Cutters, Choppers, Guillotines, Slicers

[MintGum]

Cutters, Choppers, Guillotines, Slicers - call them what you will.

 

I've been looking at the current marketplace for these and have found several.

 

Looking for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is a challenge as there are many copies on the market.

 

Each has it's pluses and minuses depening on what it will be used for.

 

• Some have replaceable cutting pads while others have a wooden cutting surface
• Some accomodate longer stock while others only accomodate shorter stock
• Some are made of metal while others are made of wood or plastic
• Some use custom blades while others use standard razor blades
• Some have bigger stock capacities while others can only accomodate smaller stock sizes

 

My questions for those reading this are:

 

1.) Are there any other original equipment manufacturers (OEM's) of these types of devices?  If so, would you leave a link and comment below.

2.) If you do own any of those listed can you comment on the pluses and minuses that you've noticed while using it?

 

Artesania Latina - Multi Cutter - $27.99

 

NWSL - The Chopper - $41.95

 

NWSL - The Chopper II - $56.95

 

NWSL - The Chopper III - $49.95

 

Ultimation Modeling Tools - Slicer - $195.00

 

DSPIAE AT-CJ Precision Angle Cutting Station - $56.16

 

RP TOOLZ - RP-CUTR - $110 - $120

 

Micro-Mark Chop-It - $39.95

 

Amati - Master Cut - $27.43 

Edited Monday at 02:17 PM by MintGum

[Y.T.]

I own this one. It is the best to my opinion.

 

[Keith Black]

 I have the RP miter cutter and I'm quite pleased with it. 

 

https://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/tools-supplies-cutting-cutr-mitre-cutter-p-11167.html?sort=2a&search_in_description=0&keywords=rp cutter

[gsdpic]

Micro-mark also has one very similar to the chopper.  I have no experience with it, just remembered seeing it on their site:   https://micromark.com/collections/cutting/products/chop-it

[palmerit]

Ultimation tools are great. Everyone I’ve seen review and discuss them here says they’re great. I have both the slicer and sander - bought them as a set that includes accessories. These are really well-engineered, solid, great tools. More expensive but you get what you pay for. I haven’t tried others, but I know with other tools (for modeling, for DIY around the house) I prefer having ones that are high quality. Are the Ultimation tools worth paying 3-4x the cost? No idea. 

Edited Sunday at 06:37 PM by palmerit

[kurtvd19]

NW Short line is the OEM for the Chopper I, II and III

Have a Chopper I for at least 25 years.  When the base gets a groove from use, I fill the groove with epoxy and level it - good for another 5 years.

[MintGum]

The Micro Mark appears similar to the NWSL I & III.

 

The DSPIAE appears similar to the RP TOOLZ.

 

A question for those with the Ultimation Slicer, what size stock can be cut without having to do the extra square cut?

 

In other words, if there are 300 - 80mm floor planks to cut, does each one have to be cut long and then squared on the opposite end?  As opposed to the slide and cut motion of the razor blade type cutters.

 

Also, does the Ultimation come with an extended fence?

 

Edited Sunday at 09:00 PM by MintGum

[RossR]

I do the extra square cut on all my work with the slicer.  I find it worthwhile because it gives such a clean square cut.  I was using it today to cut 1/8 x 1/16 deck planks.  I was cutting about 25 planks planks with an extra square cut at each end in about 5-6 minutes.  
 

The stop allows about a 10 inch length.  I am not sure if there is an extended version.  

[palmerit]

The Ultimation slicer uses a very sharp upholstery-style blade so it can cleanly cut through a fairly thick plank. It’s a really sturdy piece of machinery all metal (except for the rubber disk).
 

That said, doing two cuts produces a clearer result (if you’re asking what I think you are).

 

I’m out of town and can’t check the specs on mine. It’s a small company and you might be able to ask them. 

