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Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

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Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

Old 08-14-2003, 12:51 AM
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sizam
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

I had seen these tools here and there and I'm about to have to cut some 4' long stripes so I thought I'd pick one up, what a mistake. They want you to thread your own hole on the main wood cylinder, and even after I thread it, they put the hole in crooked so now my cylindar wobbles as it turns. The razor moves back and forth on a long friggin threaded bolt, and the razor holder fits the bolt VERY TIGHTLY even after I lubed it up. They then have you put on this little nob on the end of the bolt, and expect you to file down that end of the bolt to make a flat surface for the nob to screw too! AND since its so hard to turn you'll get carpel tunnel trying to turn the little nob to move the razor and it moves _slow_. They should have made the razor device on a smooth tube and have a little lever to press that locks the razor in position. AND AND, they want you to put a screw through the razor to hold it in place except the screw is larger then the hole in the razor and the razor is stainless steel so if you try to drill the hole larger it just snaps the razor in half!!!!!!!! What a crappy design, I would have rather made my own...
Old 08-14-2003, 01:05 AM
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FlyingPilgrim
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

Wow, I have one and love it! Call Top Flite customer service, I'll bet they will replace your faulty parts. I use mine extensively when I stripe a plane. Mine cuts stripes perfectly from hair size pin stripes up to wide. I bought five wooden rolls so I can keep several colors of Monokote ready.

FP
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Old 08-14-2003, 03:46 AM
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h8w8n
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Default smart stripe

Mine works great too. I've used it a lot.
Old 08-14-2003, 03:56 AM
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

Mine works fine. I have a second roll too. Both rotate nice and true. I have cut stripes in all sizes. All came out great. Thumb on the cutter, spin the roll, and viola! Instant stripe. Both rolls spin easily. Cutter cuts easily.
You either got the one bad one out of thousands or you did something wrong.
I would buy another one and would highly recommend one to anyone interested in purchasing one.
Old 08-14-2003, 06:24 AM
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

I will admit that some of it seems labor intensive at first ...I had a liitle trouble trying to load the MonoKote on the mandrel because it needs to be running off to one side but after I got used to it the days of using my straight to cut narrow stripes was gone.
I have been making stripes with mine for years but if you are only going to cut 1 or 2 stripes then this might not be so handy...but if you have a defective one send it back and I bet you get a new one.
Old 08-14-2003, 01:17 PM
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

I have to agree with the rest. It's a great tool and I get perfect results every time (except when I use a dull blade). My wooden roll also wobbles very slightly. I was concerned about it at first, but not anymore because the stripes always come out good.

I only have one roll, but I sometimes put two different colours of monokote on it. To quickly go from one colour to the other, I remove the turning knob and replace it with a drill. You can go from one side of the roll to the other in just a few seconds.

Juice
Old 08-14-2003, 03:37 PM
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sizam
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

I guess I have to quantify why its a POS, the operation of it is terrible but the results are perfect. I'm getting great stripes but I hate changing razor position and I wouldn't want to assemble them for a living...
Old 08-14-2003, 03:49 PM
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stuk_at_work
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

... They should have made the razor device on a smooth tube and have a little lever to press that locks the razor in position. ...
The reason that it is on a threaded rod is so that by counting the number of turns, you can make repeated stripes exactly the same width.

I will agree with anyone who says that there is way more assembly then should be required. Even though we are all modelers, most of us would prefer spending our time building planes, not tools.

My assembly turned a little stiff when I first started using it too. Try chucking the threaded rod (sorry, disassembly required) in an electric drill (preferably cordless) and slowly rotate the rod clockwise, then counterclockwise while holding the blade holder (remove blade first). After a couple of passes up and down the length of the rod, the blade holder will move much more easily when reinstalled in the tool.
Old 08-14-2003, 11:11 PM
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nitromancer
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

I don't know about the Smart Stripe but I found the SmartCut Trim Tool to be useless for any thing but poking holes in my fingers.
Old 08-14-2003, 11:57 PM
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sizam
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

LOL, I like the SmartCut tool, worked well with all my electric planes and SoLite, haven't really tried it on this Ultracote yet though.
Old 08-15-2003, 12:55 AM
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egor
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

