The Chop It...anybody use it?

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Fri May 27, 2011 8:49 pm

Has anyone ever tried any of these products from Micro Mark?
http://www.micromark.com/Chop-It,9547.html
http://www.micromark.com/Duplicate-It,9546.html
http://www.micromark.com/Wood-Strip-Cutter,6625.html
Or these from NorthWest Shoreline (looks as if the Chop It is theirs too)
http://www.nwsl.com/tools/cutting-tools ... s-i-ii-iii

Are there any other cutters of this fashion out there or is this it? If any of you guys and gals have any of these are they as useful as they look? Pros? Cons? I'm thinking of picking one up but I'm a little leery about it. I'd like to find out a bit more from some of you before I decide ya or nay.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Fri May 27, 2011 9:29 pm

I have the Chopper II and love it. It is awesome for making lots of little detail pieces from styrene strip. Or, If you need to make squares of to the size of the blade, it works great for that too (or any other shape). It's faster than scribing and breaking and slower, but more accurate, than using scissors.

I hope this helps.

Kenny

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Fri May 27, 2011 9:31 pm

Yeah, that's the type of response I'm looking for....people with experience with it.
Thank you.

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Fri May 27, 2011 9:47 pm

I want one, my only complaint is the set fences you get with it...i think i'd be more useable wiht a moveable protractor type of fence that can be locked down, with a printed angle guide on the bottom plate...though i suppose that would be easy enough to accomplish with a printer adhesive paper, bolt, wingnut and square tube/bar of some kind....

G-man

Jon Kunatz · Post by **Jon Kunatz** » Fri May 27, 2011 9:51 pm

Yup, I have a chopper 2.

Its a wonderfully useful item.

scratchy · Post by **scratchy** » Fri May 27, 2011 10:18 pm

Double post

scratchy · Post by **scratchy** » Fri May 27, 2011 10:18 pm

I have one, I have mixed feelings about it. Yes, it does make nice thin pieces of styrene.... even used it for my scratch star destroyer. However, I now have to replace the fiber board that it's mounted to.

In time and with use, the razor blade will chop a nice deep rut into the board, rendering it useless for the really thin strips.

I need to find a better board to rebuild it on.

My two cents.

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Fri May 27, 2011 10:20 pm

Scratchy, you might consider doing it on plexi glass, or maybe routing a recess in the existing fiber board and dropping a piece of tempered glass into the routed out area such as a glass cutting board like a 4x5 one from walmart or the like, the tempered glass should last lifetime...though the plexi would be in expensive and last a while as well i'd think...

george

Umi_Ryuzuki · Post by **Umi_Ryuzuki** » Fri May 27, 2011 10:24 pm

scratchy wrote:I have one, I have mixed feelings about it. Yes, it does make nice thin pieces of styrene.... even used it for my scratch star destroyer. However, I now have to replace the fiber board that it's mounted to.

In time and with use, the razor blade will chop a nice deep rut into the board, rendering it useless for the really thin strips.

I need to find a better board to rebuild it on.

My two cents.

I have both choppers...each has it's use... And two is nice for repetitive
multiple cuts.

I filled in the divot in the chopper I with epoxy, and kept going.

scratchy · Post by **scratchy** » Fri May 27, 2011 10:26 pm

I was thinking of cutting a thick board..... and with my router, cutting a 4x4 square and about an 1/8" deep and cut up some four inch pieces of "Cutting Matt" to insert under the razor blade.

Once the four inch cutting matt wears out, toss it, and drop in another.

DennisH · Post by **DennisH** » Fri May 27, 2011 11:10 pm

scratchy wrote:

I have one, I have mixed feelings about it. Yes, it does make nice thin pieces of styrene.... even used it for my scratch star destroyer. However, I now have to replace the fiber board that it's mounted to.

In time and with use, the razor blade will chop a nice deep rut into the board, rendering it useless for the really thin strips.

I need to find a better board to rebuild it on.

We had the original Chopper at a shop I worked in years ago. When the fiberboard wore out, my boss had me mount the parts on to a 3/8" thick plexi base. I modified it to use a utility knife blade, way more sturdy than the regular razor blade.

