The age old circle cutting problem.

[Pgtaylorart]

I think I may have come up with a promising solution to cutting circles out of paper and cardstock. I found the Easy-Cut Lens Cutter for around $50 US on-line which is designed for cutting glass circles, but with a bit of simple engineering it can be adapted for our use. The brass screw attachment with the glass cutting blade can be replaced with an X-acto type blade attachment and the cutting arm would work much like the adjustable Olfa circle cutter without all the hassle of keeping the tool perfectly upright and under control, and also not have the problem of punching a pin hole in the center of the circle (which seems to enlarge as the circle is turned during the cutting process). For cutting rings, tape the paper down so it doesn't move, cut the inner circle, adjust the cutting arm then cut the outer circle. It would stay perfectly centered. As far as centering goes, a compass point would need to be added to the bottom of the pivot arm raised just above the level of the paper so it would not touch, but aid in finding the center. Also using the circle guide pdf's printed on acetate that Leif Ohlsson posted on the thread about never punching off-center holes would help in centering.

Lief's templates (I hope it's OK I posted your templates, Leif):
Never Punch Another Off-Center Hole!

Here are a few websites to view and purchase the cutter:
Easy-Cut Lens Cutter - Bottle Circle Strip Cutters - Diamond Tech

Stained Glass Supplies Easy Cut Lens Circle Cutter | eBay

I hope this helps with this frustrating problem a lot of us have!

Cheers,
George


Here are a few pics:

[Pgtaylorart]

I found another glass cutter, the Fletcher Lens Cutter, that is a bit more expensive but will cut smaller circles. It cuts from 1/2" to 5" circles.

Here's the link, scroll to the bottom of the page:
Stained Glass Glass Cutters - Sundance Art Glass

[Don Boose]

Expensive, but looks very useful if one routinely cuts out a lot of disk.

Don