What is the second best way to precision cut cardboard

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21

Nope, this is why I have to make my own space.

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22

Thereā€™s a non-motorized version version of the Big Shot that is a lot cheaper. My wife has one and has used it for several projects.

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23

Happy CakeDay! :relaxed:

(Didnā€™t realize thatā€¦I should probably ditch the motorized oneā€¦donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever used itā€¦mainly I just use the Cuttlebug.)

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24

Thanks! Iā€™m virtually stuffing my face with my virtual slice of cake!

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25

Do you have a shop press? you can make your own die and press it.

if you donā€™t have a press, you can make one with auto jacks from harbor freight or the pick-n-pull, like this guy did for pressing apples:

My parents have a friend who built one like this, and they press apples with it every year.
(edit: the one my parentsā€™ friend built uses a bottle-jack)

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26

Iā€™m so glad I ask, I had no idea that mid duty die cutters existed. Totally knew about light crafter units and the industrial ones. Good to know that there is something in between.

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27

Thicker cardboard and you could use a jigsaw or saber saw . Or if you needed multiple similar shapes, clamp the cardboard together and use a saber saw. ( that tiny swivel blade is too small for any heavy cardboard). Or even the single handle hack saw -
they only cost a couple dollars.

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28

I like the die/press option. Another option might be a KNK Force. I would have bought one if I hadnā€™t just bought a Curio when I found out about it. I believe it can cut most cardboards.

PS - Anyone want to buy a Curioā€¦

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29

I would use a scroll saw then for interior cuts. You could stack the cardboard 3 high. Drill a start hole. Insert the blade and go to town.

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30

If this is for packaging, I think knife or die cutter are your options (or laser if you have one handy). Edge quality with any kind of saw is unlikely to be great unless you spend a lot of time/care.

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31

Iā€™m pretty sure an industrial plotter-cutter like the Black Cat Cougar would do it, but youā€™d go through a LOT of blades if youā€™re doing them in bulk. Iā€™d definitely recommend a die if the item is small enough.

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32

My God! Who on earth would buy the Teal version of that for $333 when the functionally exact same White/Grey model is $80!??

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33

Buy a Logan Mat cutter. You can cut even heavy mat board. I believe it comes with a bevel cutter but you can buy a straight cut if itā€™s not included. It has a gauge so you can measure once and then do production cuts. I guarantee this is your best option and then you can always do some nice beveled mats for picture frames.

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34

If you have a table saw you can do arcs and circles on it.

Over kill jig:

An idiotic version:

Diresta doing it with a circular saw:

Find a middle ground to suit your needs. Plenty more on the web and YouTube. Up side is you can stack cut and depending on setup, easy to change. I have cut cardboard on table saws, and have had good results. But then again I do t know application so I donā€™t know how good of an edge finish you need.

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35

Love Stumpynubs he does some good stuff with really bad humor.

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36

I really want to try to make his thickness sander. End grain cutting boards go a lot faster with one .

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37

Gerbilsā€¦ theyā€™ll tear though that cardboard in a matter of minutes and they certainly make complex shapesā€”that being said, theyā€™re not very good about staying in the linesā€”they really kind of run with their own vision for a particular project.

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38

Oh, one other possibility depending on budget and a bunch of other issues: see if thereā€™s a cardboard die-cutting house you can farm the job out to. Some of them apparently have cutting machines with repositionable dies so that you can do not-too-complex designs without the full expense of a die, but without the incredible hassle of handwork. (Some friends did that while working on a project that was way too high-volume for laser but not yet popular enough to pay for a series of dies.)

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39

Talk about thinking out of the box! (pun intended) A brilliant solutionā€¦now implant electrodes in their brains and control the gnawingā€¦ :grinning: - Rich

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40

I guess to scale up you would use goats?

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