He later made another one mounted on a peice of Fountainhead (solid surface countertop material like Corian). He made the whole thing from scratch and it's a work of art. He also gave it to me when he retired, so that thing is going to be a family heirloom for one of my future grandkids someday.

I really like the idea of replacement cutting mat inserts.

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Sat May 28, 2011 6:16 am

Boys you've really shed some light on this topic and rather quickly. Would most of you say that Chopper 2, being the successor, is an improvement over 1 because it reads like most of you prefer 2 over 1. (there's a diaper joke in there somewhere)

A few questions:
1. How long would you say did it take for the fiber board to wear out? That's an interesting point.
2. At the NorthWest Short Line site it looks as if the Chopper 2 has a self healing mat mounted on the cutting surface. Could this be right?
http://shop.osorail.com/product.sc?prod ... egoryId=15
Would it be worth sacrificing a self healing mat and cutting it to size to fit the cutting surface on the board? Cut your old mat for the upgrade on the Chopper 2...then buy a new one as a work surface.

DennisH · Post by **DennisH** » Sat May 28, 2011 8:08 am

Replaceable cutting mat for cleaner cuts

We used our a lot so it wore out quicker than would probably be normal.

We'd patch the groove with bondo, but that got to be p.i.t.a. over and over, so that's why we made the new base.

DaveVan · Post by **DaveVan** » Sat May 28, 2011 8:12 am

I have the NWSL chopper. It works pretty well but on thicker stock it will flex and not give an exact 90 degree cut. It is well made and handy to have.

eeun · Post by **eeun** » Sat May 28, 2011 12:26 pm

Highly recommended. The Chopper II is one of the greatest scratchbuilding tools I've bought, possibly second only to the Dremel.
I agree that the included guides are a bit lacking...mine have slightly rounded edges on the bottom face, which is a problem when cutting really thin styrene.
It's been great for repetitive cutting using a jig fashioned from the included and improvised styrene guides.

Only other criticism I'd offer is for thick styrene (> 1mm) the razor blades tend to wander to one side or the other, making a cut that isn't 90 degrees. But I don't do this often, and one day may try shimming the blade with a piece of sheet metal to see if that helps.

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Sat May 28, 2011 3:05 pm

Guys this is useful info. I didn't expect this much response. This is excellent!

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Sat May 28, 2011 6:20 pm

Walked in the door from work and just ordered #2. Now it's off for some food, beer, and Hangover 2. Hope I get some good previews tonight!!

MillenniumFalsehood · Post by **MillenniumFalsehood** » Sat May 28, 2011 7:14 pm

The Chopper is a great tool to have. You can cut dozens, heck hundreds, of pieces that are identical, ready to use. I don't know why it took me so long to get one.

I'm about ready to replace the fiberboard with plexi.

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Tue May 31, 2011 8:29 pm

Just got confirmation....it's on it's way! $\:D/$

starmanmm · Post by **starmanmm** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 7:36 am

So... now that you have one... how do you like it?

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:07 pm

I think it's great. Excellent for cutting styrene < 1mm, and for making multiple repetitive cuts. It may be the best tool I own next to my dremel, my Iwata airbrush and compressor, my Kylar wire wrapping tool, my Aves...though it's not a tool it is the best damn putty I've ever seen, my oven pizza stone, and my Cable TV remote.

scratchy · Post by **scratchy** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:52 am

Glad you like it Glorfindel, it really is a handy tool.

Here's a follow up for the previous discussions:

G-Man, I went the glass route, however I sunk it into the wood base. The glass really does make a better cut. I went with a 2 inch square piece and the glass is 5 mm. thick.

Here's a pic of my reincarnated chopper....

http://i658.photobucket.com/albums/uu30 ... hopper.jpg

I really does work better than when it was in the original condition.

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:18 am

Nice Scratchy, Thanks for that one.
I'm ordering one of these either next week or the first of next month, I might just start off with it replacing the board cuter with a glass one from the get go. save myself the trouble.

will have to get someone to cut the hole though, as i do not have a router of any kind

George