Edited Monday at 03:01 AM by palmerit

[hornet]

I have the chopper II. My only gripe with it is that on thicker stock (5mm+)the blade tends to distort resulting in an angled, rather than square cut. It’s great for deck planking. 

Edited Monday at 06:59 AM by hornet

[Ronald-V]

What you don't want is the Amati "master cut"...I know that's not between your options, but maybe I can prevent someone else to make the mistake to buy one. I know from experience it's quite worthless 🙂

 

Amati "master cut"

[Nearshore]

I have the Ultimation sander and slicer. Both of them give fantastic results. If you google Ultimation Industries, you will be able to locate their web site. 

They are definitely on the pricey side, but in my humbled opinion, they are worth the extra money. I believe they are a company based in Canada, so if your ordering from the US you may experience delays in shipping according to their web site.

 

 

[palmerit]

This is the Ultimation web site: https://ultimation.ca/

(There are some other "Ultimation" sites.)

 

[LoydB]

I have the DSPIAE one (and many of their other tools) and really like it. It's heavy and well-machined.

[palmerit]

Here’s a review of the Ultimation slicer and sander:

 

[MintGum]

11 hours ago, palmerit said:

Here’s a review of the Ultimation slicer and sander:

 

 

Thank you for posting this.  I had previously read this review and regard the Ultimation Slicer and Sander as high quality tools.

 

My previous question #7 hasn't received a response but from what I gather if the planking is thin enough then squaring the opposite end isn't necessary.

 

Anyone with experience in this area might consider this question:

 

Given 0.6 mm x 6mm x 400mm planking that needs to be cut into 80 mm lengths (a typical Occre or Artesania Latina kit) would each piece need to be squared?  If the square cut is necessary then only 4 - 80 mm pieces would be had per 400 mm length included in the kit.

 

Now take the same 0.6 mm x 6mm x 400mm planking and cut it on a razor blade slicer.  One should be able to achieve 5 - 80 mm planks or close to it.

 

Of course kit manufacturers might start including an extra 5mm... 🙄

[palmerit]

Not having built an Occre or AL kit I guess I don’t understand the question since I’ve never built a model where I would require planks (for a hull or deck) exactly X mm in length. And most strips I’ve gotten with kits have ends (and sometimes middles) I would not want to use anyway. my strips for hull and deck planking are always different lengths. 
 

For my next kit I’m going to make sure I buy extra strips so I can be pickier about what strips I use and do I can trash a plank I don’t quite taper or cut exactly right. 
 

The extra cut that’s recommended on the Ultimation is to get a perfect cut on thicker stock. I often don’t do the extra cut when I’m dealing with thinner stock (like the thin pear wood for the second planking with a Vanguard kit). 
 

I remember seeing some strange recommendations for doing planking in I think either an Occre or AL build video, like showing inserting planks cut to a triangular point at the end that you’d never see recommended. So maybe they recommend precise lengths too. I don’t know. 

Edited yesterday at 06:08 PM by palmerit

[MintGum]

17 minutes ago, palmerit said:

Not having built an Occre or AL kit I guess I don’t understand the question since I’ve never built a model where I would require planks (for a hull or deck) exactly X mm in length. And most strips I’ve gotten with kits have ends (and sometimes middles) I would not want to use anyway. my strips for hull and deck planking are always different lengths. 
 

For my next kit I’m going to make sure I buy extra strips so I can be pickier about what strips I use and do I can trash a plank I don’t quite taper or cut exactly right. 
 

The extra cut that’s recommended on the Ultimation is to get a perfect cut on thicker stock. I often don’t do the extra cut when I’m dealing with thinner stock (like the thin pear wood for the second planking with a Vanguard kit). 
 

I remember seeing some strange recommendations for doing planking in I think either an Occre or AL build video, like showing inserting planks cut to a triangular point at the end that you’d never see recommended. So maybe they recommend precisely lengths too. I don’t know. 

