Is this Cheapo Worth it?

**surfergirl** · 11-06-2010, 05:34 PM

Hello

I'm looking for a disc cutter and came across this one: Cousins UK - Disc Cutter (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** · 11-06-2010, 06:47 PM

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 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** · 11-06-2010, 08:05 PM

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

**Di Sandland** · 11-06-2010, 09:46 PM

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** · 11-06-2010, 09:46 PM

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** · 11-06-2010, 09:48 PM

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** · 11-06-2010, 09:56 PM

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** · 11-06-2010, 09:59 PM

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** · 11-06-2010, 10:17 PM

thanks Di!

**mizgeorge** · 11-06-2010, 10:25 PM

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