How to Cut a Bevelled Edge Window Mount using a Solo System
Initial
tips before starting:
1.
Mount Cutters should always be placed on a strong firm work
surface and be at a comfortable working height. If the System
is used on a bendy trestle table for example, the table will
flex as you cut and so the System will flex with it. The result
will be a bowed cut. 2. Place the System at right angles
in front of you – not across you. Your arm and shoulder should
line up with the scutting edge so that each cut is one smooth
movement of the upper body. Your position should be slightly
to one side of the System, not with the System in the middle
of your body. 3. Always work on the back of the
mountboard – whether marking out or cutting with either the
Vertical or Bevel Cutter. Always insert the mountboard underneath
the Guide Rail from the cutter side.
To Mark Out the Window Border
With the mountboard face down, mark out the window
border in pencil to provide a cutting guide. Set the measurement
of the Marker Gauge to the required width for the border and draw
four lines If you are cutting a dropped border (that is one where
the border at the bottom is wider than at the top and sides), you
will need to adjust the Marker Gauge to mark out the wider border.
Place the mountboard
on the worksurface just over the edge and keep the yellow block
firmly up against the side of the mountboard when drawing the line
a hard pencil, say 4H, helps produce the fine lines
needed for accurate cutting
To Cut the Bevel Window Aperture
The Bevel Cutter is used to produce the pleasing angled
cuts which are the feature of quality picture mounts.
Set up the system on a firm worksurface.
Lay out the yellow non-slip mat to keep your work in place.
Place the SprintMat on top of the non-slip mat
Using the SprintMat is essential when bevel cutting as the blade
must cut into a supportive substrate to achieve a clean, accurate
bevel cut.
Place the marked up mount face down on top of the SprintMat.
Insert the Mount Stop into the back of the Guide Rail at a comfortable
cutting position, taking into account the size of the mount. Use
the screwdriver to slacken the screw, unlock the cam, slide it to
the best position and then re-tighten.
Place the Guide Rail on top of the mount, carefully drawing it towards
you until the Mount Stop connects with the top of the mount, aligning
the pencil line with the cutting edge of the Guide Rail.
Place the bevel cutter onto the Guide Rail and insert the two Cutter
Stops. Before
cutting, line up the centre of the V with the finish line and lock
the top stop; slide the
cutter back and line up the centre of the V with the start line
and lock the bottom stop.
The cutter stop is set by positioning the centre of the V on the
intersecting line and then locking it in position.
Support the Guide Rail with one hand. With the other hand keep the
Bevel Cutter held firmly up against the bottom stop, place the palm
so that it covers the top of the cutter and use the heel to rotate
the blade fully into the mountboard and then push the cutter along
to the other stop in one smooth action.
ensure the SprintMat always supports both the cutter and the rail
Manually retract the blade fully and take the cutter off the Guide
Rail. The cutter stops of course remain set for the opposite long
side (if cutting a rectangle and for the other three sides if cutting
a square mount). Turn the mount around, check the pencil line against
the Guide Rail and repeat the cut. Reset the bottom stop and repeat
for the shorter sides if cutting a rectangular mount.
In just a few minutes you will have produced a professional quality
mount that will set off any photograph, painting or picture.
Helpful Hints when bevel cutting:
1. When bevel cutting
a cutting substrate is essential otherwise the mount’s surface
paper will tear leaving a ragged edge. The cutting substrate
for bevel cutting has in the past been a spare piece of mountboard
– used by default, not by design. Mountboard is not the solution
as the core is a random criss-cross of fibres which cause
drag, resistance and distortion when bevel cutting; its surface
is not flat so does not provide full support for the cutting
line. The specifically designed SprintMat has all its fibres
in the same direction as the cutting line and its especially
laminated surface gives superb support - providing the perfect
substrate for the blade to cut into – makes for cleaner more
precise bevel edge windows with minimal effort. 2. Typically the blade depth is
approximately 3mm for standard thickness mountboard. However,
you may need to make adjustments for different thicknesses;
Conservation quality mountboard for example is slightly thicker.
If you are over or under-cutting the corners this indicates
the blade depth needs adjusting. For over-cutting (when a
cut is showing beyond the corner on the front) turn the blade
depth screw clockwise to reduce the cutting depth; for under-cutting
(corner not releasing) turn the screw anti-clockwise to increase
the cutting depth. 3. If you have a problem adjusting
the cutting depth, it is easier to start with the blade depth
set too shallow and then adjust it by very small increments
until the corner drops out perfectly. 4. To begin with, try an equal sided mount.
It is the mount that guides the eye into the action of the
image, so wide borders are usually more effective than narrow,
ribbon-like ones. 5. If the mount is to be fixed flat to the
wall, whether in a frame or not, make the border the same
width all around. But, if the picture is to be hung with a
hook, the picture will tilt slightly so increase the bottom
border width a little so that you overcome the illusion of
a shorter looking bottom border – this is known as a dropped
border.
Longridge Mountcutters are different
use one once and you'll wonder why all mountcutting systems aren't made
this way.
Longridge, Shetlands House, Northclose Road,
Bembridge, Isle of Wight, PO35 5XP England
Tel: +44 (0)1983 874121