I have the Chopper I with a well-worn groove where the blade contacts the baseboard. I had an occasion recently to cut up some wood for a project and noted that the blade seems to diverge from vertical. Does anyone know if this is due to the lack of stiffness in the blade or or a dull blade or the worn groove? It doesn't seem likely that the groove is causing the deflection as it does not contact the blade at all but I couild be wrong.
Is the Chopper II any better and does it suffer from the same problem? At $50 or so for the Chopper II, I might try to come up with a way to repair my existing one with a self-healing pad. Anybody know if that has ever been done?
I own the Chopper III and noticed if I try to cut material thicker than 1/8" (stripwood), the blade will try to wander as it cuts through the material. However, I think it is a sign of a dull blade as I changed the blade and had much better results in cutting without the blade trying to curve.
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
Confession: for years I thought the NWSL Chopper was a silly extravagance since anyone with a ruler, a pencil, and a knife blade can cut many identical length pieces -- right? Wrong! I love it and use it alot.
None of the Choppers are really intended to cut thick materials, and given that the blade comes down at an angle and not from straight above makes material 1/8" thick a real challenge to cut cleanly. For materials that thick we'd need a Chopper IV or V where the blade comes down straight from above, like a guillotine.....
Obviously a fresh blade is as important for good work with a Chopper as it is with a hobby knife.
A bit of plastic wood or maybe Durham's water putty in that groove followed by careful sanding should take care of the problem, at least for a while. While the self healing mat is a nice feature in terms of avoiding that annoying groove (at least avoiding it for a longer period), I happen to think that having the work sit on a totally unyielding surface such as Chopper I's masonite makes a great deal of sense.
Dave Nelson
I had the original Chopper, and I filled the worn groove with 5-minute epoxy. Easy and quick to do, and it dries fairly hard.
I got a Chopper II, it cuts thick wood the same way, at an angle. The really only way to get around it is to make a series of cuts on all four sides of the stripwood. This leaved the final cut with a shallow point, which can be sanded down with a file or the small pieces of wood with sandpaper attached that women use to file their fingernails. Forget what they're called. I buy mine in bunches at local dollar stores.
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
I too ,used epoxy to fill the groove,works good,prollyy a little harder than the hardboard. I think a cut pad would wear a groove too and be harder to repair in the long run. BILL
Railphotogsmall pieces of wood with sandpaper attached that women use to file their fingernails. Forget what they're called.
Emory boards....