dai phan Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Hello I would like to know if there are any tools that allows me to cut/punch circles at various diameters? I need this tool to cut marking disks for painting wheels. Thanks Dai Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Sure, there’s the Meng/Dspiae Circle cutter, that’s very expensive. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/meng-model-mts-037-hobby-circle-cutter--1207748 Cheaper, but still a bit pricy, is the Thinnerline cutter. https://shadowhobby.com/tlcc-000-thinnerline-circle-cutter.html Both of these work best on thin masking tape. There isn’t a lot of pressure on the cutting blade, so you can’t really use them on plastic sheet, unless it’s pretty thin. For plastic sheet, there are various punch sets, but they are somewhat limited in diameter, so not so good for wheel masks, unless it’s very small scales. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Beary Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 (edited) Dispiae cutters will do what you want. There was a thread here a while back that had a link to a site for them. However, that site led to a company that seemed to never deliver the product, so be careful. Dave's link above to Shadow Hobby seemed to be the one that did not deliver, if I recall correctly. I just Googled that item and saw some on Amazon. They are about $50.00. There are also punch and die sets that might work if you get the right size. You can also spray the wheels black and hold a circle template over the hub to shoot the white. I've seen some good results from others doing that. If you have a good, distinct line separating the hub/tire it is relatively easy to paint the hub first and then brush the tire. I usually use a fine nib pen and flow black ink around the hub first and then brush paint the tire. This also causes a nice shadow line around the edge of the hub. This may even be better and faster that cutting circles and affixing them just right on the hub portion. Bob Edited December 20, 2021 by Bob Beary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I’ve gotten two of the Thinnerline cutters from Shadow Hobby, with no issues, but I have heard of others having problems. Looks like the Dspiae cutter is at a pretty good price at Amazon. The Meng cutter is just a rebox. https://www.amazon.com/DSPIAE-Stepless-Adjustment-Circular-Cutter/dp/B07MHMNZMZ Both the Thinnerline and Meng/Dspiae cutters are basically the same design and work equally well. The main difference is that the Meng/Dspiae cutter has a thick block around it. I believe it’s supposed to add weight so it doesn’t move around, but to be truthful, I haven’t had problems with the lighter Thinnerline cutter moving. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dai phan Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 (edited) 16 hours ago, Dave Williams said: I’ve gotten two of the Thinnerline cutters from Shadow Hobby, with no issues, but I have heard of others having problems. Looks like the Dspiae cutter is at a pretty good price at Amazon. The Meng cutter is just a rebox. https://www.amazon.com/DSPIAE-Stepless-Adjustment-Circular-Cutter/dp/B07MHMNZMZ Both the Thinnerline and Meng/Dspiae cutters are basically the same design and work equally well. The main difference is that the Meng/Dspiae cutter has a thick block around it. I believe it’s supposed to add weight so it doesn’t move around, but to be truthful, I haven’t had problems with the lighter Thinnerline cutter moving. I am going to order this as this is more appropriate for the hobby rather than the typical punch set. This is what I really need this tool for. On my latest build, I may have to change the orientation of the inner emblem (crescent moon and stars) to a different angle. So I need to have a mask that allows me to airbrush the inner circle with a silver layer then the new inner decal (crescent moon/stars) will be applied with the correct orientation. That is why I need a cutter with a precise diameter to produce a mask of appropriate diameter. Dai Edited December 21, 2021 by dai phan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RichardL Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 13 hours ago, dai phan said: I would like to know if there are any tools that allows me to cut/punch circles at various diameters? For a few dollars more than your basic circle cutter, why not invest in either the Cricut Explore Air 2 or the Sihouette Portrait 3, which can cut any shapes (including circles at any diameter larger than 1mm) with ease? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bob Beary Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I ordered one of these (Dspiae circle cutter) from the Amazon link above. It came from Beijing,China and Modeltime Storefront. I was a bit leery considering all the shipment and supply problems these days. The predicted time of arrival of the item was Jan. 18th to Feb. 5th...it came today (Jan.11th) and was amazingly well packed. Box and contents were in mint condition. It was also assembled...I had read that it had to be assembled and that the directions were rather vague. Happy camper here!! Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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