 

Just by reading the online kit instructions and observing the tools sold by the kit manufacturers one can gather their intent and the market that their tools are made for.

 

 

[palmerit]

If it’s thin deck planks, I don’t even know if a double cut on the Ultimation is necessary. I rarely double-cut with mine. I could imagine that other choppers that use razor blades could benefit from a second cut on thick stock, but that’s just a guess. 

Edited yesterday at 06:07 PM by palmerit

[kurtvd19]

On 12/28/2025 at 2:54 PM, MintGum said:

The Micro Mark appears similar to the NWSL I & III.

They are an exact copy - ripped off after they were selling the original choppers - stopped ordering from NWSL and substituted their ripped off copies.  Not the only instance of copying by MM.

[palmerit]

2 hours ago, MintGum said:

Now take the same 0.6 mm x 6mm x 400mm planking and cut it on a razor blade slicer.  One should be able to achieve 5 - 80 mm planks or close to it.

 

Of course kit manufacturers might start including an extra 5mm...

I think that's a peculiarity of this kit / this manufacturer. In kits I've built with strips and dowels so far it's never been the case that I have to precisely cut those pieces up into 1/3s or 1/4s with no wiggle room. They're always longer (and there's more) than I've needed (with few exceptions) - but I've only built Vanguard, Model Shipways, Midwest kits so far. I've always ended up with extra bits of strips and dowels. Maybe that's not true with other manufacturers. 

[palmerit]

One thing I've seen - can't remember where, maybe I'm misremembering - is that with some of the cheaper cutters that are made out of less study materials, the blade (the blade itself being just a razor instead of an upholstery blade) and the arm can bend a bit when cutting thicker material, which could produce a less than clean cut. With the Ultimation, I think the need to do two cuts with thicker stock is just a property of the material itself (not the cutter); not quite sure the physics (or biology, being wood) but I would think that the second cut makes a cleaner cut (on thicker stock) because now that small (<mm) end you're cutting off is just tiny strands of wood fiber (so the ones on the cut off end deform rather than the ones on the long end you're keeping). That's why I'd think the same issue (perhaps compounded) would be true for other cutters. I haven't tested and don't know the precise physics/biology/botany at work.

Edited yesterday at 07:16 PM by palmerit

[MintGum]

49 minutes ago, palmerit said:

One thing I've seen - can't remember where, maybe I'm misremembering - is that with some of the cheaper cutters that are made out of less study materials, the blade (the blade itself being just a razor instead of an upholstery blade) and the arm can bend a bit when cutting thicker material, which could produce a less than clean cut. With the Ultimation, I think the need to do two cuts with thicker stock is just a property of the material itself (not the cutter); not quite sure the physics (or biology, being wood) but I would think that the second cut makes a cleaner cut (on thicker stock) because now that small (<mm) end you're cutting off is just tiny strands of wood fiber (so the ones on the cut off end deform rather than the ones on the long end you're keeping). That's why I'd think the same issue (perhaps compounded) would be true for other cutters. I haven't tested and don't know the precise physics/biology/botany at work.

 

Stock type, Stock thickness, blade thickness, knife edge style and blade speed are all factors.

 

In addition, the shearing properties of the material being cut need to be considered.

 

A thin piece of stock doesn't travel far up the V (or half V) shaped edge of the knife blade thus won't get "pushed or separated" by the slant knife edges as much as a thick piece of stock.

 

A thick piece of stock travels farther up the V (or half V) shaped edge, sometimes even to the blade thickness and will be "pushed or separated (i.e. sheared)" by the knife much more than a thin piece of stock.

 

Of course it's impossible to have a knife without a V or half V edge shape, the alternative is a saw which removes the thickness of the blade altogether.

 

Shearing properties of wood:

 

Quote

Wood's shearing properties describe its resistance to forces causing layers to slide past each other, primarily parallel to the grain (horizontal shear) and between layers (rolling/planar shear in composites like plywood), influenced heavily by grain direction, moisture content, density, and defects like knots, with lower strength parallel to grain but critical failure potential in structural elements. 

