Newbie with a Big Question

15 years ago

Hi All,

Let me first say that I have read many of your posts and seen much of your work. Beautiful, I am in awe. So now a bit of background. I did stain glass hobby many, many years ago...still have all my stuff, grinder, cutter and pounds of glass pieces big and small. I kept all of this stuff thinking that *~someday~* I will get back to it. Well...long story..short, I am now disabled I can't work anymore, I need a hobby. I would love to try mosaic. The problem is my arms and back won't allow me to be bent over cutting all that long.

HERE IS THE QUESTION (finally huh) I was wondering if that "Cutters mate" and "beetle bits" would allow me to do the cutting with relative ease, in other words little pressure involved on my arm and neck. I have spinal stenosis and cannot put pressure on my arm/neck. It is a big investment, and I am trying to do a little project to see if it is something I want to invest in. However, I don't know if Those two devices offer the help that I need. So, Can anyone who uses these things please tell me how easy or difficult it is physically, think as if you had a sprained arm or a injured neck. I appreciate any advice, Thank you ..you all seem so incredibly nice..

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Comments (10)

silvamae
15 years ago
I can't answer your question about beetle bits etc. but I did want to jump in here and mention that you can buy little squares of stained glass, already cut, on eBay and also on some of the mosaic merchandise web sites. So if you have designs made up of squares or lines, maybe you can use the little tile-size already cut pieces of glass and concentrate on the gluing and not have to cut much, if at all. Welcome and hope to see you again.
wisrose
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you silvamae, and I will no doubt consider that option. Very, very handy to have that part all done for me. I was just thinkin if I really get into it that the cost of buying all the peices already cut might get to expensive. But I do luv that idea.
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nicethyme
15 years ago
Wis, I can get you answers to your questions, we have the inventor of those products available and a couple people he has had evaluate those systems too. Let me pass this link along on another site and I'll bet they be right in touch with ya.
glassgunner
15 years ago
Greetings Wisrose:
My name is Ray. I am the inventor and manufacturer of
both the Cutter's Mate and Beetle Bits Systems. All of our
products are ergonomically designed and of benefit to
those with limited motion and strength ability.
We have a youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPD5ESP4rBk
You can purchase my products and be assured personally
of satisfaction guaranteed. My direct phone number is
847-477-3863 and my internet address is http://www.cuttersmate.com
Feel free to call me 7 days a week. I am always here for you.
Your friend,
Ray Nicholas President-Creator's Stained Glass Inc.
cacbeary
15 years ago
Wisrose - YES, yes, yes - these are the products for you. You can score all your glass sitting down - I do, especially with the Cutter's mate. Every product the cutter is positioned at the perfect angle for cutting 90 degree angle I think. As a matter of fact, when I first used the BB system, I was pressing way too hard & had to adjust my pressure & NOT press so hard.

The cutter's mate that arm is already weighted down & you are basically just guiding the arm to score your glass with slight pressure - it's AWESOME!

I know a lady with MS that was going to have to give up on working in stained glass - it was getting too hard for her & she now has the Cutter's Mate & raves about the tool & she has no problems when using it.

I hope this helps - this isn't an advertisement - it's just the facts.

I do have a blog that has some BB system tutorials in it & you can see how easy it is. You are just pressing down on the button of the cutter & sliding down the bar, very easy, & you don't need to be a rocket scientist to get it to work.

Just click BB system & I have 2 tutorials.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Mosaic Obsession
Calamity_J
15 years ago
Welcome to our site and YES!!! Ray's cutter system is the BEST!!! It is SO WORTH getting for exactly what you have mentioned!!! It is a joyful hobby when you have all the right tools!!! I also recommend a rock tumbler to take the sharp edges off your tesserae, so worth it too! Jane
nicethyme
15 years ago
taDAAAAA LOL

welcome to the site Wis!
wisrose
Original Author
15 years ago
nicethyme; Thank You for the intro to RAY, I watched the you tube video...it makes cutting glass look like cutting butter...so cool. Gotta have that!

cacbeary; Thank You for the valuable and personal tutorials, they were great. I clearly need the cutters mate but I'm wondering does it not do diamonds and triangles well, is that where beetle bits comes in more useful? I guess I am just confused about needing both systems. Do you have the *flying beetle glass cutter* with your system or do you cut by hand with beetle bits?

And a big ~*~Thank You~*~ to everyone else who welcomed me aboard the mosaic train!
cacbeary
15 years ago
Wisrose - The BB system is for making squares, triangles, etc.The Cutter's mate is more your free form stuff. He has a strip pro that uses the one arm of the Cutter's mate to make strips but I'd buy the BB system & the cutter's mate & don't worry about the strip pro.

If you are interested in making squares, rectangles, diamonds, & triangles - get the BB system first. And then add on the Cutter's Mate at a later time. It takes about 10 min to cut a sheet of glass - it sounds like that is what you are more interested in to start with. He just come out with a Beetle Bit Mini that is smaller & only uses 2 waffle grids & doesn't take up as much space but you have to buy from a SG store. You can always email Ray if that is what you are interested in too for details. I don't know how big a work area you have.

If you notice, my set up on my blog shows the cutter's mate on the left & BB system on the right sitting on the waffle grids. That's what I mean about adding on. I started with the BB system & then added the cutter's mate. I love them both but use the BB system all the time. It is way cheaper cutting yourself. For mosaics it's the BB system & my wheeled nippers that I use all the time.
cindiloo
15 years ago
Welcome Wisrose! You sure came to the right place to get inspired, encouraged, and all the help you'll ever need!
Ray and Carol have pretty much covered all your BB system questions. I started with this: complete system and can't imagine what I ever did without it! AND I just ordered the mini-system from a nearby SG store and am real excited about the portability of it.
Looking forward to seeing all the wonderful things you will create!