It arrived last night, by golly if that box weighed 18 pounds I am a monkey's uncle. It was LIGHTER than that. My smallest Sheltie weighs apporx 18 - 20 pounds, she is heavier than the box was. The UPS guy said, have a large box for you tonight when I opened the door. Told him it's a cutting machine for quilting, he smiled.
The unit comes together where all you need to do is insert the ruler and speed guide.
I did some cutting on it, NICE! Going to love this machine. With it being so light, it is easy to move if needed. It also is not going to take up a bunch of space on my cutting table. I have one of the fold down ones on wheels. The unit takes up 3/4 of one fold down side.
I am going to cut some strips out later today after I finish mowing the back yard, as today will be a cool day here to do yard work, to use for the ACCUQUILT - GO. Want to do some tumbling blocks etc.

LOVE MINE!!! :lol: :mrgreen: :lol: :mrgreen: :lol: :mrgreen:
I purchased it from a lady here on the board. What a difference it makes. Quick to cut and basically NO RULER MISTAKES. No slipping, scooting, etc. I have been amazed how much fabric I am saving. I have always bought a little extra fabric because I knew that I would ruin some with slippage. Now I have some wonderful, usable scraps. And I love the fact that it is 99% ready to use when you take it out. Really just about as easy as moving your cutting mat.

Now I am looking for the perfect fabric to make me a carrying case for it. I know that I can buy one, but I want my baby to have something special.

I am really thinking about getting my mom one for Christmas and making it a cover too. She usually buys precuts because of cutting it out and I think that she will love it. When we go home - hopefully in October - I am taking my baby and see what she thinks about it. If she flips like I think she will, I will order one for Christmas.

Although I may have to deal with having a second on hand if she doesn't want it - wouldn't want to have to deal with returning it. :twisted: Yeah, that's what I will tell my DH. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

It is on the top of my wish list now.... You guys are killing me here!!

I'm going to call around to the sewing & quilting stores here in town and see if any of them carry it... it might be one of those order online only but I sure would love to see it in person and don't think I can wait until Paducah - which I am going to next year and am not going to let a friend of mine talk me out of it like she did this year... :'(

I bought one at the county fair. I haven't had a chance to use it too much since I was busy machine quilting something before I move on to the next project.

I love mine! I've been able to do so much more and learn so much more quickly since I've been able to cut easily and straight.

I find now that when I'm away and have to cut fabric the old way, with just rulers, I get nervous and don't want to do it. It's great to be able to eliminate the fear of mis-cutting. Not that I don't ever make mistakes, but I have way more confidence cutting with this system.

I highly recommend this product!

I guess I'm the only who didn't like it as much b/c of the size. I don't have a designated place for it. I had to pull it out and clear the table for it. After a while, it just stay hidden.

Do you still have it? Are you interested in selling? Is this different than the Accuquilt go? Thanks, Carmen

So glad to see this thread. I'm going to purchase a cutting system soon. I'm having a hard time deciding between Accuquilt and Alto's. Last night I was convinced to get the Accuquilt, now after reading these comments I'm on the fence again.
If you had a choice which one would you get??????? :roll:

That is the cutting system I want.
I have heard really good things about it.

It's a completely different type of system. With the Go!, you hand crank a layer of die/fabric/cutting mat through two rollers (like the old-fashioned washing machine rollers). Pressure causes the fabric to be cut through by the metal die imbedded in a tray of foam.

The Quilt Cut is a ruler-and-rotary-cutter system that allows you to secure the ruler in place before cutting.

I also looked at the AccuQuilt, but hated the idea of being 'confined' to what dies they made/I had. And there seems to be SSSOOOO much wasted fabric. With the QuiltCut you are free to cut ANYTHING. I expecially like it now that I have EQ7. There are a lot of patterns out there - and that I create - that are not 'standard' sized pieces - i.e. 2" triangle but I need 2 3/8" triangle. And you can fussy cut with QuiltCut and not with the AccuQuilt.

