# 1st time flatbands marking out and cutting?



## Whytey (Sep 26, 2021)

So I have decided for 7/16" steel to start at an 18mm x 22mm taper with a 7 1/2" active band length.

*For the Scout LT am I looking at an extra 1/4" for fork clamping and 1/2" for pouch tie, totalling 8 1/4" length? 
*Is the 18x22 taper measured at the OAL, the active band length or at a recognised standard length?

To cutting with a rotary cutter on a self healing mat is it best to use say a 3mm thick 300x150mm sewing ruler or a steel ruler and why?

Any other tips or things to watch for are welcome.


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## Hoss (Jun 3, 2014)

I cut my tapers at the active band length, in the past I used a steel ruler, but now I use plexiglass tapered templates that I made. 

Sent from my MAX_10 using Tapatalk


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## Valery (Jan 2, 2020)

I use an adjustable template for slicing. The result is great.


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## Karloshi (Apr 6, 2021)

I was using a steel ruler and marking everything out for a year. It worked well enough. I just switched over to the same thing Valery posted and am quite happy with the results as it quickens up the process.


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## vince4242 (Jan 11, 2016)

Yes I have used the adjustable template cutter and it does work very well and precise, much easier than the pain and steel ruler. I now use the acrylic template to cut my tapered band.
So as a general rule the more extreme the taper the lighter the pull weight, they don't last as long as let's say a straight cut with no taper. What you have is a very small taper so those bands should last a good long time, but you will have to work with more pull weight. For hunting I go with a 50% taper. My favored hunting setup is 15x30mm taper with .6 bands. I also went with a 25x13mm taper with .7 bands and it worked just about the same with a little heavier pull than the 15x30mm taper with ⁷/¹⁶" steel ammo. 
I like to get a visual on what's happening by adding the two ends of the taper up for a total number and then using that to kind of gauge how much power it's going to have. Then I can adjust the extremist of the taper for what I'm trying to do. If that makes any sense?

I hope that helps, let us know how it goes. 

Cheers


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## vince4242 (Jan 11, 2016)

Okay I just re-read my explanation and I think I can make it a bit more clear. I needed to make a band set for below-freezing temperatures, I started with .6 simple shot black and I guested at 24 mm of total taper. So I cut a straight 12 mm band with no taper. It worked very well in cold temperatures and move the ¼" steel at a very good speed. I then made a taper of 15x10mm with the same .6 bands and give that a try. I saw the same speed results at the same temperatures as the straight cut but it was a much lighter pull. The straight cut was 7.5 lbs of pull weight and the 15x10 mm was 5.7 lb of pull weight. They had the same length, total taper... almost 1 mm different and the same speed but a very different pull weight. 

I hope that is a little clearer and you can see in real world how it helped me to decide on a taper.


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## Whytey (Sep 26, 2021)

Thanks gents,
Sounds like I'm on the right path to start and will probably grab an adjustable taper ruler too..... the template idea can wait 'til I get my shist sorted.


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## Reed Lukens (Aug 16, 2020)

Being that I make full butterfly bands 18" long or more, I use a home made acrylic jig or a steel ruler at times. I've got the adjustable taper ruler also and it does work great for shorter, up to 11" bands.


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## KawKan (May 11, 2013)

I started using a steel ruler. But once I used an acrylic, there was no going back.
It is good to account for the attachment length and add it to the active length. As long as you are consistent, it doesn't make much difference if your taper widths are at the ends of the cut, or at the ends of the active length.


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## Ordo (Feb 11, 2018)

Found this video:


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

I use the " Btoon Band Cutting Ruler ". I cut precise matched tapers using it .Simple ,easy with no tools or adjustment . I don't see how any jig can be better ?


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## David D (Oct 20, 2020)

I just got one of the adjustable taper jigs off of the Canadian Amazon. It looks like all the others I have seen so they must imprint them with different logos and company names. It was under $17.00 CDN and the shipping was free from China. It also arrived in about 2weeks. I haven't used it yet as I am waiting my first roll of Theraband from SS.


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