q.alba

Darn! I dropped my Olfa cutting mat and it cracked about 12 inches in on one end and the crack is about 4 inches long. I can work around it and it could have been worse but how aggravating!

tessagin

That bites! Almost as bad as dropping a good pair of scissors! Bent the tip, took it to a blacksmith who tried to get the tips back where they should've been but never were the same. Pitched in file 13.

BellaBoo

The mat was dried out! Keep you self healing mats like new by soaking in room temp water over night and air dry. I give my mats a good soaking once a year.

QuiltPat

Ohh! Try this: turn over and smooth split back together, cover itch duct tape, turn to front and then weight it down overnight with books. This should extend the use.

IQ2

where do you soak it? My mat is 24x36 and my tub wouldn't fit it flat.

SmickChick

One of mine is cracked too. I figure I should take it to the table saw, and reduce its size. At Paducah there was a vendor that handed out tutorials/hints/etc. on soaking your matt in the bath tub. I guess that mine was dry also.

narnianquilter

I soak mine in our kids pool every summer! It's kinda funny to see but we get the big plastic pool each year for like $10 and the kids love it. So while it is up, I just dump the mat in and let it soak! Put it in in the am, the sun keeps the water warm and then I pull it out before we go to bed that night!

Tartan

My 18 inch mat has a piece of packing tape on the back to keep the crack from growing. I soaked mine and it still got dried out but it is about 20 years old so it will soon need to be retired.

Jingle

I don't have a place big enough to soak my mat. They weren't soft when I bought them. I have had them for about 13 -14 years.

mudose8

Mine had a crack that eventually broke off. I think I used E-6000 or something like that and glued it back together, weighted it down till it dried. Thanks so much for the tip on soaking the mats, never new that!