Well Mine works quite well. however I use the large #11 blade and if turning the knob on the threaded rod is breaking you up try and find an old fishing reel and swipe the crank or god for bid make one. I've also tried an experiment of my own since I really didn't care for putting the monokote on at an angle. I foung an old window shade, you know those ugly old rollers with this material on it to block out the light, and it's spring loaded too. use a piece of string to mark a straight line on the wooden roller from one end to the other, tape the end of the monokote along the line, place it in a set of the store bought brackets that are fastened to you work bench. Then all you have to do is set your blade at the proper place and pull on the material. cuts a straight line and rolls itself back up for the next cut.

actually surprised me it worked so well

watch yer fingers
egor
Old 08-15-2003, 01:07 AM
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Default Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

Sizam...I see what you are saying about having to move the blade every time you make a strip but The knob has an idexing point so you can get the stripes to repeat perfect every time. I think the more you use it the easier it will get. I remember thinking the same thing as yopu when I first got mine but once I saw the kind of stripe it makes compared to me using a 4ft. long straight I was hooked, and you know how much fun it is trying to cut a 1/8 wide stripe using monokote and a straight edge on a 2-3" piece of monokote, it is damn near impossible.
Old 01-11-2005, 09:56 PM
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Default RE: Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

A little remedial training please! I used my smart stripe about 5 years ago with good success. I have recently blown the dust off of it to make some panel lines and I am having terrible results; every time I try to make a cut around the mandrel, the blade slips or is not angled properly ( despite my best efforts!!) and the monokote gets little "hairs" and the stripe looks terrible. I don't have the original instructions and forgot how to load the monokote. Any advice? Or even better, anyone helpful enough to want to scan and email instructions to me. Tower/Topflite do not have the instructions available online.
Old 01-12-2005, 12:01 PM
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Default RE: Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

send us an email, and we can send you a pdf of the instructons

[email protected]
Old 01-13-2005, 12:14 PM
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Default RE: Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

Egor,

An easier way to mark a STRAIGHT line on a cylinder, such as your roller, is to place it against the doorstop in a doorjamb and run a pen or pencil down the length using the stop as a guide. Perfect every time!

One pro viso... the jamb and stop obviously can't have any knicks or gouges from your kids or pets in it...[:@]

Ed
Old 01-13-2005, 04:41 PM
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Default RE: Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

In case you feel like reading, Model Airplane News has an article on how to make a trim cutter, and a host of other articles.

http://www.modelairplanenews.com/how_to/how_to_menu.asp
Old 01-14-2005, 11:54 AM
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Default RE: Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

ORIGINAL: Thunderpilot

A little remedial training please! I used my smart stripe about 5 years ago with good success. I have recently blown the dust off of it to make some panel lines and I am having terrible results; every time I try to make a cut around the mandrel, the blade slips or is not angled properly ( despite my best efforts!!) and the monokote gets little "hairs" and the stripe looks terrible. I don't have the original instructions and forgot how to load the monokote. Any advice? Or even better, anyone helpful enough to want to scan and email instructions to me. Tower/Topflite do not have the instructions available online.
Unless you already got it from Bill, I think this is what you were looking for?
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Old 12-03-2012, 11:24 AM
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Default RE: Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

Hi, I have one as well. But I am having difficulty getting it to get it to work properly. I really need to talk to someone like yourself that could assist me.most is about loading on the roller etc.
Old 12-03-2012, 01:12 PM
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Default RE: Monokote 'Smart Stripe' cutting tool is a POS.

Well, the post started in 03 and most of the people that posted are no longer active. I bought the stripe cutter at a swap meet last year and find it one of the better tools sold by Tower. I have gotten some stripes as thin as 1/16 without problems.
First thing I did was used a tap and threaded the wood spool so the screws that hold it into the frame were easier to install. Used a bar of soap to wax up the long screw that operates the cutting arm. I also use a stone and strop to sharpen my knife blades so they are sharper then when new.
It's mounted to my building board so it doesn't wiggle around.
Just use tape on the end of the covering to keep it tight when you wind it on the spool, the tighter the better. Cut off the end first then just move the blade to the desired width and add just enough pressure on the cutter with a finger and roll the covering to cut it.
What type of problems can you have with it? I get perfectly smooth straight pieces of covering with it. Great Planes sells a lot of items that don't work but the stripe cutter I find to be a pretty good tool.

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