skips even after putting in a new blade
 

I replaced by blade in my Clover rotary cutter with an Olfa blade cause it was skipping. Well, it's still skipping! Are the Olfas not usable in a Clover cutter? I am going to switch to my Harbor freight blade tomorrow and see if this helps. Just wondering what others have found with that. Thanks!

sorry. typo~ meant to say my blade, not by blade!

Hmm, how old is your mat? If the mat is really old, it will stop 'self healing' and your cuts will be skipping. Try flipping it over and using the other side. You can also do a search on this board. Many people recommend using water to refresh the mat.
Of course, the new blade might be bad too....

Check out the smoothness of your cutting mat. You may have some grooves in it and if so, it's possible your blade might be skipping in those places. Yes! That does happen...If you have a mat smoother, give it a try and see if that doesn't help, or if you have another mat, try using you cutter on that mat to see if it still skips.

I've been wondering myself if any brand of blade can be usd in any brand of cutter or if sometimes the cutters need replacing.

I had the same problem. I soaked my mat in water and cleaned it really well and the blade cut fine then. Also I've heard that the white mats can dull blades, but not sure.

I use all the different blades in my different branded cutters. I have problems if I don't put them back together the right way.

I thought about that so had DH put it back together. It still skipped. I will check my mat though. It should be ok but might work. Just didn't know about using different brands of blades with different cutters. Thanks for the help from everyone!

I don't think all blades are compatible with all brands of rotary cutters. Some blades are designed especially for their cutters and don't work as well with others. It usually involves a difference in how the center hole is cut. If you have an old blade, you might compare it to the new one. While the different blades might "fit", they may not cut as well.

Here is a thread I started regarding issues with a rotary blade: http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...ad-t76812.html

One quilter left a link to a PDF on how to reassemble the rotary blade. Another quilt included a link to a u-tube video on how to reassemble it. It was very illuminating. LOL. I had incorrectly reassembled the rotary cutter and it worked but not well. The difference was clear once I had correctly assembled it.

Ditto....looks like the whole choir agrees on this one.....

I've also had brand new Olfa blades skip (not cut) just ONE thread - and it's at the "same interval" all the time - so I KNOW it was the blades!!!!!!!

Irritating!!!

This is basically what it's doing. Seems to skip at the same interval. It had never been out of the package so I hadn't knicked it. Just won't cut all the way through all the way around. Can't figure it out. I have put the blade in 2 different ways so I know it's in correctly. Had DH check that too. So, just a bad blade I'm thinking. The last one I put in cut like a dream! But I dont' remember what kind it was!! oh, well, thanks for the advice. Interesting topic, huh?

Where can you get a mat smoother? What do they cost? I have not heard of these.

Sometimes it IS the blade - for whatever reason, the manufacturer didn't get it sharpened properly while it was being processed.

It could just be the blade...I have had a couple bad blades in the past.