I want to make some buildings from scratch and have been eying the NWSL Chopper. However, that is a lot of money for me to invest in a tool for my hobby. I was wondering if one of you clever people have comme up with a more economical way of getting precise cuts in small pieces of wood or styrene?
Thanks
wdcrvr
Micro-Mark has a knockoff one that is a lot less money. Looks identical to the original Chopper. I have one, seems to be fine.
–Randy
You can buy a miter box and razor saw for about $20, or you could make your own out of 1x3 lumber.
However, tools is one place that I’ve found it always pays to get the best.
I recall a Model Railroader article years – make that decades – ago about building your own tool that worked somewhat like the Chopper. With enough time I suppose I could track it down but then, so could the original poster. I recall an article that featured a funny Gil Reid drawing of a guy slapping his hand on a tool featuring a base holding a spring loaded arm that had a razor blade at the end.
For a tool like the Chopper to work acceptably it has to have a decently high degree of precision in its manufacture. As a long-time satisfied user of the Chopper I would simply say that it is both robust and precise and thus does what it claims to do on a reliable basis. And frankly I do not find the price to be outrageously high. There might be no area of the hobby that rewards and punishes more on the basis of cost than tools. If you find the Chopper to be “too expensive” then you run the risk of depriving yourself of needed tools that really work.
Dave Nelson
The Chopper, and tools similar to it at a variety of prices, can reliably cut angles in the X and Y axis. But they do not do well in the Z axis.
Some of you know what I’m sayin’. Some don’t.
When the blade comes down, it’s an extremely gentle V-shape. That means that the cut will always be out of square with the plane of the blade coming down.
Or, simplified, it will NEVER be as good as a saw blade run through the work.
This can be a problem. Frequently.
So, include this idea in your choice of tools.
Ed
Yeah, but we’re talking about the Chopper here…
I think most using the Chopper are aware of its limitations. Dave’s point was you don’t really want one that isn’t really square or is sloppy. If you going to use one, get a good one, not something cobbled together… You can try to make one of the original versions with the masonite base easily enough, then see how it does. If this tool doesn’t do as well as the original, then right there it’s was probably a case where just buying the tool makes more sense.
Presuming we’re talking about the improved Chopper with the diecast base, hard to do as good as that on your own. It’s a big improvement over the original. I only use it to cut angles within it’s limitations and it does fine. I consider mine a good investment after wearing out one of the originals. It’s not the Vegomatic, yes, for some cuts you want something else. There’s no carpenter I know who has just one saw. YMMV.
I use a regular plain old small adjustable carpenter’s square. To get the square to sit flat on the material I simply position the square over the edge of my workbench so the arm can make solid contact with the material to be cut. I then use a sharp pencil to draw the cut line. Then I put the square aside and use a steel straight edge to control the cut. I use a #11 blade, but some have suggested using a carpet knife. The first couple of cuts have to be very gentle. Once you have a groove started you can apply more pressure. I’m sure most of you already know that.
I have another trick that I use for parallel cuts. I keep a variety of styrene scribed sheets on hand. Simply following the scribed lines with a blade gives you very straight parallel cuts. By having a selection of scribed sheets with various spacings I can usually find one that will allow me to make the panels close to the width I need. Of course this only works where the scribed lines can be hidden on the inside where you are trying to achieve smooth visible surfaces.
I can see that a chopper would be very handy when dealing with small pieces. I’m not suggesting that they aren’t worthwhile by any means.
Dave
That’s exactly what the Chopper is for. Cutting strip styrene or wood in consistent lengths. Such as making fence posts, although for repetative 90 degree cuts it isn’t too hard to set up a square and a stop. The Chopper also works at any angle. There’s really nothing it does that couldn’t be replicated by setting up a jig or pattern, the benefit is that there’s less setup since you don’t have to create jigs and patterns. Measure, adjust the fence and stops, and start cutting.
–Randy
I may be incorrect, but I believe that what 7j43k is talking about is that the razor blade has a taper to it on both sides of the cutting edge. As the blade passes through the material, the resulting cut is not totally square to the axial length which is pressed against the tool fence. This may not be an issue when cutting thin strips for use as fence posts or similar. However, when cutting things like Evergreen styrene structural shapes that taper is pronounced and requires a few passes with a file to square up.
I find this problematical, but I haven’t found another method of making cuts where mass production is necessary.
Yeah, the concept of the original is good, but the execution of it somewhat lacking. I haven’t had much issue with the blade arm getting out-of-square, although it can deflect somewhat when cutting heavier material. I solved the problem of deterioration of the Masonite base by overlaying it with a replaceable sheet of thin aluminum. However, the method of clamping the stops is totally inadequate, and I usually use a Quick Grip Handi-Clamp instead.
Wayne
Oh, I understood that. That’s why I made the comment about having more than one saw if you’re a carpenter.
Used for what’s it’s intended for, the Chopper works great. Yes, the blade does push material both ways, but if you’re running into that as a problem, you’re really not using it for what it’s intended for. As Randy noted, dimensionally thin materials cut just fine. If you’re running a problem like 743jk described, you’re really using the wrong tool. You want a saw and miter box or something else to cut the thicker m
Poor man’s chopper. 12" X 12" piece of pine shelving with a 1/4" X 1/4" piece of wood about 1" long glued onto the big piece approx one inch up from the bottom edge dead square with the bottom edge. Stock to be cut is held against the little piece and cut to length. Lines can be marked on the big block to measure against to cut accurately - used this for years until I bought a chopper. BTW: The chopper is the way to go. Ive made thousandfs of cuts with mine. To smooth out cuts in larger stock a sander is great.
Guy
I have a Duplicutter and have that pulling double duty as a poor man’s chopper.
Very very very very carefully make a bunch of triangles out of a material of your choice, clamp it in place under the restraining bar with the piece you’re going to cut, and pow.
Mike Lehman is right about tool use! The Chopper (and related school crafts-grade imitations such as can be bought at Michael’ Crafts) operate by compressing the material, which then is cut by the sharp blade as downward force is applied (yeah- I know that is evident!- just stating the mechanical process). Unfortunately, the blade edge is thin and the blade material is not strong suffcient to withstand flexing, either horizontally, at an angle to the desired 90 degree cut line, or in the “Z” dimension vertically, at an angle away from the plumb vertical cut line. Often, a combination of these two undesireables results in further hand sanding to re-establish a flush or plumb cut in the material. There goes your dimensional accuracy, as you sand- even with high number grit paper.
I get better results with a Zona saw- the one with a wood handle and a reinforced fine-toothed blade. I can control the cut depth and speed more closely, the kerf (width of the cut) remains relatively stable while cutting, and the resulting cut line requires very little attention, other than mild smoothing to eliminate burrs.
I have cut balsa, craft plywood, 2-56 screw threads, styrene, lead weights, and even some (Athearn-type) main frame metal (with further use of a deburring head on a motor tool- to eliminate sharp edges) with my several Zona saws. I would recommend them over another expensive specialty tool like the Chopper.
Cedarwoodron
I have a wood shop and I built one out of oak and maple scraps. I put an indention in the arm to hold a razor blade which I have to replce often. I built a simple stop using slotted board (1/8"). a bolt and a T nut. It took me about 3 hours and it works fine.