Is this Cheapo Worth it?

[surfergirl]

Hello :)

I'm looking for a disc cutter and came across this one: Cousins UK - Disc Cutter (http://www.cousinsuk.com/catalog/6/1079/1254.aspx) (the one with 14 diameters)

Has anyone had any experience of this cheap Indian model? I know you're out there! I've read the stories of people buying Indian models (not sure which type) and them being awful (alignment/cutting) but they can't all be bad....can they?

If only I had the funds to buy the Swanstrom.....

Cheers :)

[mizgeorge]

I went through about eight disc cutters before I finally bought my Swanstrom. Of all of them, the only ones I'd recommend are this one Complete Disc Cutting Set, To Cut A Maximum Of 1.0mm Sheet, Discs From Approx. 5-16mm Diameter - Cooksongold.com (http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Complete-Disc-Cutting-Set-To-Cut-A-Maximum-Of-1.0mm-Sheet-Discs-From-Approx.-5-16mm-Diameter-prcode-999-772) or the perspex one available on etsy and elsewhere in the US.

They're still not great by comparison though, and you'll waste a lot more sheet than you do with a good one.

[jille]

i'm thinknig of buying a disc cutter so thanks for this information, now i need to look at £££
jill

[Di Sandland]

I'm with George on the Swanstrom - others pale into comparison (and it's very sexy to look at too). I have used a cheapo Indian one from eBay and it was fine for a while but certainly wasn't designed to last. It was a decent enough stop gap. I've also seen the Cookson one (that G mentions above) in action - that's fine also (all things being relative of course ;))

[emroyjewels]

George (or anyone else with a Swanstrom!) - one thing I don't understand is why the centre punches will only fit a swanstrom. Surely they are just fancy dowels, and so should fit any disc cutter with a one inch hole. Am I missing something really obvious?!

The reason I ask is that I managed to find a pepe cutter (after a verrrry long search), and as its considerably cheaper than the Swanstrom am now yearning after that. But there's no point buying it if I can't make washers. So do I really need to fork out for the Swanstrom to get the plugs to fit it? Or will they fit the Pepe too?

I tried making centring plugs out of a piece of dowel I had lying around as it was a perfect 5/8 inch. But I couldn't get the point centred, no matter how many stabs I had at it with a stanley knife, so I have no confidence I could make the whole set recommended on ganoksin as an alternative to the Swanstrom plugs.

I'm sure I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just pay the extra for the Swanstrom. But who wants one tool when they can buy two or three for the same cash!

[Di Sandland]

The swanstrom also has a nifty lever thingy that stops your sheet from slipping. Not sure if the Pepe has that (although I think their stuff is excellent). With the centre plugs - well I can't answer. Unless they fit the 'holes' perfectly you can't be sure of true centre can you?

[emroyjewels]

Thanks Di - I think we must have hit "post" at the same time! I think you're probably right and I should just bite the bullet and buy a Swanny! One last question though - when you cut your discs with it do they come out perfectly flat?

George cut some for me (beacuse she's an angel!) and when they arrived, they were slightly domed. It wasn't a big deal, I just bashed them flat with a mallet, but I just wondered because this will obviously add an extra step to the process. The idea was that in buying a disc cutter I'd be saving time, rather than adding extra work.

I currently buy mine ready cut from the states and they all come perfectly flat - so I'm not sure if it's different because they are handcut or the metal was softer or something else?

[Di Sandland]

they come out perfectly flat - and with just one whack of the hammer too. I'm not overstating it when I say it truly improved my way of working.

[emroyjewels]

thanks Di!

[mizgeorge]

Em, the edges will always be slightly rounded on one side whatever cutter you use - it's simply because the force to cut is applied to only one side. Because washers need two cuts, this does make them look a tiny bit domed until you hit them flat - though they also flatten out when you stamp them. The ones I cut for you were dead soft, so the slight doming may have been more apparent. One whack whilst the backing sheet's still on does the trick though :)

[emroyjewels]

Thanks George - I was quite happy for the excuse to get my chasing hammer on them. Relieved some tension if nothing else!

I wasn't complaining BTW - just curious as to why it had happened. Once I'd whacked them down, they were perfect. My neighbours are going to love me when the cutter arrives with all this bashing!

