nathan dylan
Grumbler in Training
what is the best way to cut these? i've heard you can do it with an exacto but how do you get that nice bevel and smooth curves when cutting through the whole mat?
hand cut mat accents
- Thread starter nathan dylan
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Kit
SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
I think you get the nice bevel and smooth curves by practicing. It helps if you really like hand cuts and have a determination to learn to do them.
I don't.
Another framer here in Roch makes the most beautiful ones I've ever seen. She wraps a bandaid around her index finger and cuts them with a mat blade.
Kit
I don't.
Another framer here in Roch makes the most beautiful ones I've ever seen. She wraps a bandaid around her index finger and cuts them with a mat blade.
Kit
I've watched Brian Wolf cut these (pre-Wizard) and thought, "I could learn to do that if I practiced a lot. I could also learn to play the guitar with my feet like a guy I saw (maybe on the Letterman Show) who was stranded in a cabin in Alaska and had nothing else to do."
I figured he could have spent the same amount of time learning to play guitar really well with his hands, but I guess he wouldn't have made it to the Letterman Show.
An employee of mine used to do some interesting mats by cutting a design through the surface paper on black core mats and exposing the core.
I figured he could have spent the same amount of time learning to play guitar really well with his hands, but I guess he wouldn't have made it to the Letterman Show.
An employee of mine used to do some interesting mats by cutting a design through the surface paper on black core mats and exposing the core.
Big tips if you are going to cut carved matts.
First:
Get a cube cutter, little square block holds a #3 dexter blade get extra blades. Dahle makes the cutter. I have also used the Altos # 30 cutter.
I think Lewinter and United Manufacturing carries them in their catalog.
Second:
Get a pair of magnifying glasses like jewelers use.
Third:
Then get a box of 50 xacto blades with a very comfortable handles
Then give yourself lots of time to slow down and practice! It really is just patience and alot of perfectionism with a ton of talent thrown in for good measure but if you do not have these attributes go to tip Four.
Fourth:
Tip don't even waste your time.
First:
Get a cube cutter, little square block holds a #3 dexter blade get extra blades. Dahle makes the cutter. I have also used the Altos # 30 cutter.
I think Lewinter and United Manufacturing carries them in their catalog.
Second:
Get a pair of magnifying glasses like jewelers use.
Third:
Then get a box of 50 xacto blades with a very comfortable handles
Then give yourself lots of time to slow down and practice! It really is just patience and alot of perfectionism with a ton of talent thrown in for good measure but if you do not have these attributes go to tip Four.
Fourth:
Tip don't even waste your time.
Baer Charlton
SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
As Kit said, it helps when you start young.
I rarely do them anymore. IMHO they are trendy and will mark the frame job in time.
Focus on classic design and it will follow you for decades.
But if you must, grab a utility knife like you are gripping a hose, lock your wrist and hand, and learn to cut with your arm and body.
Start with large patterns and get smaller with practice.
I rarely do them anymore. IMHO they are trendy and will mark the frame job in time.
Focus on classic design and it will follow you for decades.
But if you must, grab a utility knife like you are gripping a hose, lock your wrist and hand, and learn to cut with your arm and body.
Start with large patterns and get smaller with practice.
Barb Pelton
SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
I like them and enjoy doing them.
Practice 20 minutes a day for a couple of weeks.
Start out doing cotton rag--cuts like butter and imperfections don't show up as much.
Apologies for the crummy green photos.
Practice 20 minutes a day for a couple of weeks.
Start out doing cotton rag--cuts like butter and imperfections don't show up as much.
Apologies for the crummy green photos.
I attened several classes with Brian. And got to meet him once when he gave a private clsss for our chapter.
First you must realize there are a lot of methods and people who employ them .Then you MUST admitt BRIAN is da man.
But if you insist on doing accents with an Exacto knife ( like Brian,or close anyway).I'll try to tell you some of the tips he gave me.