 

[tmj]

I have the complete 'Ultimation' line of products and love them all. The chopper will indeed cut a bevel on one end, but I deal with that in one of two ways. If it's planking, I'll often use that bevel to my advantage by turning the points 'up' and making a really tight butt joint against the preceding planks. If I don't want the beveled cut, I simply cut my pieces a tad long and use the sanding repeater to sand all of those parts to exact lengths while also removing those tapered cuts. As for the hand powered sander, itself. It is a gem, indeed. It's saved me many times when the complex geometry of a curious part and compound angles would make it difficult to accurately sand such a part via a powered disk sander where you must sand on one side of the disk due to rotation, etc. With the Ultimation sander, I just turn the crank in whichever direction best suits the needs for the part needing to be sanded. I have nothing but 'PRAISE' for all of my Ultimation tools!  

Edited yesterday at 08:57 PM by tmj

[tmj]

This is kinda goofy but works 'GREAT' for square cuts on thicker stuff that the Ultimation won't like. It's cheap too! Look for mini table saws on Amazon. I've had mine for 20 years and it still works like a champ! 

 

Edited yesterday at 09:10 PM by tmj

[MintGum]

33 minutes ago, tmj said:

This is kinda goofy but works 'GREAT' for square cuts on thicker stuff that the Ultimation won't like. It's cheap too! Look for mini table saws on Amazon. I've had mine for 20 years and it still works like a champ! 

 

 

These don't fall in the knife blade driven chopper/slicer category.

 

They are basically cut-off or chop saws.  Reviews on these cheap units indicate weak motors, distorted blades and other anamolies.

 

The one you posted is ~$29 on Amazon, a Proxxon is $329.  Price might make a difference in quality in this category.

 

Please post a picture of your 20 year old unit.

 

You do mention using it on thicker stock but using a unit like this on ultra thin stock, like what the chopper/slicers were made for, would most likely yield unsatisfactory results.

Edited yesterday at 09:43 PM by MintGum

[kurtvd19]

Harbor Freight sells this saw for about 1/3 or 1/4 of the cost of the Micro Mark version - from the same mfg.  Identical except labels - the last time I compared them.

I purchased my say several years ago thinking if it got me through the project I was working on with a delivery deadline it was worth it - the tool would pay for itself.  I completed the job on time and I still have this little workhorse and it's now at least 10 years old.  If it ever dies, I will replace it with another from HF.

[tmj]

15 minutes ago, MintGum said:

Please post a picture of your 20 year old unit.

Here 'tis! 😁 I've cut tons of stuff on this little thing, mostly hardwoods. It's really a great little tool, despite its origins and price! As for 'thin' stuff? It'll cut a 1/32" thick plank, or a 'stack' of 1/32" thick planks just as easily and pretty as you please! Nice clean cuts even on the thin stuff!

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 09:45 PM by tmj

[MintGum]

12 minutes ago, kurtvd19 said:

Harbor Freight sells this saw for about 1/3 or 1/4 of the cost of the Micro Mark version - from the same mfg.  Identical except labels - the last time I compared them.

I purchased my say several years ago thinking if it got me through the project I was working on with a delivery deadline it was worth it - the tool would pay for itself.  I completed the job on time and I still have this little workhorse and it's now at least 10 years old.  If it ever dies, I will replace it with another from HF.

 

While outside the realm of this thread, these machines all look like copies of each other, rebranded and marketed under different names.

 

As is often the question, what was the OEM(s)?  Amazon, Vevor, Harbor Freight, Micro Mark, etc... all appear to be copies of which OEM?

[tmj]

20 minutes ago, kurtvd19 said:

Harbor Freight sells this saw for about 1/3 or 1/4 of the cost of the Micro Mark version

If I'm not mistaken, Harbor Freight is where I bought mine way back when!