I saw a rotary cutting machine for the first time, today, at Joann's (I know, I live under a rock, apparently). If you own one, do you think it's a good investment? Is it hard to use? I'm terrible about cutting strips out of 45" wide fabrics, so I think this might be a good investment for me. But, if these machines are more of a pain-in-the-rear-end than they're worth, I'd just as soon not purchase one. They're not that cheap either (at $99 each). I don't know. Thoughts? Comments you'd like to share?

If you live by a Walmart check too see if they carry them ours does and they are 50.00.

check out online at Walmart too I don't no if they carry them or not.

I live in Pennsylvania.

I don't own one either.

There have not been very many good reviews on that machine here...

Here are a couple of topics where this has been discussed :wink:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-48548-1.htm

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-33879-1.htm

People who have gotten that rotary cutter say it is not precise enough for quilting. It would work great for making rag rugs, though.

Have you tried using a Shape Cut flexible mat for cutting strips? Most people have good results with it, and it is not very expensive. This is a flexible plastic mat with slots in it for the rotary cutter.

I saw a large Shape Cut in JoAnn's last week for about $50. I have the smaller one and I love it. The larger one cuts in 2 1/2 inch increments all the way up to I think 20 inches. I'm going to use my coupon to get one tomorrow if they have any left. I also have a GO which is great but they don't cut the larger strips (ex. 5 inch borders etc). I don't recommend that strip cutter.

I also have the June Taylor shape cut and love it. I have the smaller one.

http://store.junetailor.com/store/c-2-rulers.aspx

I have the Simplicity Rotary Cutter and the Binding Tape Maker. I love them both. Haven't had any problems. The tape maker now makes double folded bindings, rather than just single fold.

I have read where people have a hard time adjusting the rotary cutter to cut well, as they didn't really understand the directions. (It's not hard, just turn the screw until the blade touches the plate firmly enough to cut well.) Now they have a table top for it, like the ones for sewing machines. It's a great help in keeping the strips feeding in straight. Otherwise, it is easy to feed them in crooked. Anyway, I like mine, and have no problems. It is loaned out more than it's at home, and so gets well used :) Hope this helps.

I just used my June Taylor shape cut for the first time yesterday cutting out strips for two baby quilts (twins) and I could have kicked myself for not using this a lot sooner. It was so easy, fast, and my strips were actually straight and the right size!

I have the cutter, I understood the directions and I turned the screw every way but loose! It still didn't cut accurately nor all the way through for me -- you must have lucked up with a good machine--lots of us on this board didn't.