[Dennis]

On Disk cutters.
The Swanstrom is a superior article.The cutting edges are sloping giving a better shearing action. It also has the add on for making washers that can be turned into seamless rings, but I’ve never seen the point of that.
I have the small one, mentioned by George (Cookson 999 772), and it has served me well for about fifteen years. It has been around for a long time from various suppliers but does not have a brand name.
The main problem is that once the disc is cut the punch sticks and has to be tapped through using another rod or stout nail. To make room for the punch to exit, the block has to be balanced on something taller with the hole overhanging. The result is that the punch more often than not ,ends up on the floor. This hardly makes for mass production.
I have also tried Cookson 999 772A since it has bigger choice of holes, But the punches fit loosely so you need several hammer blows and the edges end up rough.
I need very few disks, maybe ten a year. If I wanted more I think I would Buy them. Dennis.

[surfergirl]

Thanks for all your knowledgeable replies. I'm glad to hear that the cheaper versions would suffice in the short term. More money for materials :)

As I also need to buy some kind of flexishaft and with the more expensive ones being out of budget at the moment... anyone seen/had experience of this: Dremel - DREMEL 4000 (http://www.dremeleurope.com/dremelocs-uk/Product.jsp;jsessionid=DBEF8456DB79AE1A25FCCE31FBF FC302?&ccat_id=2075&prod_id=396)

(I can see you all shaking your heads....but I'll continue anyway!)

It also has a line/circle cutter attachment. If used with the blades for cutting metal (Dremel - DREMEL SpeedClic: Thin Cutting Wheels 5-Pack. (http://www.dremeleurope.com/dremelocs-uk/Product.jsp;jsessionid=DBEF8456DB79AE1A25FCCE31FBF FC302?ccat_id=2034&prod_id=351)) would this be a good, short term workaround?

Pros:
- No need to buy additional tool (disc cutter) as I was (perhaps) going to buy this Dremel tool (or version of it) anyway
- Takes less time than a saw
- Circles cut can be anything from 2cm - 30cm
- Only a replacement blade would be needed once worn out and it's widely available
- No pounding (though I suspect I would enjoy that bit, despite the neighbours)

Cons:
- Takes longer than a disc cutter
- More wastage of material as blade is .75mm - thin by Dremel standards but isn't this HUGE!?

I'm not sure which gauges/types of metal can be cut with Dremel's 'thin' blade - I've sent an email and await their response (along with their opinions, too, on whether this would be a suitable tool). Also not sure how good the cut would be either.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, please? Am I just being stoopid? :'(

Cheers :)

[mizgeorge]

By the time you've bought all the bits you need for the dremel, you might as well have bought a real flexshaft. The biggest drawback with these is the fixed speed. The lowest speed is usually 5000 rpm, which is still way too fast for many things, and not being able to control the speed can be infuriating, and potentially dangerous. If you want a cheap alternative to start with, a hobby drill with a flex shaft will do just as good a job - they turn up regularly in Aldi and Lidl.

As for the cutting wheel, this is not appropriate for cutting precious metals. Apart from the huge kerf (and corresponding huge wastage), they're not steel and simply shred the metal rather than cutting it cleanly. It certainly wouldn't work for cutting circles - if you want to cut discs without a disc cutter, then a jeweller's saw and a bit of practice is the only real option. They are useful for slicing through bits of copper pipe though ;)

[Dennis]

George has mostly covered it, but I would like also to direct you to a similar thread started by Wheely:'Opinion Please' in April 2010. Dennis.

[surfergirl]

Thanks very much for the info - I have now shelved my Dremel idea. It's all good. :)

[annie cracknell]

OK. I too have developed swanstrom lust. Any ideas how I go about getting one? I dont mind if its not the exact same rio grande one as long as it is as good. I already have an account with rio grande but I have no idea how much shipping would be or whether I am supposed to pay import taxes etc. I noticed in some peoples other posts it talks about 'eventually getting their swanstrom' as if it was a long battle with customs which worried me slightly. Some of you in this forum sound like you own one so do you mind me asking where you got it and how difficult it was?
Thanks,
Annie

[Joe]

It's not so bad really. You'll need to pay the VAT and the collection fee ( I think about £3) and if you use the cheapest delivery option I think it's about £10 but quite slow... hence the "eventually"!

[mizgeorge]

I'd recommend buying from Fundametals. You may find the customs charges work out rather lower that way ;)