07-27-2007, 10:14 PM
Unless you want beveled mats, a steel ruler and a mat knife and practice are what you want. Make sure your blade is sharp. Change blades often. Let the knife do the work; do not try to cut all the way through the board in one pass.
Do you have a table or desk with a straight (really straight edge)? If so get a t-square and tape your board down with low-tack drafting tape. Mark your openings lightly with a sharp pencil. Really, a trip to an art supply store that sells drafting stuff is in order. Get a white plastic eraser to clean up your pencil marks, and a drafting triangle too.
But I'm guessing you want beveled mats. The Dexter mat cutter is the classic. It takes some practice to get right.
Do you have a table or desk with a straight (really straight edge)? If so get a t-square and tape your board down with low-tack drafting tape. Mark your openings lightly with a sharp pencil. Really, a trip to an art supply store that sells drafting stuff is in order. Get a white plastic eraser to clean up your pencil marks, and a drafting triangle too.
But I'm guessing you want beveled mats. The Dexter mat cutter is the classic. It takes some practice to get right.