I think for the AccuQuilt to be valuable is if you are producing quilt kits, but it seem to make sense to have to have GOBS of different dies available. And where would you store them? I would rather store fabrics.

Do you have a chance to go to a large quilt show? You could check and see if there are booths for both systems, then go and try them out for yourself. I think it really is a matter of personal preference for most people, although those who have trouble pressing down on a rotary cutter are probably better off with the cranking action of the Go!

The Go! becomes more expensive in the long run because you have to invest in dies.

The big advantage I see with the Go! is in the cutting of triangles; the corners are all nubbed off so it is easy to match pieces accurately.

I really like this machine, have done a lot of cutting - the yard can wait!
Sewing is more important lol.
The cover that Alto's sells for it looks to be heavy canvas.
My cutting table is one that is 72 inches long with both sides up - has wheels so is mobile. I have the Alto on one side, ACCUQUILT - GO on the other.
See if your mother likes the unit, she may surprise ya. It is easy to use. Size for many may be a problem but it really is not that heavy.

DebsShelties said:
I really like this machine, have done a lot of cutting - the yard can wait!
Sewing is more important lol.
The cover that Alto's sells for it looks to be heavy canvas.
My cutting table is one that is 72 inches long with both sides up - has wheels so is mobile. I have the Alto on one side, ACCUQUILT - GO on the other.

See if your mother likes the unit, she may surprise ya. It is easy to use. Size for many may be a problem but it really is not that heavy.[/quote]

If you could only afford ONE cutting machine, which would you choose, Alto or Accuquilt?

I've had my Alto's for years and LOVE IT!!! :))

I can do angles precisely ... I can do straight cuts easily. I don't have to try to hold a ruler as it only had one pressure point on the cutting guide. With my arthritis I use my palm to hold that in place and my hands don't hurt anymore.

I have even take it with my on retreats when we have to cut material there. Though I do wish all the cutting were done beforehand.

There is no wasted fabric as with the AccuQuilt GO.

ali

The Accuquilt Go looks a LOT like the Sizzix system for scrapbooking. Does anyone have both? What is the difference? Are the dies made differently? I have cut out fabric with my Sizzix, but the fabric has to be starched to get a good cut - but that might be because it was used for paper a lot.

From what has been posted on the Accuquilt users group on Yahoo, the Sizzix dies and Go! dies are not interchangeable.

I do not have to starch fabric for my Go!, but then I do not pre-wash my fabrics so they still have manufacturer's sizing on them when I run them through.

If you could only afford ONE cutting machine, which would you choose, Alto or Accuquilt?[/quote]

The Alto Quilt Cut 2 = $209, The ACCUQUILT - GO = $349 reg price, have seen it around for as little as $211(amazon)
If I was only able to afford one - the Alto Quilt Cut would be my choice as the other is somewhat limited with the dies.
The dies are a certain size with the GO.
Depending on where you buy the dies, they can be very costly.

Is the Quilt Cut 2 adaptable to a lefty? I just watched the manufacturer's video and it didn't mention left handed cutting.

I thought the Go was what i wanted but now I'm not so sure. Although I do have arthritis in my hands which is why I was considering the GO but the GO requires some strength to use.

At this point in my life I cannot afford either BUT I at least want to 'dream' in the right direction. Maybe I'll get to spend my bonus this year for something other than medical bills!

YES you can have it either right or left handed. It comes set up for right handed, but with a quick turn of a screwdriver and moving one bar to the opposite side, it becomes Left Handed.

I saw this at the fair I am glad you love yours I am going to get it from the warehouse since the lady at the fair was not too truthful. Send pics of your cuttings!!

Thank you for the lefty info. I've grown weary of using things 'upside down' for left handers. While many manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon with numbering for both, many of the 'specialty' templates are still not lefty friendly.

