The UPS Delivery is Finally Here!

I had been hoping I would see the UPS truck stopping at my home this week. My C&H Deluxe, used professional mat cutter finally arrived from the framing store store I bought it from in Minnesota. Wow, it was a heavy package and rather ungainly to carry.  It was four feet long, and almost two feet wide and weighed fifty pounds.  I carried the big wrapped box into the house along with a smaller package that came for Cindy. It was a challenge getting through the door sideways holding the box and not bumping into anything on the way through.

Once I had given Cindy her package, I took my coveted box into my office and quickly saw that with all the heavy tape, that I would need a box knife to cut through the nylon stands in the tape. I retrieved one from the garage and then carefully cut the tape that was securing the ends and then slit open the box at each end. Sliding out the mat cutter was awkward mainly because it is heavy and doesn't slide well. I saw that it was wrapped with bubllewrap in several places to protect more sensitive parts. Way to go Ginny Ward, and thank you. Once I got all of the taped bubble wrap off, I could see I had a heavy duty mat cutting piece of equipment that was almost all in one piece. United Parcel had managed to bang up the box in transit and the top of one adjustment knob broke off, but I glued it back on with super glue.  I will probably end up sending for a new one since it is not likely to hold for long.

I cleared off my big 4'X8'drafting table that is set up in the garage and set the mat cutter up perpendicular to the table so that one end rested on a half inch stop to hold it in place. It was easy enough to attach the squaring arm and the stops that came with the cutter. It was also great to get almost a full box of mat cutter blades and also some long scraps of mat that Ginny sent for me to practice on. Before I could get started it was important to secure the cutter to the table and then read the instruction book that came with it so that I can minimize material waste and mistakes.  This is really neat stuff, because now I can begin matting my paintings professionally to properly preserve them and get them ready for framing.

Stay tuned for my mat cutter trials as I begin experimenting with my new toy!