First: locking your wrist ( as Baer described it) in an almost hook fashion will help. But more importantly is to rest the tip of the blade on your second to last finger tip. (Just as with all mat blades they FLEX) and you must do something to steady them.You do this by resting it on your finger tip and only exposeing enough to cut with.
Secondly if you want smooth cuts like BRIAN'S he explained you will need to do a couple of other things.
a.) Do not ever lift the blade out of the cut before reaching an intersection.( it is all but impossible to reinsert it back in the exact place you widrew it from) and that will leave burrs.
b.) Don not try to cut through a mat in ONE pass.
Instead retrace your cut three times.But the BIGGEST trick of them all is to change the angle of each sucessive pass just sligtly , so as to actually make faceted cuts too small to be seen.
The reason is that each increasingly greater angle cuts off the edge of the previous bevel and the final one removes all the fethered edges.
Now if all you want is a wiggling V-groove just be sure to hold the blade at the same angle on BOTH sides of the 1/16 or less of an inch cut and at the same depth which is controled by the placemet of the blade on your finger tip.
Now that sounds easy doesn't it? Or you can just use a cube ,or maybe a Dexter Mini cutter ( like I do) or some other hand held cutter. Realizeing MOST customers will be satisfied with much less quality than BRIAN'S.That is unless you are ( as I have been) foolish enough to display a sample of Brian's work in your shop.( which my wife Marie had him Autograph,at a demonstartion back in San Fransicoin 1986 I think,wasn't it John? )That is where we first meet Brian and John Ranes and also why the mat Brian autographed has a Pictuer of one of San Fransico's "Painted Ladies" in it and another that was cut useing Fletcher cutters ,done by John has our picture from the New Orleans show.
BUDDY
PS Barb your very nice photo's came up while I was slowly typeing ,My feeble attemps might be seen by searching back in the frame Design segment .http://hometown.aol.com/cdrago3453/index.html
First you must realize there are a lot of methods and people who employ them .Then you MUST admitt BRIAN is da man.
But if you insist on doing accents with an Exacto knife ( like Brian,or close anyway).I'll try to tell you some of the tips he gave me.
First: locking your wrist ( as Baer described it) in an almost hook fashion will help. But more importantly is to rest the tip of the blade on your second to last finger tip. (Just as with all mat blades they FLEX) and you must do something to steady them.You do this by resting it on your finger tip and only exposeing enough to cut with.
Secondly if you want smooth cuts like BRIAN'S he explained you will need to do a couple of other things.
a.) Do not ever lift the blade out of the cut before reaching an intersection.( it is all but impossible to reinsert it back in the exact place you widrew it from) and that will leave burrs.
b.) Don not try to cut through a mat in ONE pass.
Instead retrace your cut three times.But the BIGGEST trick of them all is to change the angle of each sucessive pass just sligtly , so as to actually make faceted cuts too small to be seen.
The reason is that each increasingly greater angle cuts off the edge of the previous bevel and the final one removes all the fethered edges.
Now if all you want is a wiggling V-groove just be sure to hold the blade at the same angle on BOTH sides of the 1/16 or less of an inch cut and at the same depth which is controled by the placemet of the blade on your finger tip.
Now that sounds easy doesn't it? Or you can just use a cube ,or maybe a Dexter Mini cutter ( like I do) or some other hand held cutter. Realizeing MOST customers will be satisfied with much less quality than BRIAN'S.That is unless you are ( as I have been) foolish enough to display a sample of Brian's work in your shop.( which my wife Marie had him Autograph,at a demonstartion back in San Fransicoin 1986 I think,wasn't it John? )That is where we first meet Brian and John Ranes and also why the mat Brian autographed has a Pictuer of one of San Fransico's "Painted Ladies" in it and another that was cut useing Fletcher cutters ,done by John has our picture from the New Orleans show.
BUDDY
PS Barb your very nice photo's came up while I was slowly typeing ,My feeble attemps might be seen by searching back in the frame Design segment .http://hometown.aol.com/cdrago3453/index.html