Update on the tray attachment issue

I had a few minutes to study the issues surrounding the screw that I could not get to screw into the support in the video. In my machine, the screw hole in the support did not line up cleanly with holes in the paper tray.

It didn't miss by much so it was easy to correct with a small rasp to widen the hole in the tray. (It helps to have a jewelry designer daughter's tools hanging around.)

But, I THINK i have a suggestion that will not make that necessary. Turn the machine over when attaching the paper tray. The visibility of the screw alignment and access to the screw, itself, is MUCH better. I think had I turned the machine over when attaching the paper tray, even with the close tolerances on one side, I could have still done it the first time.

MATERIAL TESTS

I started with the hardest materials first with mixed results. And, I THINK the reason the results are confusing is that I still haven't completely figured out where to start a cut to ensure that it stays on the material. When it goes off the side, and comes back to hard materials I think the tip of the blade gets broken. I can see the tip is broken off with my microscopes.

So, I am going to back up, start with more traditional materials until I am confident I know that a part will stay within material and check the blade condition every three or four cuts to check for wear. With chipboard, for instance, even with a lower setting I could see it cut. But, once it ran off the material and came back on, the cutting ceased. So, on the one hand I think it CAN cut chipboard on the other I think the jury is out.

I can tell you that my first cut here was with Glitter cardstock Matstack by DCWV. And, it did a BEAUTIFUL job.

I can also tell you that fear of chads is a phobia. My cuts with the eCraft are as clean and cleaner than the edges on the items cut by the Gazelle and lifted up by finger nail or Exacto knife. I am able to demonstrate this very graphically with the respective cuts under a 20x microscope. You see, people never looked all that hard at the cuts by their mat based cutter. We just lived with it.

It was only when eCraft talked about 'connectors' with the spector of 'chads' that people started paying any attention at all. Paper fiber is just that, fiber. So, I see similar edge behavior with both types of cutters... and, that is BEFORE the item is forced off the mat. I expect that to cause visible damage under 20x, no matter how careful I am.

I'm willing to go out on a limb and declare 'connectors' to be a non-issue in the grand scheme of things. My gut instincts were right. Being able to cut without a mat is WONDERFUL!

I'll keep checking things out. But, remember, I'm now going to pick off the low hanging fruit first so that I can learn how to conserve the precious few blades I have.

And, speaking of blades, let me be the first to call on eCraft to create a premium line of blades that use a diamond or carbide cutting head.