Sunday, August 13, 2017

Thinnerline Circle Cutter - Review

Hey there plamo nerds! Today I'm sharing a quick review of the highly sought-after Thinnerline Circle Cutter! It's a clever tool designed to cut perfect little circles in thin material such as masking tape and thin plastic sheet - a task next to impossible to do without the aid of a special tool such as this.



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The Thinnerline circle cutter is basically just a bearing with a rotating center that holds a very sharp tungsten blade. The bearing itself can be made of either bearing steel or stainless steel. I opted for the latter so it doesn't rust as easily.



The black rotating part in the middle is anodized aluminum, although there is also a cheaper white acrylic option. Again I opted for the more durable material so it would last longer. The triangular piece holds the blade, and is able to slide up and down for setting the diameter of the cut.



The blade that comes with the set (yellow cover) is angled at 60 degrees, and is meant for cutting thinner material such as masking tape and paper. I ordered an additional 30 degree blade (blue cover) for cutting plastic plates. There is also a 45 degree blade available, but I did not see a need for it as both the 30 and 60 degree blades should address most needs.  The blade is free-spinning and does not lock in place, so you have to be careful when flipping the device over as the blade could slide out. The free movement allows the blade to face the correct direction around the circle as you turn the knob.





The device is capable of cutting 0.5 to 50mm diameter circles, and the stepless adjustment allows for precise measurement settings. It's great for masking off circular pieces like verniers, wheels and hatches, and will come in handy for scratch building as well. With this device and some chisels I could start making my own round molds for detailing!

Here's a video showing the device in action


The Thinnerline Circle Cutter is available for preorder in my shop for Philippine based modelers. International shipping is currently being studied, but the high cost makes shipping overseas impractical unless for really large orders.





That's all for now, tune in again next time for more tool reviews! Keep building plamo!



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