I use a brake I purchased at Harbor Freight for about $30. Just score the copper and snap. Safer than a guillotine and many times safer than a table saw.
I don't to spend $30 to score 'n' snap copper-clad. All I need is a small piece of plywood, a utility knife, a straightedge, and a counter-top. I already have all of these things - so zero $.
Guillotine cutter is a misnomer because this machine looks and functions
nothing like the labor-saving device of the revolution in France. I looked
up "brake", and the sixth-most-common definition at dictionary.com is
"
Also called press brake. a machine for bending sheet metal to a desired shape."
So it's not a brake.
The 17th definition of shear as a noun there was
"a machine for cutting rigid material, as metal in sheet or plate form, by moving the edge of a blade through it."
So I guess it's a shear. Now that I know what I'm looking for, that might speed things up. :) No, am not looking for a machine made of crap just because it is cheap. That's a one-use tool. I want to use the tool for years, at least 10,000 cycles, preferably 20,000. When I was much younger, I made the mistake of buying a portable handheld jig saw. It broke on my first job. I learned my lesson that day - don't buy cheap tools if you can only afford to buy one of each. And don't buy power tools with the Craftsman brand name.
So I guess the shear I am looking for basically does the same action as a heavy-duty version of a paper cutter, that slices copper-clad rather than paper, eh?
---In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, <me@...> wrote :
I use a brake I purchased at Harbor Freight for about $30. Just score the copper and snap. Safer than a guillotine and many times safer than a table saw.