Rotary Cutting Mats

[judo]

I've seen in some folks shop photos what looks to me rotary cutting mats. I'm wondering how and where they are being used in rocketry construction. Surely no one is running their #11 knife blades into them. Fin alignment seem to the obvious use. Let me know if there ar others.

 

[brianc]

Originally posted by jcrocket
It's a -cutting mat-,...

A cutting mat? What is it?

It's a self healing cutting mat, but that's not important now...

 

[JBeau]

Yep, self-healing is the key. I do all my cutting and measuring work by eye on these mats. The knife cuts seal themselves again over time and the freehand measurement I can do by eye alone are almost dead on with all the mat measuring guide.

And yes, fin alignment double checking, too.

All in all, a surprisingly useful $10 expenditure.

 

[m85476585]

Originally posted by Judo
Surely no one is running their #11 knife blades into them.

That's what I use mine for. Specifically cutting things like balsa and cardboard. They are surprisingly difficult to cut, even with a #11 blade.

 

[brianc]

Originally posted by m85476585
Originally posted by JBeau

So'ry, yo' posts wuz not submitted int da dam fo'm of an <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/">Airplane</a> quote. What it is, Mama! Danks fo' playin'.

(Translate that jive, Mrs. Cleaver!)

 

[airwolfe1]

Go to Wal-Mart in the sewing section and you can get them cheap.

 

[judo]

Y'all givin' me the STRAIGHT UP shizzle fo' show We cool! Peaceout!

www.asksnoop.com

 

[Micromeister]

Originally posted by Judo
I've seen in some folks shop photos what looks to me rotary cutting mats. I'm wondering how and where they are being used in rocketry construction. Surely no one is running their #11 knife blades into them. Fin alignment seem to the obvious use. Let me know if there ar others.

Yep!
I do a lot of cutting on the self-healing rotary cutting mats, but I also use several Polypropylene sheet, leatherworking cutting/ stamping mats that come in 12" x 12" and 12" x 24" by 1/4" thick sizes. Theses are wonderful for cutting, drilling, sawing or just about anything you'd like to do on them. Note the background in the photo below This is my main cutting surface that I've been using at least 12 years, they are not self healing but hold up to the cutting edges of your knifes, while protecting both the knife edge and your table I think the biggest advantage over rotary cutting mats is they are FAR Chaeper then the self healing mats by a long shot You can order them from tandyleather.com if you don't have a Tandy leather shop in your area. they also sell some Great knifes, punches and gouges that are very handy in rocketry.
Hope this helps.

 

[JBeau]

Originally posted by Judo
www.asksnoop.com

What's this supposed to be?

 

[judo]

This is the web site of Ask Snoop.com, home of the Shizilater. It "shizilates" any normal website and converts in to "Snoopspeak." The more technical the site, the funnier the results. Remember the Chrylser comercial last year with Iococa and Snoop Dog? Iococa could not understand a thing he was saying because he was speaking...well, like Snoop Dog. Plug in the website you want to see "shizilated" into the search box, CNN.com is the default, and that website will be translated into something completely indecipherable.

 

[troj]

Originally posted by Judo
I've seen in some folks shop photos what looks to me rotary cutting mats. I'm wondering how and where they are being used in rocketry construction.

Er....

I use them with a rotary cutter to cut fiberglass & carbon fiber.

Never bothered with one for the X-Acto knife, since the workbench has a particle board top, and that heals quite nicely. If it gets rough, just sand it real quick with 220.

-Kevin

 

[Pat Butler]

I've had the same cutting mat for over 20 years and it's functioning just fine. The biggest advantage by far is that your blades stay sharper much longer.

I bought a large rotary cutting mat and it doesn't seem to hold up as well as the smaller self-healing mat that's lasted so long. I almost wondered if the rotary cutting mat is designed specifically to be used with rotary cutting tools and they don't appear to pierce the mat as deeply. My Xacto knife kind of tears into it more than I'd like.

 

[LFLekx]

Originally posted by brianc
It's a self healing cutting mat, but that's not important now...

It's also not exactly accurate. I've had to replace a couple of my mats, because my knife has cut right through them.

 

[OARJeepr]

Originally posted by Pat Butler
I bought a large rotary cutting mat and it doesn't seem to hold up as well as the smaller self-healing mat that's lasted so long. I almost wondered if the rotary cutting mat is designed specifically to be used with rotary cutting tools and they don't appear to pierce the mat as deeply. My Xacto knife kind of tears into it more than I'd like.

That's exactly what happened. A standard rotary mat isn't self healing. My rotary cutting mat came with explicit instructions not to be used with any type of fixed blade knife. So I only use it for my rotary cutter. I use cheap poly cutting boards for my hobby knives.

 

[airwolfe1]

Hey I just stopped by Wally World and in the sewing section I saw a cutting mat next to the rotary mats that indicated it was a self healing mat. Packaging was gray and orange and I think the brand was Fiskars. I just took a passing glance but I noticed for sure it said self healing cutting mat.