I'm not much of a metalworker, I joined this group to look for
information on metal etching and wound up never leaving. But I have a
need for an item that might be considered simple to those of you with
a decent size workshop, but I figure someone might also be able to
come up with a better idea.
I need a straight edge to use to cut out business cards, shapes, etc,
out of paper and card. Rotary trimmers, guillotine style cutters, and
the like are far too imprecise, it's almost impossible to get them to
cut along a specific line. It's very difficult to find a ruler that is
good for this. A cheap plastic or wooden ruler is useless, the blade
will cut these as easily as the paper. I have a Helix and Wescott
rulers designed specifically 'for use with a craft knife for paper
trimming'. They have a groove for your fingers so you don't
accidentally cut yourself, a beveled edge of about 20-30 degrees to
create a very nice line to cut along, and a little rubber grip liner
on the bottom. However, they are both made out of aluminum. If you
don't hold the blade perfectly parallel to the cutting edge, you will
nick it, slice off the metal, or otherwise damage the ruler. Both of
them are already useless as they have enough nicks and grooves that
the knife will always go off course. I have about five different
stainless steel rulers. Two of them have a thick no-slip cork liner
that lifts the ruler too far off the page - the knife can tilt and cut
underneath it. The two that don't have a no-slip liner seem to be made
out of softer steel and the x-acto knife will notch them, though not
nearly as easily as the aluminum ones. Also, without the beveled
edges, it's harder to line it up along cut guides, especially for full
bleed business cards (print to the edge).
I guess what I'm basically looking for is a straightedge made out of a
very tough metal that won't be easily nicked or scratched with an
x-acto blade. Beveled along one edge to make it easier to line up on
the image. A small groove along the underside, closer to the
non-beveled edge, to put a bead of caulk in or a little rubber strip
in order to keep it from slipping, while not lifting the beveled edge
off of the paper. A larger groove, or some kind of 'finger stop' along
the edge where the bevel starts, to prevent you from putting your
fingers past the edge of the ruler. One 12" long and 2" wide, and one
6" long and 1" wide. If anyone has any idea about how hard it would be
to make something like this, or improvements to the design (or if they
know of a commercial product that's already made - every single one
I've looked up is made out of aluminum!), let me know. I don't need
ruler marks on it (would be a bonus though).
- posted 16 years ago