Craft knives / rotary cutter

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

After 60 years of cutting wood, mostly thin ply etc, the inevitable has happened, arthritis in the hands. I've always tried to cut properly using lots of light strokes but now even that is very painfull.

My trusty old Stanley knife is not too bad to grip, but I'm hoping someone on the forum has found something better. Is there a decent rotary knife that will cope with 1.5 mms ply?

I would guess that there are many of you with a similar problem so any advice or ideas to help me keep going is much appreciated.I

Charles.

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Charles. I have always found 1.5mm ply very tough to cut “manually” and mostly use my small bandsaw.

This makes light work of the job, really does.

Ashley

[Stephen GarradParticipant @stephengarrad28964]

Thankfully I do not yet have Charles's difficulty but recently found a Dremmel MS20 Scroll Saw whilst browsing somewhere or other, like you do. They are about £90 on Amazon & I was thinking about asking here if anyone has one or has used one. I wouldn't have room for a full size or even small band saw like Ashley but the Dremmel would seem to answer Charles problem. Does anyone have any experience of them please?

Stephen

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

had a rotary cutter for 25 years that someone recommended for cutting thinm veneer and very thin ply………….used it once, and there it lied on a shelf, blunt after trying to cut0'8mm ply for planking…………dont waste your money charles.

i suffer badly from arthritise all over my body joints, especially my hands but by using very sharp scalpals i can with a steel rule and up to 3mm birch ply, can get through it………but as Ashley says, my band saw is my lifeline.

[Trevor Drabble 1Participant @trevordrabble1]

Charles , have you had a look at the extensive range of Olfa knives ? Their web page shows a number of larger varients , one of which hopefully you may find better suits your needs.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Charles, just my take. Between these two I have not yet come across anything I can't do. The Proxxon is superb for cutting thin small pieces of ply but mainly small section wood. The cut is beautifully square and leaves a polished finish that looks like the wood has been polished up. This is because there is no set on the saw blade so great care has to be taken to ensure it doesn't snag. The results are superb though.

The bandsaw was added a couple of years ago and I was amazed at how good it is. While the teeth look a little fierce they cut superbly and cleanly and produce again a beautifully finished cut. I have used it to cut resin model railway buildings in half at an angle and I didn't even get any splintering of the edge. As well as that the quality is exceptional and the support from Axminster is second to none. They produce videos telling you step by step exactly how to set it up and will spend as much time with you on the phone as you need.

I put my two together so I can link them both into a Draper vacuum cleaner. This has a power sensitive supply to it so it will automatically switch on whenever I start either saw. All I have to do is switch the hose to which ever saw I am using and the sawdust is automatically collected and stored in the vac.

 

Edited By Richard Simpson on 29/05/2023 09:16:34

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

Thanks everyone for some really useful help. As sometimes happens, after I read the answers I realised I should have explained better. I already have a scroll saw although it's a pretty ancient Dremel one it still works beautifully, as does my ancient bandsaw. I still use a knife for a lot of fine or detail work, probably because that's what I'm used to doing and it's so much easier for me with fine or curved cuts or interior cuts.

Niel, thanks for the help with a rotary cutter, I've enough unused tools that just decorate the shelves, so I'll give them a miss.

Trevor, the Olfa knives look really interesting, so I'm going to try one out, thanks.

Richard, the proxon looks like a great little machine, I could use that to save on a lot of knife work and save my hands for the fiddly bits.

Thanks again to all.

Charles

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Stephen

I bought a Dremel MS20 about 10 years ago.

I used it for making various wooden toys for grand kids. I was following the the Richard Blizzard books.

I have used quite it a lot but I would describe it as a Fretsaw. The blades are quite thin and can snap if forced. But I managed to make wooden animals for a Noah's Ark out of 1/2" oak.

Easy to use thin ply for model boats.

Comes in a nice plastic case for storage.

Tim

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Charles. Richard has it right with the Proxx and bandsaw combination. Although adept at most things, the bandsaw will not accurately cut thin strips (i mean thin, say 4mm or below) if you want to do, lets say, planking. When teh blade is brand new and sharp, its fine, but the flexible nature of the saw band means cuts will never be 1000% straight. Absolutely for virtually all tasks it will be fine, but you would not beat the small Proxx table saw for very fine work. So saying, its only small work it will take, hence its best to have two.

I have two bandsaws, a big`un and a little`un. I keep a 16tpi thin hobby blade on the small and a 1/2" (6 or 8 tpi blade, cant remember offhand) on the big one. The wider blade assist straightness esp in thick material, like cutting strips from floorboards to make boat boxes with, or ripping 4mm ply to make landers and so on.

Thinner blades I believe are available for small bandsaws enabling them to make almost scroll-saw like cuts, and similarly wider blades to help cutting long thin strips. Easy to change a blade.

Ashley

[Stephen GarradParticipant @stephengarrad28964]

Posted by Tim Cooper on 29/05/2023 10:25:26:

Stephen

I bought a Dremel MS20 about 10 years ago.

I used it for making various wooden toys for grand kids. I was following the the Richard Blizzard books.

I have used quite it a lot but I would describe it as a Fretsaw. The blades are quite thin and can snap if forced. But I managed to make wooden animals for a Noah's Ark out of 1/2" oak.

Easy to use thin ply for model boats.

Comes in a nice plastic case for storage.

Tim

Thanks for that Tim, I'll perhaps have a word with the chancellor!!

Stephen

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

Richard, that workshop is very tidy. I wish mine was as good, mostly turnings mine though.

I use and old Burgess band saw which makes things easier. I too have the holding problem with creaking bones.

Brian

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

I ordered an Olfa knife and it arrived yesterday, so I spent some time cutting some 1.5 mm ply last night. I needed some strips 4mms wide. Total success, the knife fits my hand so I need much less grip to hold it properly. The blade went through the ply beautifully, 2 light strokes and 2 with a bit more, job done. The shape of the thing means it puts the pressure on the back of my hand and doesn't twist when I cut.

Anyone who has grip problems or painful hands could look at these to see if they would suit them.

Thanks Trevor for some really helpful advice.

Charles

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

Charles

Which Olfa cutter did you buy?

Edited By Chris E on 02/06/2023 15:59:52

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

Hi Chris, I chose this one, the dl7. I think I got lucky getting one that suited my hand.

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

I forgot to say, I've seen some similar ones, very cheaply made that don't compare with the Olfa.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

You can see the quality of that knife is way ahead of the cheapo ones you see knocking around. I've tried one or two in the past and never been impressed, but that looks like a much more substantial piece of kit. My own heavier duty knife is a Stanley retractable knife that was the first ever modelling tool that I bought for myself as a young teenager. I have used it basically daily now since then so in the region of 50 years.

I simply wouldn't have the heart to change it for anything else now!

[Trevor Drabble 1Participant @trevordrabble1]

Charles , So glad you got sorted .

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

I also suspect that the blade is much better than you get in cheapo knives.

[Andy Stone 1Participant @andystone1]

Ive found an old electric toothbrush fitted with a Dremel type of cutting wheel works a treat in tight corners, just shave off the brush head so its flat then drill a hole big enough to take a small tapping screw, place the cutting tool and Screw down tight enough but not too tight, put your goggles on and bobs your uncle, you've something handy, rechargeable and simple enough to work with

[Author]

Posts