix the centre piece to your glass with a few strips of masking tape (I expect other tapes would work too, but I use masking tape as it leaves no residue). Simples.
The strip cutter is great - almost. I found it invaluable at first, and I have used it a lot for a year or two. I particularly appreciate its accurate steel ruler. But now I see its weakness: the plastic slider (the one that slides up and down the aluminium rail) has worn, and is now quite floppy. This means that cuts are no longer reliably parallel to the rail - they can be a few degrees out, or presumably they can be slightly wavy. This is especially noticeable with very narrow strips. Its annoying because this is unnecessary - if the slider were engineered better (OK, that means more cost, I know) it would not have worn. Shame.
The base is a sort of rubber. it is a nice, cutter-friendly, non-slip surface. But even after a year it STILL wants to roll itself up instead of laying completely flat so I have to use some home made weights (fused scrap glass actually!) to hold it neatly flat.
Let me know when the design solves these issues - and I'll buy another one!
I use this all the time to cut straight lines with but when I try to use to cut circles I am disappointed that the centre disc you use doesn't have a very good grip on the glass so resulting in not being able to cut perfect circles.
For the price that you pay for this I would expect a suction cup to help keep it in place while you are scoring the glass for a circle. So I have given up trying and will purchase a circle cutter in the future.
Good for cutting strips and squares but sadly useless as a circle cutter.
I have been using this for almost a year and it has been really good for quick cutting strips and squares. I had hoped as the pictures described and the high price of the product it would be a multipurpose tool that would cut circles too.
As there is no suction cup or way to fasten the cutter, the measuring guide can only be placed loosely into a central disc which constantly moves around. Having to hold the centre in position while moving the cutter around to get an accurate cut is an impossible task!
After several frustrating attempts to cut circles using the tool I will be buying another professional cutter which is fit for purpose.
I could only recommend this as a portable cutting mat for strips or squares not for circles.
