# cutting bands on the cheap



## shot in the foot

here,s how i cut my bands for hunting, and you dont need all the dear cutters, all i use is selotape, craft knife, chopping board and ruler, every must have these in the house, cheers jeff


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## ZDP-189

That's very clever and very consistent. Thank you.


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## baumstamm

i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


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## hawk2009

Well thought out Jeff that is a clever and cheap way to do it.


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## e~shot

*Secret revealed* - Thanks for sharing


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## shot in the foot

baumstamm said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


What i like is i get 5 craft knives each has 12 snap off blades so that is 60 blades all for a £1 in our local shops, and doing it this way with the tape you can cut the thinest of bands and very thin strips for tying, jeff


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## Brooklyn00003

I tried it before I bought my rotary cutter but I did not use a tape and it was a disaster.I wiil try it this way. 
Thans for sharing.


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## Brooklyn00003

baumstamm said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


Lol you could tell me this earlyer I cut with my roraty cutter much more bandsets,
Anyway my bandsets break 90%of time at pouch and that is not realy a fault in cutting.


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## Frodo

Thanks for sharing your secrets with us!

I like your ideas and your car!


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## Martin

Nice one I will give it a go, those rotary cutters ain't cheap some of the replacement blades cost almost as much as a new cutter.
Martin.


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## baumstamm

brooklyn00003 said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


Lol you could tell me this earlyer I cut with my roraty cutter much more bandsets,
Anyway my bandsets break 90%of time at pouch and that is not realy a fault in cutting.
[/quote]

when it works, it is ok! i see the difference if cutting thin and fast butterfly bands, the faster the more u have pay atention to the cut. on my everyday target bands, i use a second less sharp blade it worked good. if the bandsets break on the pouche, this is a good indikator if your blade is ok. on a realy fast band it is extremly dangerous when it tear near the fork!


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## Peresh

There goes the Rotary cutting market for Slingshot fanatics. 
Thanks for sharing brotha!

P.


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## shot in the foot

Someone has asked, i forgot to say, you cut though the tape, that is why you use clear selotape, cheers jeff


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## joseph_curwen

I tried it but i did'nt have good results wtih thera band gold, may be to thick, or i had a bad blade.

Best result forme with tape on the band and a good pair of scissors









I will order some black theraband i give it another try


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## shot in the foot

joseph_curwen said:


> I tried it but i did'nt have good results wtih thera band gold, may be to thick, or i had a bad blade.
> 
> Best result forme with tape on the band and a good pair of scissors
> 
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> I will order some black theraband i give it another try


ive found the thicker it is the easyer it is, ive done gold more than the black, jeff


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## joseph_curwen

shot in the foot said:


> I tried it but i did'nt have good results wtih thera band gold, may be to thick, or i had a bad blade.
> 
> Best result forme with tape on the band and a good pair of scissors
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> I will order some black theraband i give it another try


ive found the thicker it is the easyer it is, ive done gold more than the black, jeff
[/quote]

Ok, i will search for better blades


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## ZDP-189

I went to see a die cut company today about a steel rule cutter mould. Essentially it's a long razor blade embedded into laser cut grooves in a 3/4" plywood block. It cuts perfect shapes with industrial precision. There's neither stretching nor tearing.


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## Peresh

A slight modification on this cut.

Guys try box packing tape but double it up. One on each side of the band. This gives a bit more stability and locks the band on both sides giving more strength to the cut.


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## huey224

that sure is a great idea! 1 thing, do you strech the rubber a bit or not?


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## Sam

How many shots did the bands pictured make before tearing?


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## shot in the foot

Sam said:


> How many shots did the bands pictured make before tearing?


it still ok no tears, i dont count how many shots, only with the one i got off ZDP cos he wanted to know, its rare i have one tear, i swap them over every now and then, and just use the old ones for tying bands on, jeff


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## Rayshot

baumstamm said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


With a rotary cutter the blade can be stropped and keep an ultra sharp edge. The blade I have is 1 1/8 in. (28mm). I am still on the first rotary blade I purchased. I have gone through a roll of Thera gold and thera blue. The way I cut my bands, that is approximately 130 band sets. I also cut against a plastic ruler and across the grain on my wood cutting board.

I also lay wax paper on the cutting board then on top of that the Thera gold. The wax paper on my cutting board makes the cut be clean through, no little spots uncut. I purchased a self healing cutting mat but haven't used that yet. Looking forward to it.

If anybody owns a rotary cutter you might want to learn how to strop a blade.


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## Ace

Great idea been trying to find a way to get a good clean cut with out a rotary cutter.


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## NoSugarRob

Rayshot said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


With a rotary cutter the blade can be stropped and keep an ultra sharp edge. The blade I have is 1 1/8 in. (28mm). I am still on the first rotary blade I purchased. I have gone through a roll of Thera gold and thera blue. The way I cut my bands, that is approximately 130 band sets. I also cut against a plastic ruler and across the grain on my wood cutting board.

I also lay wax paper on the cutting board then on top of that the Thera gold. The wax paper on my cutting board makes the cut be clean through, no little spots uncut. I purchased a self healing cutting mat but haven't used that yet. Looking forward to it.

If anybody owns a rotary cutter you might want to learn how to strop a blade.
[/quote]

how do you strop a circle please ?


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## Rayshot

NoSugarRob said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


With a rotary cutter the blade can be stropped and keep an ultra sharp edge. The blade I have is 1 1/8 in. (28mm). I am still on the first rotary blade I purchased. I have gone through a roll of Thera gold and thera blue. The way I cut my bands, that is approximately 130 band sets. I also cut against a plastic ruler and across the grain on my wood cutting board.

