Ultimation Slicer, Sander and Repeater

[RossR]

Last week I purchased the Ultimation Slicer and Sander with the Repeater attachment.   I got a little carried away and posted a mini review on the “What Did You Receive Today” forum. I thought I would post a more complete review of the tools here.  These items can be purchased individually, but I purchased them as a package deal. 
 

 

The Slicer is a well built tool.  The base is built from 1/8 inch thick steel.  The base has a black powder coated finish that should wear well over time.  It is designed in a way that it can be easily clamped to a workbench and is equipped with holes to allow it to be permanently mounted to a work bench.   
 

 

The foot print of the Slicer is about 7 inches wide 12 inches deep without the extension for the stop installed.  It weighs about 2.5 pounds.  If the extension for the stop is installed, it adds about 7 inches to the width. The extension for the stop can be installed on the right or left side of the Slicer.  

 

 

 

The cutting blade is a single bevel blade that is used for carpet trimming. Ultimation provided 10 replacement blades with the slicer and they sell replacements at a very reasonable price, but shipping can be expensive.  I really appreciate that they also provide the manufacturer and part number of the blade so you can source them yourself if you choose.

 

 

 

There is also a small round cutting mat that appears to be cut from a self healing cutting mat.  These can be flipped over if one side has excessive wear and two are provided.   They sell replacement mats if you need them.   
 

 

 

The angle of the fence can be adjusted by loosening two knobs and then manually twisting the fence.   The base has the angles marked off in 1 degree increments.   

 

 

The extension with the stop can be added fairly easily.   You need to remove the fence from the base by removing the bolts that the two knobs are threaded on to.  The stop can then be attached to the fence with two screws through the bottom of the fence. The screws are short and the hardest part is getting them started.
 

 

 

When the fence is removed the cutter handle is lifted all the way back exposing the blade.   The instructions say to put a piece of tape over the cutting edge while this is being done for safety.  You definitely want to do this.  These blades are very sharp. Sharper than a standard utility knife blade.  

 

When you make a cut with the Slicer you want to initially make a cut that leaves the piece slightly longer than your final length, then your Final Cut should just shave off 1 mm or so and you will get a great result.  I believe you will get a better result if you position your part so your waste is on the side of the blade with the bevel. Keep that in mind when installing the stop.  The cuts I am showing are in 2mm x 5mm Lime Wood that was left over from a previous build.   

 

 

 

 

In the short time I have used the slicer, I have not felt the need to clamp it to my work bench.  I think the weight of the slicer helps keep it in place while using it.   I have seen YouTube videos of people using it on wood that appears to be about 1/4 inch thick.  I have not tried cutting anything that thick yet.   Before I purchased the Slicer, I reached out to Ultimation about whether it could be used on thin copper for plating a hull and they sent me a link to Olha Batchvarov’s YouTube channel were you can find a video of her using it for exactly that.  

 

I am very happy with the Slicer and am looking forward to years of use from this tool.  

 

The Sander is also very well built.   The base is made out of the same 1/8 inch steel.  In the Sander’s case it has a red powder coat finish.  The base is designed to be easily be clamped to a work bench or permanently mounted.

 

  

 

The Sander’s foot print is about 7 inches wide and 6 inches deep.  The repeater will add up to 8 inches to the depth when installed.   My small kitchen scale only goes to 5 pounds and the Sander exceeded that, so I don’t know the exact weight, but it is more than 5 pounds.  
 

 

 

The spindle that the holds the sanding disk turns very smooth.   The sealed bearings appear to be a very high quality.  I do not own a runout gauge, but there appears to be no visible runout on the disk.   There is no  unwanted play in the spindle at all.  

 

The Sander is shipped without the handle installed to save space, but it is ready to go from the box other than that. 

 

The top table is made of aluminum along with the guide.  The markings on the guide are in one degree increments.  There are no positive stops on the sander, but given the compact size that may have been difficult to successfully engineer into the product.   In my use so far I haven’t had any trouble getting the guide set to the desired angle.  There is a small ledge at the opposite end of the disk from the guide that can be used as a fixed 90 degree guide for small pieces. 

