Cutting Mats

I used my 50% off coupon at Michaels and bought the OLFA branded green rotary mat to the size of my workspace. It's plenty sufficient for its purpose and only cost $14 after coupon
 
I found mine at a local market - the kind with stalls in the street; a non-mainstream brand but still the same with a grid printed on.
They had A4, A3 & A2 sizes, I got an A4 for £2 and an A2 for £5 which is a fraction of the price I'd seen them for elsewhere. 8)
 
The Tamiya mat is a scrathbuilders dream. It's graphics are for the basher/scratcher plastic guy. If your not that guy, it's a little overkill, but it's the best. It's just perfect for modelers, especially small scale. Hobbico, X-acto, Fiskars, are OK if your building big, general, or RC/wood. The rest, are OK if you need 1/4" increments and just somethiing to save your desk/table from scratches.
 
i got mine at the art store its double sided so i have 2 mats for the price of one and ts 2ft long by a ft and a half wide so plenty of coverage
 
hooterville75 said:
When it comes to buying a self healing cutting mat.
Click to expand...

I sayv mine monies!!1!


lol


...but seriously never had one, never will. I have a workbench whose surface I honestly couldn't really care about at all. I have a little cutting block for specific tasks:


wm3.jpg



If I was working on the family dining room table, or a surface I really needed to protect for some reason, I might see it's benefits but for me personally, it's just another thing to clutter up my work surface and that is one thing I have plenty of already.

but that's just me :p
 
The other big plus is they prolong your blades life. One swipe across your desk can kill a knife tip, the mat prevents that.
 
If I may act as referee, Ken and Gundamhead, you're both right, in that you want a soft surface to cut on, a hard surface will dull or otherwise damage your blade. It's the same principle with cutting tools in the kitchen, or in a woodworking shop. Dull cutting edges mean it takes more work to cut, and if it's a hand tool, you apply more pressure or effort, and you are more likely to slip and injure yourself.

For the record, I have a green cutting mat with gridlines, too, I forget the make, and whether I got it at HobbyTown or at a local art supply store. It's about 12" on the long side.
 
lol no worries. ;) I have absolutely no interest or need to be 'right'.

...all I said was that I don't have one, nor will I ever have one because in the 34 plus years I've been modeling I've never needed one.

Everyone else can buy, use and enjoy their mats with great delight, I'm all set.

;D
 
I have two, one small one, one very large one. Sometimes I use them sometimes I don't. But I got them both at Micheal's.
 
I do the Micheals 50% off thing.

For items such as PE though, self healing can have it's drawbacks. A firmer surface helps to prevent the delicate PE from bending, ever so slightly, while you cut.
 
A couple things about the mats. Crazy glue and liquid resin is horrible on them. Bonds to them forever. Drills kill them. Hot thinners spilled on them will erase the graphics and in some cases warp the mat. I found the Fiskars, Olfa and X-acto to be the best self healers.
 
Ken Abrams said:
lol no worries. ;) I have absolutely no interest or need to be 'right'.

...all I said was that I don't have one, nor will I ever have one because in the 34 plus years I've been modeling I've never needed one.

Everyone else can buy, use and enjoy their mats with great delight, I'm all set.

;D
Click to expand...

WTH is your beef with me anyway Ken? That's all very passive aggressive of you. No, it's OK, you can be right and most experienced.

I only stated my opinion that pertained to a guy looking to buy a mat. It had nothing to do with you, other than a cutting block has a effect on blade tips. And you were just what, being helpful to the original question?
 
As far as "only stating my opinion", that's exactly what I did as well. I didn't find fault in anyone elses opinion, or train of thought, or what they used however...

I have a beef with you?

Really?

News to me.
 
I cut on the frame of my bench, too, which is made of 2x4's. I use straight pins for applying glue sometimes, too, and it's handy to stick them in the bench frame, to keep them in reach.
 
Good then I wont get one because I could care less what happens to the surface of my desk in my work area, and for needing something hard to cut on I have four 12"X12" pieces of glass (came out of a picture frame), that Im going to somehow tape or connect from the back side to put down to do masking on etc. So if I need a hard object to cut on Ill use the glass. Saves some money to buy something else I need more :D ha ha thanks for all the advice and opinions ya all.
 
Now that Scott mentions, sometimes the PE I cut on the mat does warp a little if its soft. I'd cut PE on an acrylic block with a clear piece to holdit down to prevent fly away. The whole breaking tips issue, well, you can snag a 100 pk of XActo #11 blades for $20 on EBay....
 

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