I also lay wax paper on the cutting board then on top of that the Thera gold. The wax paper on my cutting board makes the cut be clean through, no little spots uncut. I purchased a self healing cutting mat but haven't used that yet. Looking forward to it.

If anybody owns a rotary cutter you might want to learn how to strop a blade.
[/quote]

how do you strop a circle please ?
[/quote]
I take the blade off the cutter, hold the blade with thumb and forefinger at a low angle, strop the portion of the edge that touches the strop, rotate it to strop a small part of what was just stropped and some of what hasn't been until the whole circumference is complete. Flip over and strop the other side.

I am very pleased with the results. I am very careful to not let the blade contact anything but non damaging items. I have considered a good quality guillotine paper cutter that I can devise a system to have set marks to eliminate marking every width on the bands. It isn't a high priority though.


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## NoSugarRob

tar


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## Rayshot

NoSugarRob said:


> tar


Not familiar with "tar" as an expression.







Better that I don't guess, what is it's meaning.?


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## USASlingshot

baumstamm said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


i have been using a hand held sharpener to sharpen the blade for my roto cutter and it works great


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## PJB21

Rayshot said:


> tar


Not familiar with "tar" as an expression.







Better that I don't guess, what is it's meaning.?
[/quote]

its short for thanks over here, though typically written as 'ta'


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## Rayshot

PJB21 said:


> tar


Not familiar with "tar" as an expression.







Better that I don't guess, what is it's meaning.?
[/quote]

its short for thanks over here, though typically written as 'ta'








[/quote]

Thanks for the education PJB21!


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## Rayshot

USASlingshot said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


i have been using a hand held sharpener to sharpen the blade for my roto cutter and it works great
[/quote]

And there we go, another get the most of what we use method!


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## NoSugarRob

tar is english slang for thank you.


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## pirpledragon

Thanks for sharing this,Very cleaver!


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## newconvert

NoSugarRob said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


With a rotary cutter the blade can be stropped and keep an ultra sharp edge. The blade I have is 1 1/8 in. (28mm). I am still on the first rotary blade I purchased. I have gone through a roll of Thera gold and thera blue. The way I cut my bands, that is approximately 130 band sets. I also cut against a plastic ruler and across the grain on my wood cutting board.

I also lay wax paper on the cutting board then on top of that the Thera gold. The wax paper on my cutting board makes the cut be clean through, no little spots uncut. I purchased a self healing cutting mat but haven't used that yet. Looking forward to it.

If anybody owns a rotary cutter you might want to learn how to strop a blade.
[/quote]

how do you strop a circle please ?
[/quote]
circles are the same just takes more patience, stropping is how i relax, as well as putting a very sharp edge on all my knives yes even recurves so a disc would be very easy


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## gramps

Would a pizza cutter work?


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## newconvert

to me its between the tool and the user, i think if you were to hone the pizza cutter it would work well but that might not be a fast fix, i am stropping my tiny swiss army knife, because of its very thin blade it is what i use for fine cutting, i prefer it to x-acto or razor knives, and i have an OLD meal tray from united airlines, that makes a perfect cutting surface.


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## pgandy

The thought of sharpening my rotary blade had crossed my mind before reading your post. I would have used grit paper to 1500, possibly to 2000. This is what I use on my edged tools and works well. Most of the time I end with a leather strop as final touch. My third rotary blade is holding up well. I pitched the original the first day. Its replacement gave service for a while, but shorter than I thought it should have. I’ve gotten excellent service out of the present one, but will strop shortly. It is far easier to maintain an edge than to restore one. Thanks.


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## pgandy

gramps said:


> Would a pizza cutter work?


I would suspect the steel in a rotary cutter blade to be superior to a pizza cutter, holding its edge better. If a pizza cutter is handy I'd give it a try.


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## pgandy

newconvert said:


> i have an OLD meal tray from united airlines, that makes a perfect cutting surface.


I would think a softer material would give your edge a long life.


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## Classic Slingshot

Very good information


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## newconvert

pgandy said:


> i have an OLD meal tray from united airlines, that makes a perfect cutting surface.


I would think a softer material would give your edge a long life.
[/quote]

no, its made of either firm plastic or pvc


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## pgandy

newconvert said:


> i have an OLD meal tray from united airlines, that makes a perfect cutting surface.


I would think a softer material would give your edge a long life.
[/quote]
Sorry I misread meal for metal.

[/quote]


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## newconvert

pgandy said:


> i have an OLD meal tray from united airlines, that makes a perfect cutting surface.


 I would think a softer material would give your edge a long life. [/quote] Sorry I misread meal for metal. [/quote] [/quote]

thats fine, i changed the platter for this:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/13111-my-first-shot-at-making-a-band-set/


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## Aussie Allan In Thailand

Thanks alot. A great idea, and I know I will give it a go.

The tape both sides also sounds like a good idea.

Cheers Allan


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## Saderath

Nice! Thanks for sharing!


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## beaverman

baumstamm said:


> i will try it soon! the rotary cutter are a verry expensive way! after 10 ore 15 bandsets they ore not more this sharp they should be and i pay 8€ for one spare blade!


if you look on ebay and buy in bulk, you can get 60 mm blades for less than twwo dollars each. ive seen some 60mm for less than a dollar. smaller blades are even cheaper.


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## Dr J

Thanks for sharing this information. I have tried Pizza cutters and they are not sharp enough. I have also tried scalpel blades and they work fairly well.


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## bigron

great idea


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