8 ply mat

[spooner]

I have a question. I have a few customers that like to use 8ply mat. How do you cut 8 ply? Right now i cut it by hand and change the blade for every cut. Is there a better way. It seems to take everything i have to cut it. What i have been doing works just seems like there could be a better way. Also do any of you charge more for cutting this mat board? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[Dave]

I have a vendor with a CMC cut 8 ply. They have a very minimal charge and it comes out perfect every time.

At least the ones they deliver to me come out perfect! Not sure if they have to recut them ever or not, but I don't have to worry about it.

 

[auntiesarahjayne]

when I cut 8 ply by hand, I had to practice!

I used a fresh blade for the one mat (4 cuts).
I then (using a fresh blade) had to cut out the corners while the mat was still upside down (very gently). I then flipped the mat right side up, and shaved the corners with a fresh to look nice and clean.

There are many who cut 8 ply by using many cuts, going deeper each time around. That didn't work for me. But it might work for you.

I have a Valiani now, which cuts my 8 ply mats gorgeously! Though I did have to pull out my matcutter a month ago to do a 48 x 72 8 ply. that was a fun job!

Good luck,
Sarah

 

[Joe B]

I have a question. I have a few customers that like to use 8ply mat. How do you cut 8 ply? Right now i cut it by hand and change the blade for every cut. Is there a better way.

My thought would be to first ask what type of machine, if any, you are using to cut the 8 ply. I cut it on a CMC and have absolutely no problem. When I use to cut it on a Fletcher 2100 I would take 3 or 4 runs to make 1 complete cut. I never had to change the blade every time I cut. I hope someone can be more helpful than me. Joe B

 

[Grey Owl]

I currently cut 8-ply on my C&H and after some practice. I now do them quite frequently, as follows:

1. Start with a new blade, as I do for each new job.

2. I use the 1200SE (single edge blades) but I know some others use the double edge blades, but the single edge work best for me. Also I use the 1200 width blade, not the wider 1500 that some people recommend for 8 ply. I find the wider blade has to push more of the mat away as it cuts, so it does not work for me. To look at the impact of the width of the blade, pretend a thicker blade was 1/4 inch wide. As you push the 1/4 inch wide blade through the 8 ply, the blade has to push the 8 ply 1/8 of an inch in both directions, laterally, so you are probably going to have problems.

3. The blade depth is going to have to be deeper, so I extend the blade to a preset point that I have determined in earlier tests. I use the same blade depth for all cuts / swipes of the 8-ply mat.

4. I make 3 or 4 swipes on each cut, for each side. For example, assume I am cutting the bottom mat. I would have my first cut, just go in slightly in the mat. Make sure your pressure where you hold down the bar is constant. Then go back and make my second cut, just a little deeper. Then the third cut even deeper, then the 4th cut all the way in. As long as I keep the pressure constant for all four cuts I have had no problems.

5. When done, I check the corners. On occasion, I might have to hand cut a corner. My preference is to always undercut slightly, vs. overcut, but I try to do neither. If I overcut, then I have problems when I leaf or paint bevels. An undercut I can finish with a blade.

Note, the only time I do a single swipe on 8-ply is if I am doing strips for something, or cutting for pin-wheels. Then I just start the cut before the edge of the mat, or have a starter mat with a bevel that I do the cut in.

I hope this helps. Again, different people do it differently, but this works for me.

 

[Prospero]

I do thick boards more-or-less the same as Russ. On a C&H.


On a side note, I have always been a bit confused as to the terminology for board thickness. When I first started the 'normal' board thickness was always called '6-sheet'. Going back to the days when board was built up by gluing layers of thin stuff together.
Modern boards are made in one lump, but the name carried on. '4-sheet' was the stuff sold in art shops in 'Imperial' sheets. Approx 1mm thick. The stuff from framing wholesalers was 'Double Imperial' (rounded up to about 44x32") and called 6-sheet - approx 1.5mm. 8-sheet was 2mm. Then there was 10 sheet and 12 sheet.

So how thick would 8-ply be? I would think it was 2mm.

 

[spooner]

8 ply is an 1/8" thick

 

[wpfay]

3mm+/- Peter. Regular thickness pulp paper mats were called 14 ply when I got in the business. Don't know why, but they were. (about 1.5mm thick)
As to the original question: More information about your hardware and choice of blade would be helpful. When cutting manually (over 40" X 60") I prefer the 1200SE blade in my vintage Barton cutter like Russ uses and use the same approach. Before the SE blades were available I used a Keeton mat cutter and the proprietary Hendrixson blades.

 

[Grey Owl]

8 ply is an 1/8" thick

I'm not sure if all 8 ply is the same thickness. For example, if you look at 4-ply, I have found the rag 4-ply to be slightly thicker than regular 4-ply.

Also, as I recall looking at the new PPFA standards, they show minimum thickness standards to be slightly thicker for level 1 (rag) vs. other level 4-ply mats, so I would assume that 8-ply would also be different. {however, I have only used rag 8-ply, as far as I remember)

 

[Dermot Cox-Kearns]

The thickness will vary depending on what the thickness of the single 1 ply is...

Different manufacturer will have different starting thickness. ..

 

[Keith L Hewitt]

I am surprised that no one has quoted from the PPFA Comparative Standards for Matboard document launched at WCAF show back in January 2014..

It states 8 ply is 120 points / 3mm/ with a tolerance of + or - 5%

Most European framers are told the thickness in mm. which is so straight forward
I am surprised that many in the USA persist with using ply as a measurement, as its so vague.


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There is a printing error on page 4 - it says 8 ply is .3 inch - clearly wrong. Think they meant to say .12 inch.

 

[Less]

I have no problem with 1 pass on my old C&H. I use SE blades