I recently bought the Albion Cutter. This tool is a measuring device by Albion Alloys Ltd.
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After seeing a you tube video of the cutter in action and as I am currently doing a lot of modeling involving cut lengths of tubing I decided to buy the Albion Cutter. When it arrived I was quite surprised by how substantial it was. This is a quality made tool. It is approximately 180mm by 50mm and has a slide which can be locked at the precise measurement you want. The ruler is in both metric and standard. Using it is very simple. Loosen the knob, adjust the slide to the measurement you want, and tighten.
Watching the you tube video explains all and better than I could. You can find it here.
The following pictures will show you the construction of the tool.
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Now how well does this tool work. I have not yet tried to use it to drill holes so I cant comment on that aspect. As for cutting, well it is more a measuring device for precise constant sizes. In this role it works very very well. I have struggles with making constant sized tubing for a while now as it slips when I am measuring, parallax error from looking at the mark as-cue, and clumsiness. This tool allowed me to make all my samples the same.
As a side note, Albion tubing is my favorite. Score the tube and snap it apart. So easy. Well this makes it easier as you can make your score mark the same every time.
I used Albion .5mm OD by .3mm ID tubing for my test.
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Now I did not manage to take a picture while holding the knife etc for obvious reasons. If you watch the film you can see better than I can show any ways. The tool worked as advertised and I was quite happy with the results. Score, remove, snap, easy. I did have some issues with the tool though. First thing is the slots for the tube. I think it would have been useful to have one more slot in between the smallest and next size. My .5mm tubing would not fit in the smallest groove and was a bit too small for the next. My second issue was the length I tried to cut. While the tool is nice and beefy which is a plus, it is too beefy when you need a very short piece of tube. It was hard to get the blade of the knife in to score. Maybe if the slide had a step on the one side about a half to a quarter of its thickness it would be easier to see and cut the very short pieces some of us need to cut. Other than those two problems I am very very happy with it.
Be aware it is an expensive tool, but it is well made and should last a lifetime.
I bought mine at Red Frog Hobbies. I did have problems with them communication wise, but eventually all was resolved. The price was $110.00 US. You can also buy from Albion at their Model Skills site.
I think this is quite a handy tool and one that will see a lot of use at my model bench. Thanks to my bleeding wallet for the tool.
Now to save and try the Albion Strutter and their new Photo etch Connectors seen here.
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After seeing a you tube video of the cutter in action and as I am currently doing a lot of modeling involving cut lengths of tubing I decided to buy the Albion Cutter. When it arrived I was quite surprised by how substantial it was. This is a quality made tool. It is approximately 180mm by 50mm and has a slide which can be locked at the precise measurement you want. The ruler is in both metric and standard. Using it is very simple. Loosen the knob, adjust the slide to the measurement you want, and tighten.
Watching the you tube video explains all and better than I could. You can find it here.
The following pictures will show you the construction of the tool.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10118/DSC05266.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10118/DSC05267.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10118/DSC05268.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10118/DSC05269.JPG
Now how well does this tool work. I have not yet tried to use it to drill holes so I cant comment on that aspect. As for cutting, well it is more a measuring device for precise constant sizes. In this role it works very very well. I have struggles with making constant sized tubing for a while now as it slips when I am measuring, parallax error from looking at the mark as-cue, and clumsiness. This tool allowed me to make all my samples the same.
As a side note, Albion tubing is my favorite. Score the tube and snap it apart. So easy. Well this makes it easier as you can make your score mark the same every time.
I used Albion .5mm OD by .3mm ID tubing for my test.
/gallery/albums/userpics/10118/DSC05270.JPG
/gallery/albums/userpics/10118/DSC05271.JPG
Now I did not manage to take a picture while holding the knife etc for obvious reasons. If you watch the film you can see better than I can show any ways. The tool worked as advertised and I was quite happy with the results. Score, remove, snap, easy. I did have some issues with the tool though. First thing is the slots for the tube. I think it would have been useful to have one more slot in between the smallest and next size. My .5mm tubing would not fit in the smallest groove and was a bit too small for the next. My second issue was the length I tried to cut. While the tool is nice and beefy which is a plus, it is too beefy when you need a very short piece of tube. It was hard to get the blade of the knife in to score. Maybe if the slide had a step on the one side about a half to a quarter of its thickness it would be easier to see and cut the very short pieces some of us need to cut. Other than those two problems I am very very happy with it.
Be aware it is an expensive tool, but it is well made and should last a lifetime.
I bought mine at Red Frog Hobbies. I did have problems with them communication wise, but eventually all was resolved. The price was $110.00 US. You can also buy from Albion at their Model Skills site.
I think this is quite a handy tool and one that will see a lot of use at my model bench. Thanks to my bleeding wallet for the tool.
Now to save and try the Albion Strutter and their new Photo etch Connectors seen here.