Canvas cutting

[glamy]

Hi all,
I have a roll of canvas to use on my Epson 3880. This afternoon I tried and cut a sheet with a paper trimmer. It did not work ( I got my money back, no question asked from "Office Works", one of the advantages of buying local ). Now my question is: what works without spending a fortune?
Cheers,
Gerard

[Mr Darcy]

While I have never cut photo grade canvas, I have cut canvas for tents, furniture etc.
1. A Stanley knife
2. A heavy duty box cutter I use an Olfa L series
3. A wheel cutter. Again I use Olfa I use the 50mm whel for this purpose
4. Scissors. Just start the cut carefully, then tear. It will tear along a thread, but you will lose a few until you get the hang of it. I don't use this method myself as I am left handed & scissors & don't get along. YOu can also start the cut then use the scissors to slice through the rest like a knife.
5. A mat cutting jig and 90° cutter.

Options 1..3 need a good straight edge to use as a reference. There is a rubber backed aluminium glass cutting ruler which works well. Or use a piece of angle iron or heavy bar. It needs to be straight and non slip. The metal rules in the hardware stores can be used, but they are problematic as the low profile makes the knife hard to control. Also they are rarely straight. And they slip easily.

Also, your knife needs to be SHARP. This is why I like Box cutters. I always snap off to reveal a fresh cutting edge whenever I am doing a critical cut.

Also you need a firm non blunting rear surface. Mat board is excellent, but expensive unless you are using offcuts.

[glamy]

Thanks Mr Darcy,
I need a clean straight edge to feed into the printer, this excudes tearing. I have an Olfa knife (they are good) and I think this is the best option. I will make something up to give me a guide as well as a sort of anvil. At the moment what I have in mind is two 1mm sheets of stainless steel on a 6mm rubber underlay, fixed to a timber board about .7 of a mm apart to provide guidance and cutting edge ( the Olfa blade is about .5mm thick). I probabbly will try and add a couple toggle clamps to locate the canvas on either side of the cut. Cutting might end up being a slow process but it should be fine and inexpensive...
Cheers,
Gerard

[glamy]

Not much time to come here often and it is a while between posts... I got my set up OK. I can cut easily, the only patience testing stage is feeding the canvas through the rear slot . I like the results, I still have to put one on a frame

[radar]

Gérard,

going to a framing shop for cutting your canvas may also be an alternative. They have all the good cutting gear there and they would be able to have a nice clean edge.

[glamy]

Hi Andre,
I think the edge I get is pretty good as sometimes it feeds OK first time, I have the impression the problem is more in the canvas material that is pretty soft and the guide for the manual feed that is rather poorly designed. Handling 700mm long canvas is awkward as well.

[lightning]

For a straight edge use a piece of extruded aluminium reclaimed from a window or door, if you can find one that has been powder coated you will get better wear when using a sharp knife.
Because its machine extruded it is (usually) dead straight, also use when renovating as you can get quite long lengths, good to use with a level.