I had a friend who could cut fiberglass like it came from a machine. Whenever I try to cut fiberglass I has really jagged edges which cause havoc on my glass jobs. I even bout a really good pair of 12" scissors. Any suggestions/techniques on getting a good cut of fiberglass. Basically what I want to know is “what’s the secret?”
I know exactly what you mean, Ive heard some people use electric shears, tape off the ends before glassing to prevent the fibers from coming apart. I personally have decided to cut all of my laps, it makes for a cleaner line, I still suck though but not as much.
It’s all in the hand control. And practice I guess.
Try and hold the scissors steady in the line you want to go, so when snipping the blades don’t move up or down.
A steady hand with 12" scissors, and practice.
I seldom get any loose strands after laminations.
Try to start your next cut EXACTLY where you ended the last cut, and don’t pull when you end a cut. That, and sharp shears, allows you to flip the laps up for laminating, and flip them down, and then flip them under, using the same squeegee you moved the resin around with…and getting less than 3 strands per side.
i use the thumb on my left hand to stabilize the top of the scissor blades as i cut. watch the beginning of “Singlefin: Yellow” and you’ll see Tyler Hatzikian’s cutting technique…keeps everything nice and straight. then, just to minimize the amount of excess strands coming off the bottom, i’ll pull out the first two strands off the edge of the lap.
I did a free lap on my last board.
You need sharp scissors and a steady hand, don’t move the glass around while cutting.
What you can’t see in this piccie is that my index finger on my right hand is touching the board giving me more control over the cut.
My other hand is holding the glass still and my eyes are close to the level I’m cutting at.
Another thing to help steady the hand, is to look at the imaginary cutline you intend to take, the general length of the overlap you want.
It’s a bit like driving, the further down the road you look, the straighter you’ll go.
Actually that should read…It’s a bit like surfing, the further down the wave you look, the straighter you will go.
good light is key and if you have the eyes? which most of the older guys dont …try to see the cloths weave lines and cut between …keep cloth srtait…no resin lumps on the sheers either…also dont drop expensive sheers on concrete…they wont cut if even minor bend…
sharp scissors are the key. if your working with direct size cloth you probably know how important sharp scissors are, like it would be nice to sharpen them before every board…
my buddie got this great jig that allows you to do just that.
i have a power sharpening system that puts on an insane edge but it taks a while to set up… with this system you can rehone your shears in about a min.
check it out…
Wiss 12" shears about $45 here (Hawaii). Loosen the screw so they’re easy to open and you’ll ease the hand fatigue. Don’t move the scissors forward very much as you cut, or, in situations where the cloth is trying to get wavy on you, actually pull back very slightly on the scissors as you cut.
Oh, and as the cutoff strip falls off the lap, turn it so it twists to the inside instead of the outside and it will put more tension on the point where you’re cutting, making it easier to cut straight. The opposite of what Hicksy is doing in the picture above. (Try it Hick)
Like someone here said, don’t drop em. Besides bending the blades, they’ll knock together and you’ll get a nastly nick in the inside of one or both of the blades (as in: can’t grind it out) that will cause the shears to skip a couple threads every time.
don’t snip the entire length of the shear in one go
only cut about 80% of the blade length as you close it…
open it again and cut another 80%
time and time again
when running hold scisors overhead
allowing access to passing pigeons
low fliers.only need apply…
scissors are one of the greatest advances of modern man
these are worthy of the “Alien Devises” conspiracy theory
log book…I Mean who thought of Scissors…
using scissors Ive been at it since I was a lad at me mothers knee and I’m still facinated,I only wish I could be more effectual sharpening the buggas…
new scissors make me EGO trip…at the hot cutter is back window…2.oo scissors at the cheap hook at cost -u-less made my week three weeks ago…
some body said trim the hanger snot after saturation then lap…
any validation?
…ambrose…
some body said trim the hanger snot after saturation then lap...any validation?
…ambrose…
Sure the more steps the better and the more things to wash the better
Howzit jip, I Find that if I dull the first inch of my scissors a little then the blade catches the glass instead of pushing the glass and this makes for a cleaner cut. I’m really paricular about cutting the glass so when I’m done lamming the board it actually looks like a cut lap, Blows my shapers away how good my free laps come out. I use 3 different types of scissors ,12’ Weiss, big pair of Fiscars and a smaller fiscars for deatied cuts. Aloha,Kokua
Quote: who thought of scissors
Trivia is fun. Looked it up. Scissors made with bronze or iron were first used in ancient Rome and China, Japan and Korea.
But it wasn’t until 1761 when Robert Hinchliffe of Sheffield, England first used cast steel to mass produce scissors.
As to who the original thinker was? Like most, lost in obscurity.
I’ve used Dritz rechargeable electric scissors for a while, I like them a lot, they are very fast and easy. Excellent for cut laps. For free laps I will go back and clean up the cut line with normal scissors. The part about not using the whole length of the blade seems very important to me, you don’t want to close the blades all the way…
Howzit Keith, I got a pair of Dritz scissors a couple of years ago but charging the battery was a hassle because I had to fit the battery in the charger just so or it wouldn’t charge( cheap China made ). I was going to use them a while back but now the battery charger light doesn’t come on when I put the battery in it. Don’t know if it’s the battery or the charger so it’s back to regular scissors for me. Aloha,Kokua
Kokua,
Do you sharpen your own scissors? If so, how often and better yet, how??? I have a pair of Weiss and after just two shortboards, they feel as if they’re ready to resharpen.
Sr Pato
Make sure that they are tight (screw on the side)
Joe~
Howzit SrPato, I have my scissors sharpened about once a year and after that I use a honing stone to keep them sharp. Your scissors should not be dull after only 2 uses so as stated try adjusting the screw, it palys a big part in how scissors cut. If you keep your scissors in acetone like I do to keep them from rusting then what may be the problem is acetone residue. When I take mine out of the acetone to use I wipe them with clean acetone to remove the residue. Hope this helps. Aloha,Kokua