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Good Lighting
This may be obvious, but it's very important to get good lighting. I personally use a white desk lamp, along with room light. With the desk lamp, I can move it around to get the most light as I'm moving around different angles to get the cuts.
Xacto Knife and Replacement Blades
There are various hobby knife sizes, not just the common thin handled one. If you have big hands, sometimes that thin version can be uncomfortable and cause stiffness in your fingers, which compromises stability. There are hobby knives with larger handles, like in the picture below. I prefer the one with larger handles for better stability.
Also this tends to be overlooked but replace your xacto blades! They're cheap, and come in a pack of like 5+ for under $2 at walmart. If you've been using your blade for various projects, then replace your blade for this, and just swap depending on project. A very sharp blade makes a huge difference in making fine cuts, and takes less effort to cut right through even the cardstock. Sharp blade and less effort means less chance of catching the edges of your paper and ripping the edge of your art.
Self Healing Cutting Matt
For those who have not tried one of these things, they're GREAT! You don't want to use cardboard for backing as your blade will get caught in the board and you will not get a smooth ride along your pattern. You don't want a hard surface as that can dull your blade a lot quicker. You want a cutting matt. A "Self Healing" cutting matt, like this one: http://www.cutting-mats.net/cutting-mats-1000.html. Basically it provides a very smooth surface for your blade to glide across. As you're making cuts into the matt, the material is made to cover up the cuts you just made. Now it's not magic, the cuts are still there, it's just "re-sealed" back enough so it doesn't hinder your future cuts. If you're planning to make a lot of cuts, I strongly suggest in one of these matts. They're relatively cheap in the Crafts section of Walmart, and other similar stores.
Also, make sure you're looking for a "Self Healing" Cutting matt, not a "Rotary" cutting matt that tends to be in the same section. A "Rotary" cutting matt normally doesn't have the self healing property and it's a harder surface that's meant for a roller blade (like the roller used to cut pizza).
Your Pattern
Basically this is either your panel or the plexiglass. You could use the pre-printed outlines, but I don't like to use them. A pattern to guide your xacto knife against will give you much straighter cuts, and better accuracy for curved cuts. And the guideline method limits you to those exact lines with very little room for error. If your cut isn't straight enough, you could have a black outline showing where you don't want it. It's still your choice, but this tutorial will ustilize a pattern. In this case, one of the plexi's I accidently scratched. You can use your main plexi, just be very careful.
Electrical Tape, or something similar
I use the tape to tape the pattern to the art. This will be in the next section . I personally use electrical tape because it's very durable, but will come off easily. Regular scotch tape is easy to rip and have parts of it stuck to the material. Masking tape can work too, but still a bit too fragile for my purpose.
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Now I tape the top part of the pattern to the art. This stabilizes the pattern. In this case, the plexi has a very smooth surface. So even if you apply a lot of pressure to keep it in place, it can still slide around. So the solution is to tape it. You'll still need to apply some pressure to keep it still, but this will make it a lot easier.
Once the tape is in place, I now take a pen and trace the screw holes. Just to mark them for later.
Now, with your xacto knife start to lightly cut around the pattern, but leave the tape at the top intact for now. You don't have to dig deep to cut into the cardstock. You can apply light pressure to follow the pattern, then go back and run your knife through the pattern again. Each run you can apply a little more pressure to gradually cut through. This way there's less chance to apply too much force and accidently get off course.
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With the bottom portion of the art cut off, time to trim the top. In this case I apply tape to the bottom to keep it stable. Then trim off the top with the tape on. If you prefer, you can take the tape off the top first before cutting the top. It's probably better that way if you're not use to cutting like this yet.
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After the top is trimmed, I re-apply more tape to the top so now the pattern is pretty secure. Moving on to cutting the holes!
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There's a few methods to cutting holes, the most common is to try and run your knife all around the hole in one swipe. This is all up to you, but if you're worried about making clean cuts, may I suggest you try the "PIE" or "Half" cutting method.
Basically, you can cut the hole into 2 or 4 segments so you can carefullly concentrate on each segment. Like a pie, you cut out one piece at a time
Also try to cut at an angle and not a direct 90 degree cut. Cutting at an angle uses specifically the tip of the blade and lessens the chance of bumping into your pattern. And although you could be a little messy here because your button will cover the hole up, you still don't want to have too much excess left inside the hole. Better to have a slightly larger hole (just ever so slightly) than too small a hole or your button is going to have a layer of cardstock to keep it from smoothly going through.
As for cutting the guide box, I don't really have any secrets to it. I just do it carefully, and lightly a step at a time, particularly for the curved corners. Just take your time.
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With the main holes out of the way, untape and remove the pattern. Now you have those little screw hole outlines you made with your pen earlier. The screw holes don't require precision cuts. The hole can be a little messy here, so just make a general cut along your outline. You can even make square cuts as long as it's big enough to fit your screw through.
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Tada! This is the method I use to make pretty clean cuts, and it's what some people pay me for. Putting such effort into the cuts can take around 15-20minutes. The key is to take it slow and easy. Patience, my friend.
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If you're ordering a Plexi from me, you could use your plexi for the pattern. But obviously be very careful, especially when guiding your knife along the edges. If you run the blade through with too much pressure and you accidently get it caught in the plexi, you could very well chip it. Remember you want to cut with light pressure and at an angle to try and avoid those situations.
An alternative is to use a scrap Plexi for your pattern, especially if you're planning to make a lot of cuts in the future. I'm not perfect so I'll ocassionally mess up a plexi cover. Like a flame polish gone bad, or a scratch that makes the plexiglass imperfect for my standards. If you're interested in any potential flawed plexi's for this purpose, add it to your cart and if I have a stock of flawed ones, I'll ship it out with your order. Otherwise, if I don't have one by the time I ship your package, I'll refund the flawed plexi charge.
Thanks for your time and I hope this has been useful to you =)
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