Phil Parker Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 On 26/07/2020 at 12:17, AY Mod said: No need to pay that much https://www.ema-models.co.uk/index.php/hand-tools/cutting-hand-tools/the-chopper-ii.html Used one for years; recommended. There's a similar-priced Proses cutter but with more plastic than good old-fashioned metal. Another vote for the NWSL Chopper 2 from me. Had it for years and being cast metal, it seems sturdy enough for many more. With these tools, you get what you pay for. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 Out of the blue, I was approached by a colleague at work and offered a loan of a NorthWest Short lines Chopper. I didn't even know he was a modeller. Just came up and said that he saw my post on here and would I like to try his before buying. So cheers Ken, but I don't know your user name. And thanks for the offer Jack Benson, but I won't be needing to take up your offer of a loan of yours. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sb67 Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 4 hours ago, JZ said: Out of the blue, I was approached by a colleague at work and offered a loan of a NorthWest Short lines Chopper. I didn't even know he was a modeller. Just came up and said that he saw my post on here and would I like to try his before buying. So cheers Ken, but I don't know your user name. And thanks for the offer Jack Benson, but I won't be needing to take up your offer of a loan of yours. That was good of him. Let us know what you think JZ. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 3 hours ago, sb67 said: That was good of him. Let us know what you think JZ. Turns out we both have cover turns on Tuesday morning, so I'm going to take a few bits in with me to trial. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 These are my modifications to the cheap plastic one Add a green resilient cutting mat - I also needed to shim the angle of the blade to compensate for the slight change in geometry. Added an endstop - I think this is pretty much essential, I initially used a plastic setsquare, but have moved onto this piece of 2mm brass. I've also added a brass extension to the left hand guide, I found oblique cuts in thin materials without some support nearer the blade, the material tried to shy away from the blade. Jon 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 the drawback is it takes it out of the cutting mat, but every so often I just move it across a bit. Jon 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 2, 2020 Author Share Posted August 2, 2020 24 minutes ago, jonhall said: These are my modifications to the cheap plastic one Add a green resilient cutting mat - I also needed to shim the angle of the blade to compensate for the slight change in geometry. Added an endstop - I think this is pretty much essential, I initially used a plastic setsquare, but have moved onto this piece of 2mm brass. I've also added a brass extension to the left hand guide, I found oblique cuts in thin materials without some support nearer the blade, the material tried to shy away from the blade. Jon I think by the time I've arsed about with the mods to this, it would have been more worthwhile buying the North West short Lines one anyway. No offence meant. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 The depth stop idea could also be a useful addition to the NWSL one. I do find on occasion that the 'proper' ones can slip on occasion especially with long runs of cutting. Thinking Cap now securely applied to cranium............. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Ken has his Chopper, with a new blade, in the car and I have some bits of wood and plastic in mine. Neither of us have yet to pick up anything, so hopefully by 5am tomorrow, I can hit the purchase button on my phone to get my very own one winging it's way to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 8 hours ago, 5050 said: The depth stop idea could also be a useful addition to the NWSL one. I do find on occasion that the 'proper' ones can slip on occasion especially with long runs of cutting. Thinking Cap now securely applied to cranium............. I've often meant to try a modification that was written up in the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette about 30 years ago - to fix one jaw of a digital caliper to the bed of the guillotine, and the other to an end-stop, so you could just dial in the length you wanted - with cheap plastic calipers under a tenner these days, I think that would be an interesting improvement. Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 4, 2020 Author Share Posted August 4, 2020 (edited) Suitably impressed with the cutting. Did a few pieces of flat Plastruct and some wood of various thicknesses. Didn't get a lot of time as he had to go and drive a train. But one has now been ordered. Edited August 4, 2020 by JZ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 Ordered at about 05:00 on Tuesday morning, email confirmation that it had been collected by DHL Global at 22:00 same day. Delivered at 10:45 this morning, Thursday. Seller was in Arizona, 5100 miles away. To say I was shocked by the speed of it's delivery is an understatement. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium polybear Posted August 6, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 6, 2020 Did it work out cheaper getting it from the States? Was it actually sent from there, or perhaps a UK address? And if it came from the states did you get stung for import duty? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 6 minutes ago, polybear said: Did it work out cheaper getting it from the States? Was it actually sent from there, or perhaps a UK address? And if it came from the states did you get stung for import duty? Bought it through Amazon. Yes it was sent from The US . It was £4 cheaper and postage was free. No, I didn't get stung for duty/VAT. And apologies, it was from Michigan, not Arizona. That was something else I bought. Original mailing label. Labelled by Yodel in UK. Link. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Northwest-Short-Line-Chopper-II/dp/B004P3SRI0 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted August 6, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2020 Gosh darn it (as they say in westerns). I ordered one the day before from the same seller but via eBay and it is still with DHL in Illinois! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 6, 2020 Author Share Posted August 6, 2020 3 hours ago, teaky said: Gosh darn it (as they say in westerns). I ordered one the day before from the same seller but via eBay and it is still with DHL in Illinois! Bought my daughter's boyfriend a t-shirt from a shop in Texas. It was sent DHL priority. Took 10 days to reach Chicago, where it sat for two weeks before being shipped to UK. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted August 6, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2020 You know how to cheer a guy up! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 9 hours ago, teaky said: You know how to cheer a guy up! At least buying from Galactic Toys, your UK duty is paid up front and free postage. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted August 11, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 11, 2020 Chopper II turned up this morning. Nice bit of kit. I'm pleased with my choice. Despite my earlier posts I wasn't actually too fussed about delivery taking longer than JZ's and in the end it arrived on the very first day of the delivery window specified on eBay. The only reason I chose eBay over Amazon was that I received some Nectar points. Otherwise the price was the same. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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