Dead spot in rotary blade....again, help!!
#12
Super Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,391
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Sometimes when I notice that my blade isn't working right, and am too lazy or too busy to change it right now, I just make each cut twice. That almost always works until I can get to changing the blade.
#13
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Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,141
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I'm also thinking it might be a mat problem.
We aren't supposed to use the lines on the mats, but they are so handy and it seems like the reasonable thing to do. When I teach a new quilter the first thing I do is turn the mat over to the unmarked back and show them how to use the rulers correctly.
Position your fabric all different directions all over the board, I should do more towards the side but usually wear out the middle because that's where I cut most.
When it is just the one thread, I will do two cuts until I get too annoyed. I recently changed all the blades on all my cutters. Then, I just trashed one of the brand new ones crunching it over my ruler. Oh well, that's why I buy them in the 5 packs. Sure, it feels expensive but add up all the repetitive motions and the annoyance of shredding fabric/rough edges when you go way too long and a fresh blade is one of the cheapest ways we can improve our workmanship.
We aren't supposed to use the lines on the mats, but they are so handy and it seems like the reasonable thing to do. When I teach a new quilter the first thing I do is turn the mat over to the unmarked back and show them how to use the rulers correctly.
Position your fabric all different directions all over the board, I should do more towards the side but usually wear out the middle because that's where I cut most.
When it is just the one thread, I will do two cuts until I get too annoyed. I recently changed all the blades on all my cutters. Then, I just trashed one of the brand new ones crunching it over my ruler. Oh well, that's why I buy them in the 5 packs. Sure, it feels expensive but add up all the repetitive motions and the annoyance of shredding fabric/rough edges when you go way too long and a fresh blade is one of the cheapest ways we can improve our workmanship.
#14
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Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Southern USA
Posts: 16,278
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To have a dead spot all the time it is the mat or table surface. At our sew day we have the plastic folding tables and one of them would not let a rotary cutter cut at all. It was so odd. We have that table marked for not for rotary cutting. And the other tables work fine and they all look alike. I guess there are low spots in the table surface that aren't noticeable.
#17
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,277
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Yes, that is what I meant about the common white tables. There is a dip or they bow a little with pressure. sometimes it isn't the blade or the mat, but what the surface is underneath. I found some cabinet ends at ikea which I put under my mats, problem solved, but, any very stable surface would work.
#18
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I discovered a number of years ago that nicking a blade was so easy or having dead spots were routine no matter how cheap or expensive the blade or the rotary cutter. I have a number or dead rotary cutters that cost a lot of money and so I have gone to using the least expensive cutters and blades I can find and that has worked for me. I have also used sharpeners that on more expensive blades gave a bit more life but became an active of futility. The blades just were not as sharp and a new blade.
Then I discovered Harbor Freight. I can get blades there for a carpet cutter that are just the same size and my rotary cutter and identical blade as my rotary cutter. They are sharp and sturdy and they cost $2 for a pack of 2. Far less cost all the way around. Now they don't last as long but if one gets a nick I am not to worry about the loss of a blade. I can usually get a couple full size or larger quilts out of a single $1 blade. I will go in and buy 5-10 packages at a time that last for a couple years and still have spend less than a single pack of the expensive blades at JAF.
Then I discovered Harbor Freight. I can get blades there for a carpet cutter that are just the same size and my rotary cutter and identical blade as my rotary cutter. They are sharp and sturdy and they cost $2 for a pack of 2. Far less cost all the way around. Now they don't last as long but if one gets a nick I am not to worry about the loss of a blade. I can usually get a couple full size or larger quilts out of a single $1 blade. I will go in and buy 5-10 packages at a time that last for a couple years and still have spend less than a single pack of the expensive blades at JAF.
#20
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,277
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I discovered a number of years ago that nicking a blade was so easy or having dead spots were routine no matter how cheap or expensive the blade or the rotary cutter. I have a number or dead rotary cutters that cost a lot of money and so I have gone to using the least expensive cutters and blades I can find and that has worked for me. I have also used sharpeners that on more expensive blades gave a bit more life but became an active of futility. The blades just were not as sharp and a new blade.
Then I discovered Harbor Freight. I can get blades there for a carpet cutter that are just the same size and my rotary cutter and identical blade as my rotary cutter. They are sharp and sturdy and they cost $2 for a pack of 2. Far less cost all the way around. Now they don't last as long but if one gets a nick I am not to worry about the loss of a blade. I can usually get a couple full size or larger quilts out of a single $1 blade. I will go in and buy 5-10 packages at a time that last for a couple years and still have spend less than a single pack of the expensive blades at JAF.
Then I discovered Harbor Freight. I can get blades there for a carpet cutter that are just the same size and my rotary cutter and identical blade as my rotary cutter. They are sharp and sturdy and they cost $2 for a pack of 2. Far less cost all the way around. Now they don't last as long but if one gets a nick I am not to worry about the loss of a blade. I can usually get a couple full size or larger quilts out of a single $1 blade. I will go in and buy 5-10 packages at a time that last for a couple years and still have spend less than a single pack of the expensive blades at JAF.