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  #11  
Old 15th February 2019, 01:26 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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I could be wrong but I don't think there's been any mention of a 'self healing cutting mat' yet? A real necessity if you don't want to damage other surfaces with a sharp blade!

I bought an A3 one off of some internet site for about a fiver all in, although I have seen them in shops for about the same price recently = much cheaper than when I first bought an A4 one for college many moons ago! Think it might have been in 'The Works' or 'The Range' who have shops in main town centres now.

I also got a VERY basic mount cutter for about THREE quid from one of the High Street 'we stock a bit of everything' type shops (and it takes Stanley blades and not a branded version at much higher price!). So, if you are able to do a trip to the art shop mentioned, you may find both of these at a reasonable price, along with other bits you might need.

Shame about the cost of extra postage, for I am especially, always ordering bits from afield on ebay from China etc. generally all with postage being free = with NO addition for living where you do! Saying that have you looked at ebay for bits from there? Most take maybe a month to arrive from China etc. but are SOOOOO much cheaper if you can plan in advance.

Terry S
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  #12  
Old 15th February 2019, 01:47 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by longhouselife View Post
Cost is always in the eye of the beholder Thank you for the links though, I can bookmark them and decide between film or mat's for the next month or two
Apologies Matt -- no offence intended. I totally understand, having been there too.

Cheers,
Svend
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  #13  
Old 15th February 2019, 01:53 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexmuir View Post
There are different ways of cutting mounts. Big, roller cutters like Rotatrim are excellent, but expensive and bulky. You can find alternatives, however, depending on what you need to do. Logan make a mount cutting knife which is cheap, but of good quality. You use it with a steel rule, preferably a safety type. There’s another device that cuts 45 degree edges for window mounts. It also runs along a steel rule. It’s made by Olfa. I don’t recall it being expensive either. You can make quite presentable mounts with basic equipment.
Alex


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One tip I would give regarding cutting along a steel rule, is use a rule with a grippy backing so it doesn't slip in mid-cut -- believe me, I've had this happen, and ruined some perfectly good mat boards. If you already have a long straight edge that is just plain metal, then you can get cork backing tape to stick on it. Gluing fine sandpaper onto the back of the rule is another option. Works great.
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  #14  
Old 15th February 2019, 02:04 PM
longhouselife
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Originally Posted by SvendN View Post
Apologies Matt -- no offence intended. I totally understand, having been there too.

Cheers,
Svend
None taken.

Often difficult to gauge where a particular user might be in these terms.

Many more separate threads could be started on the philosophy of why we undertake what we do in the way we do.
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  #15  
Old 15th February 2019, 02:18 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Another thing, Matt, is when useing an Olfa mount cutter with a steel rule is not to try and cut though the mount board in one go, 2 or 3 cuts increaseing the depth a little at each cut is better than trying to cut though in one go, When I bought an Olfa, which was a while ago, it came with some grips to stick on the bottom of the steel ruler, as Svend says important to have these as the rueler can easily slip, ans ruin an otherwise good mount, vweey annoying if it is on the last length, I know from personal experiance, I used these hand held cutters until I bought a logan mount cutter from Firstcall last October, just take your time with these and they work fine
Richard
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  #16  
Old 15th February 2019, 04:05 PM
MikeHeller MikeHeller is offline
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I used to use the spray glue made by 3M - comes in two types; one supposed to be more permanent - I have always used the latter. However, I found cleaning off any excess from the mount problematic as it is very sticky and marks the card. It was OK in the days when I worked in a lab and could liberate some hexanol for the job.

In the 60s I used Cow Gum! but in prints framed behind glass, the print eventually became stained. HOWEVER, when they were taken out of the frame the stain cleared up of its own volition and I still have a couple of 20X16 prints from then - perfectly OK.

I now mount prints on RC paper using Copydex which isn't easy to use on Fibre paper prints.

I only use window mats for prints to be exhibited as it adds a second layer of mounting board leading to weight and storage problems if their numbers escalate.
Mike
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  #17  
Old 15th February 2019, 05:53 PM
JimW JimW is offline
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Some years ago, I bought a packet of 10x12 mounts to fit 8x10 prints. They seemed cheap enough then, which is why I bought them.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Picture-A...b1LWrik9AzM%3D
Your mileage may vary......
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  #18  
Old 15th February 2019, 06:19 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeHeller View Post
I used to use the spray glue made by 3M - comes in two types; one supposed to be more permanent - I have always used the latter. However, I found cleaning off any excess from the mount problematic as it is very sticky and marks the card. It was OK in the days when I worked in a lab and could liberate some hexanol for the job.

In the 60s I used Cow Gum! but in prints framed behind glass, the print eventually became stained. HOWEVER, when they were taken out of the frame the stain cleared up of its own volition and I still have a couple of 20X16 prints from then - perfectly OK.

I now mount prints on RC paper using Copydex which isn't easy to use on Fibre paper prints.

I only use window mats for prints to be exhibited as it adds a second layer of mounting board leading to weight and storage problems if their numbers escalate.
Mike
I remember cow gum, that brings back some memories, Johnson of Hendon used to sell large time of rubber solution, the same stuff you used to use for fixing punctures in bike tyres, one layer on the print and one layer on the mounting board, let it dry and press together, then rub out the pencil lines and the excess solution from the board, surprisingly it would come up very clean no marks, and if you wanted to remove the print surpriseinly easy.
Richard
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  #19  
Old 15th September 2019, 07:02 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Cow Gum

There is a substitute for Cow Gum which I used for a number of years. I cannot remember what it was called but you used it exactly the same way. But the cost in 2010...... £11 for a 250cc tin!

It smelled more or less the same as good old cow gum, but not as strong and the contents were much much more dilute. I agree with Richard that there was nothing quite like it for mounting prints (Unless you used a dry mounting ) I had to stop using it when I started printing colour, resin coated paper didn't take kindly to heat.

I will research what it was (Cow Gum substitute) and get back.

Last edited by John King; 15th September 2019 at 07:13 PM.
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  #20  
Old 15th September 2019, 07:12 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Cow Gum Sustitute

That search was easier than I thought the link is:-

https://www.jacksonsart.com/toucan-s...adhesive-250ml

A 250cc tin is £9.70 plus post. On the website they mention they also sell a 500cc tin but there is no price given. (Cheaper than the last time I bough any).

Whilst I am on about mounting prints, especially resin coated, a tip shown to me by a professional framer who used Cow Gum, was to use a very fine piece of sandpaper and lightly roughen up the back of the print which gives the adhesive something to hang onto. (Especially the edges) The smooth plastic coating is not a very good adhesive anchor.

Last edited by John King; 15th September 2019 at 07:18 PM.
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