You are very welcome. I am also keeping the box it came in - stash it behind a sofa in my sewing room so if I need to put the Alto away to drop the table so I can pin a top to batting etc. I can.
The sofa is a sofabed queen size, I use foam board from Joann's as a hard area to place the backing etc on to pin.
Then when done, fold bed back into sofa, and bring out my cutting table etc. again.

I love my Alto's quilt cut. When you purchase this you don't have to purchase any new dies etc. as you do with the Go.

How many thicknesses can you cut through?

I thought of one advantage of the Go! I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere. That is, it is completely safe to use -- no danger of slipping and cutting your hand, or of dropping a rotary cutter. Have seen an occasional horror story posting of that happening to people. For this reason a Go! would be safer to use with children and for anyone who might be a little clumsy from a medical condition.

Left-handed usage - It is very easy to change from right to left, you just place the ruler on the other side in its trench. Works the same way. My sister is a lefty and she uses it too.

The safety is not a huge issue because when you are holding the ruler with one hand and cutting with the other, your holding hand is actually about 1/2" ABOVE the cutting surface. Much safer than trying to hold the ruler and cut. Of course, if you are like me, you can still find a way to get cut -- been there, done that, had the stitches to prove it.

They say 10, but also that some do more than 10.

Does it do thicker fabrics such as corduroy and home dec fabrics?

I don't understand why it's still the notion that the die cut machines have so much waste. Not true. I have strings of fabric left, not much to do anything with. I have the Go and the Alto Cut2. I would give up the Alto in a second if I had to choose. I seldom get the same accurate cut twice using the Alto, it's always a smidgen off. It's me I know but that's what I don't like, not being able to cut perfectly every time. If the guide is not in the precise place as it was on the cut before it, the cut is off.

Does Alto use the same rotary blades we use in rotary cutters? 45? 60?

You use a rotary cutter, the alto is a cutting mat with fabric holder and adjustable ruler. Lots of YouTube videos showing how it works.

This I do not know, maybe others can answer this question. I only use cotton fabrics on both the Alto and ACCUQUILT - Go.

I have the Go, have never seen the other one. I prewash my fabric all the time THEN use the go, and shapes are fine.

I have one and I dislike it intensely. I either use the GO cutter and rotary cut without the Alto. Mine is back in its box and stays in the closet. I guess I need to sell it; it is virtually brand new.

Of course you can - you can cut any fabric that is cut-able with a regular rotary cutter of any size. It's easy and simple. The advantage is that once you place the ruler, the cut is simple and straight, and it has a side bar that you can set to cut multiple rows of the same width each and every time. The fabric holder holds the fabric for you, if desired, so it doesn't move until you're ready to release it. It's very fast and easy - and no waste.

Even my friends who have medical conditions that cannot turn the handle on the Go, can and do use the Alto. They really like it, for it's steadiness and ease of use.

I was going to also buy a Go for my appliqué pieces, but found the handles to be difficult to turn for me. It requires some strength in the hands, I found. Also, the expense of the dies was rather shocking - but I would bet at some point those costs will come down. I think, anyway :)

My opinions only,
Debbie in Austin

Debbie, I hope you are right, the Dies ARE expensive!

I can't live without my Alto's now. It was a little hard to get use to at first, but with time I have come to love it. Much nicer than a plain old green mat on the table top. Love it Love It!!!

I have the GO and love it, you can watch the different places i.e. Nancy's Notions, and other places that sell Quilting merchandise and find sales. I think when you purchase whichever cutter you naturally are going to love it because that's why you chose it.

I'm 72 with arthritis and can turn the handle on the GO, whereas I have trouble with the rotary cutter. Maybe it's just an individual preference.

I have had the Altos for about 7 years. The original one. I love it! But after reading some of the posts, many think it is a machine. It is not a machine. Manual labor, ladies. You use your own rotary cutter. But it works great! I have cut many, many strips, triangles, squares on it. I would highly suggest that you check out any videos on it before you buy so you know what to expect. I would highly recommend it! I just love mine!