 

 

 

 

The table is mounted to a hinged plate that can be opened reveals an adjusting knob. This allows the top table to be slid left or right about 3/4 of an inch for the purpose of allowing more even wear on the sand paper.   It also allows for easily cleaning out the sawdust created during use.  

 

 

 

There is also a small set screw on the back that allows the distance between the disk and the table to be adjusted. I have not played with this feature, so I don’t know how easy it is to adjust. 
 

 

The guide is adjusted by simply loosening the knob on top.   
 

 

Ultimation recommends 120 grit automotive grade adhesive disks, and the unit ships with one already installed.  They prefer the automotive grade because they say the adhesive works better and doesn’t leave residue when they are removed.  Because the sanding disks are readily available, Ultimation does not resell them.  They provide two manufacturers and part numbers that they say work well, so you can source them yourself.  They say the disks should have a long life due to the fact that heat is one of the enemies of sandpaper and due to the low RPM’s of the hand operated disk very little heat is generated. 

 

The repeater is a device that utilizes a spring loaded pusher that can allow the Sander to consistently reproduce parts to the same length.  To install the Repeater, you need to remove the locking nut under the table, then the adjusting knob and the retaining screw from the guide, then the Repeater fits into the same spot as the guide.  
 

 

The sander will leave a burr on the bottom of the material being sanded. I have watched YouTube videos of others using the Sander and if you briefly reverse the direction of the disk this burr is mostly removed.  I found It easier the use a sharp hobby knife to remove the material.  The amount of material left seems less with harder woods.

 

 

 

 

Here is a small example of three pieces made with the repeater. They came out uniform in size and with consistent angles.  

 

 

 

On my current build I have started the rigging, so not a lot of work left that requires these tools.  I did have the mizzen top left to build and I used Ultimation tools for the braces on the top surface of the top.  I apologize, if braces is not the correct term for these features. I used the Sander to add the bevel to a 2mm x 2mm piece of Sapelli.   I set the guide to 7 degrees.  The end of the piece eventually was thin enough to fit between the disk and the table so I went very slowly. 

 

 

I then used the Slicer and Sander to get the angles right at each end of the piece.   I freehand this step after marking the ends from the plans. These tools, especially the sander made this task far easier than the tools I used for the first two tops on my model.  I am thrilled with the results. 
 

 

 

 

These tools are expensive.  I purchased a bundle to get a better price on the three items.  They can be purchased separately if you choose to. I know a lot of modelers won’t have the money to invest in these tools, and another member said the shipping to Europe is cost prohibitive. If you can afford it I would definitely suggest considering a purchase of these tools. Right now if I had to choose one of them, I would choose the Sander. Especially with the repeater, I find this tool more versatile. I can’t wait to use them more on future projects.  

[Loracs]

Thanks for the review.  Those are indeed really nice.

[paul ron]

so the blades are the same utility knife blades?... nice! ...  they are cheap and available anywhere.

Edited March 17 by paul ron

[Tossedman]

Pretty sure that the blades are for carpet cutters. They only have a bevel on one side.

[RossR]

They are definitely the carpet blades with a bevel only on one side.   Ultimation resells them, but also provides information so you can source them elsewhere.  

[Tossedman]

Ross, what blades do Ultimation recommend?

 

[RossR]

On 3/19/2024 at 6:58 PM, Tossedman said:

what blades do Ultimation recommend?

Here is what Ultimation provides regarding the replacement blades.   The blade on the right is the blade for the Ultimation. The one on the left is a regular utility knife blade.  The utility blade is a little bigger and has two notches instead of one on the top.  
 

[Tossedman]

Beauty! Thank you sir!

 

[bruce d]

For anyone in the UK, this appears to be an identical blade:

 

https://www.re-newflooringtools.co.uk/product/crain-184-trimmer-blades/