SECTION 1: GETTING TO KNOW YOUR FRAMER’S EDGE MAT CUTTER
1. Squaring Arm
Right angle back stop necessary to hold material square to cutting bar.
2. Cutting Bar
Heavy-duty extruded Cutting Bar with teflon coating and polished surface.
3. Cutting Board
3/4” thick laminate surface Cutting Board.
4. Top Support Arm
Heavy-duty hinged aluminum arm provides support for Cutting Bar and Handle Bar.
5. Handle Bar
Square shaped handle used to raise Cutting Bar to vertical position.
6. Bottom Production Stop
Production Stop tightens to the Cutting Bar Rod and stops the cutting head at the location determined by the scale setting.
7. Bottom Support Arm
Heavy-duty hinged aluminum arm provides support for Cutting Bar and Handle Bar.
8. Cutting Bar Scale
With dual inch/metric scale recessed into cutting bar to be used together with the bottom production stop.
9. Squaring Arm Stop
Aluminum stop that slides onto either end of the squaring arm and tightens into position.
10. Mat Guide
Movable, parallel guide bar used to set border width of the mat being cut.
11. Cutting Head
Mounting block that glides on cutting bar and contains both bevel and straight cutting blade holders
12. Bevel Cutter Holder
45 Degree Bevel Blade Holder.
13. Straight Cut Blade Holder
90 Degree straight cut blade holder with lock-down pin.
14. Movable Production Stop
Movable stop which connects to cutting head. Allows fast production cutting of mat board.
15. 8-Ply Setting
Adjustment screw used to set bevel cutting head to cut 8-ply thickness matboard. Only the #268 blade will cut effectively at this setting.
16. Indicator Plate
Metal outrigger with green and red dot used to accurately start and stop on marked lines resulting in minimal overcuts.
17. Blade Holding Screw
Easy grip blade screw screw for tightening blade on both straight and bevel blade holders.
18. Bevel Cutter Blade Depth
Adjustment For adjusting the depth of the blade on the bevel side of the cutting head.
19. Straight Cutter Blade Depth
Adjustment For adjusting the depth of the blade on the straight side of the cutting head.
20. Lock-Down Pin
Pin for locking Straight Cutting Blade Holder in a down position so that no downward pressure is needed when straight cutting.
21. Bottom Overcut Adjustment
For adjusting overcut at the bottom of the mat.
22. Top Overcut Adjustment
For adjusting overcut at the top of the mat.
23. Blades (Fig. 1, pg. 5)
#269 double bevel blade used for cutting standard thickness matboard.
#268 single bevel blade used for cutting 8-ply double thick matboard.
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SECTION 3: HOW TO CUT A MAT
B. Cutting a Beveled Opening Using Marked Lines
1. Always use a backing sheet when bevel cutting.
2. To release mat guide loosen the black knobs two turns. Slide the mat guide in the angled slots until the front edge of the mat guide is along the increment of the mat guide scale of the border width you wish to cut. Fig 1
3. Lift the handle bar and place a backing sheet on the cutting board. Then place your pre-sized mat board color side down against the squaring arm and to the left against the mat guide.
4. Lower the handle bar. With a pencil draw a line on the back of the mat board using the left side of the cutting bar as a guide. Do this for the remaining three sides of the mat. Fig 2
5. Slide the cutting head into position so that the edge of the metal near the green dot on the indicator plate is directly over the marked line. Fig 3
6. Rotate the bevel blade holder down completely to seat the blade into the mat. TIP: Hold the cutting head firmly enough to not allow it to “creep forward” when first inserting the blade which will produce an overcut. Fig 4 Maintaining downward pressure, pull the cutting head towards yourself until the red dot on the indicator plate is directly over the bottom marked line. Fig 5
7. Rotate the bevel blade holder up to the neutral position and lift the handle bar to an upright position.
8. Turn the mat 1/4 turn to the right and make sure that the mat is down against the squaring arm and against the mat guide on the left.
9. Continue steps 5 through 8 until all four sides are cut.
TIP: Do not push down on the handle bar when cutting, this will flex the cutting bar upwards and prevent the blade from cutting through the mat board.