Group,
I have to violently agree with the comments regarding the
use of rotary cutters. I rarely use my shears except for
trimming the occasional layout during the "leathery" stage.
I originally purchased the largest cutting mat especially
designed for rotary cutting but only used it once because it
was too small.
After abandoning the purpose-built cutting mat, I decided to
cover my entire cloth cutting table (48" X 60") with a piece
of 1/8" thick rigid HDPE obtained at the local TAP Plastics,
Inc. retail store. It cost about US40dollars and has worked
out extremely well and cost less than the cutting mat I
originally purchased.
Because the surface of my HDPE cutting board is harder than
the purpose-built cutting mat, I am able to easily cut
peel-ply on it. A previous poster mentioned that he was
unable to cut peel-ply on the purpose built mat. I have
also learned that if I take a few minutes and cut all the
bid and peel-ply that I will be using during that session, I
can then use the HDPE surface for doing resin lay ups.
I use the sandwich method for preparing lay ups and am
easily able to cut through the multiple layers of poly and
bid right on the cutting board. When I'm ready to clean up,
a splash of vinegar and a wipe with a scotch-brite pad
leaves the cutting surface clean and ready for the next
cutting and layup session. Also be sure to clean the resin
---From the rotary cutting blade by carefully wiping it with a
vinegar soaked paper towel. Be sure to also wipe the blade
dry so it doesn't corrode from the vinegar.
Hope this helps.
Bruce
|