Out of all the wood suppliers I’ve used, I found the basswood sheets from Midwest Products to be my favorite. The cuts seem to be cleaner and I don’t have to do as much work to get rid of the fuzzies from the wood. If you plan on buying from the Midwest Products site, I recommend signing up for their email list and waiting until they have a sale or somesuch. You save more money that way.
Another reason I like Midwest Products is because they make one of my favorite tools. I have the Easy Cutter Ultimate (quite a mouthful, isn’t it?) which has been a huge help in the miniature art framing project and just cutting miters in general.
Its a simple tool, but one that preferable to a miter box for thin sheets (at least for me). It springs open and you just move the locking mechanism nail thingy to open and close it.
It comes pre-measured with these little nubs and has a built in fence that is adjustable and fits into the nubs when you want to change the angle. I really like not having to measure something a bazillion times. This makes cutting different angled miters super easy.
The tool does not come without complaints though.
The blade was not sharp enough for my standards and I wanted to remove it for some sharpening. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with the tool to remove the blade, though the tool is included with a replacement blade to be purchased separately, which is super annoying.
Also, it works best with thin and flat softwoods, like 1/16″ at most. Anything thicker does pretty horribly. Since I purchased it to cut thin softwoods, I’m not really complaining.
There are also simpler versions called the Easy Cutter (first version I think?) and the Super Easy Cutter. These versions do not have a built in fence. The Ultimate version was just a few bucks more than these, so why not?
So if you’re a miniaturist and you find yourself cutting a whole bunch of miters, then these cutters are highly recommended.
Also, sorry for so many pictures of the cutter. It was actually pretty fun to photograph!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I have had the simple Easy Cutter for about 6-8 months. Love it and use it a lot! So much so that the blade got dull and I ordered a replacement. The problem is that it was VERY difficult to get the old blade out of the tool. Impossible, so far, to get the new blade in!
Being without one of these after being spoiled by one is NOT FUN.
MicroMark offered to fix it but that would mean sending it back and WAITING. I hate to wait.
Maybe this new one would be better??
The new version is about $8 more than the simple version, which is a cost of the replacement blade and the tool thingy. I guess its depends on what you think is worth it! I do hope you can get the blade removed though, it’ll save you some money
I finally was able to get the new blade installed and put the tool back together. I had one little piece that refused to go back in. Now the tool cuts, but not well. I’m going to buy a new one and send the old one back to MicroMark.
Thats too bad about not being able to get it in. Hope you have better luck with the new one!