Slip mat

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JivinMe

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Sorry for the dumb question, but I am just starting on mat cutting and buying equipment. On several videos I see a lot of reference to using a "slip mat". I know its to prevent the mat from moving while cutting, but what is it and where can I buy one? Thanks
 
Welcome to the Grumble, JivinMe.
A "slip mat" or slip sheet is just a strip or piece of matboard that is used under the mat you are cutting.
It can be 10" x 40" for most mats or 60" for larger ones and will work fine and you can shift it left or right if needed to get a fresh cut.
It's just to support the cutting area and so the mat cutter blade should go thru your matboard and just slightly into the slip sheet but not all the way thru the slip sheet.
It really has nothing to do with the mat moving while cutting, it just supports the cut and catches the blade to get a clean cut.
The slip sheet can be just a scrap of a regular matboard.

The Importance of Using a Slip Sheet When Cutting Mats

www.logangraphic.com www.logangraphic.com
 
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neil gets the gist of it when he says "to get a clean cut".

Being a bit more dramatic, the main purpose of a slip sheet is to prevent tear out. The image below shows tear out on wood. For a mat it is exactly the same, just a bit less dramatic. Having a piece beneath the mat helps prevent tear out. That's why, when cutting a double mat, you don't use the slip sheet for the second cut as the top mat acts as the skil sheet to prevent tear out.

Cut a mat using a piece of scrap without using a slip sheet and examine the cut. You will see why it is required. Tear out city if you look closely. As the others have said, any old piece of scrap mat board can be used as a slip sheet.

plywood-tear-out.jpg
 
Another point about slip sheets, is you don't want to cut along a previous cut.
The blade will often follow the path of the previous groove, and can bring it out of alignment with the intended cut.
Cutting a mat with a 2" border all around, you should not need to move the slip sheet, but you don't want to cut another mat at 2" on the same spot on a slip sheet, as the sheet may have moved slightly.
 
If you keep a wide stock of matboards there will always be some that fall out of favor and these are the ones to use
as a slip mat. You can use scraps strips, which no doubt there will be no shortage of, but a full sheet makes things easier
when manipulating the mat in the cutter. When the full-size slip mat gets a bit ragged just slice a bit off until it's time for
a new one. You can use both sides.
 
neilframer said:
Welcome to the Grumble, JivinMe.
A "slip mat" or slip sheet is just a strip or piece of matboard that is used under the mat you are cutting.
It can be 10" x 40" for most mats or 60" for larger ones and will work fine and you can shift it left or right if needed to get a fresh cut.
It's just to support the cutting area and so the mat cutter blade should go thru your matboard and just slightly into the slip sheet but not all the way thru the slip sheet.
It really has nothing to do with the mat moving while cutting, it just supports the cut and catches the blade to get a clean cut.
The slip sheet can be just a scrap of a regular matboard.

The Importance of Using a Slip Sheet When Cutting Mats

www.logangraphic.com www.logangraphic.com
Click to expand...
I LOVE Grumble!!!! This group is SO helpful with great explanations!!! Makes total sense to use a support board. I tried a few cuts using cardboard which worked just fine but as I get more scraps I will use old mat boards...Thanks for the description
 
Larry Peterson said:
neil gets the gist of it when he says "to get a clean cut".

Being a bit more dramatic, the main purpose of a slip sheet is to prevent tear out. The image below shows tear out on wood. For a mat it is exactly the same, just a bit less dramatic. Having a piece beneath the mat helps prevent tear out. That's why, when cutting a double mat, you don't use the slip sheet for the second cut as the top mat acts as the skil sheet to prevent tear out.

Cut a mat using a piece of scrap without using a slip sheet and examine the cut. You will see why it is required. Tear out city if you look closely. As the others have said, any old piece of scrap mat board can be used as a slip sheet.

plywood-tear-out.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks....I can totally relate to the analogy with cut wood. I am a woodworker and often have to use a sacrificial board to prevent tearout!!!
 
JivinMe said:
I LOVE Grumble!!!! This group is SO helpful with great explanations!!! Makes total sense to use a support board. I tried a few cuts using cardboard which worked just fine but as I get more scraps I will use old mat boards...Thanks for the description
Click to expand...
I would rethink using cardboard. Cardboard dulls blades 10 zillion times (or thereabouts) faster than mat board. I have a Fletcher 3100 and I bought that model specifically because you can have multiple pilar posts so I got an extra one just for cardboard. I used let a person I shared an old shop with use it occasionally with the admonition that if they were going to cut cardboard to change out the pilar post to the cardboard. When I went to cut foam board and it tore, I always knew they didn't change to the pilar post.
 
For a manual cutter long strips of card around a foot wide are best. Position the slip sheet so that you first cut goes around a quarter inch from the edge then nudge it along after each cut so that you end up with a series of scores 1/16" apart. For a CMC you need a full board - either a 40/60 or a 32x40 for smaller jobs. These can be trimmed when they get too cut up in one place but the cut quality of aCMC doesn't seem to suffer as much as a manual cutter if it cuts over a previous track.
 
artfolio said:
For a CMC you need a full board - either a 40/60 or a 32x40 for smaller jobs. These can be trimmed when they get too cut up in one place but the cut quality of aCMC doesn't seem to suffer as much as a manual cutter if it cuts over a previous track.
Click to expand...
On my Wizard, I have a double 32x40 slip sheet. The top one gets rotated when it starts getting too slotty, and then flipped over for the same routine on the other side. For oversize mats, I orient this vertically, and add an auxiliary double slip sheet that I have ready to go, taping it to the main one in several places along the seam between. I have never had an issue with a bump in the cut from crossing the seam. I do try to avoid having the vertical cut come too close to the seam, though. This setup works great.
:cool: Rick

BTW, I always use a double layer slip sheet, except when cutting 8-ply which only allows the thickness of a single layer slip sheet under the clamps on my 8000.
 
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