Which machine should I get?

[CaramelBunny]

Hi guys! I don't have a diecutting machine & I've been thinking of asking for one for Christmas, but I haven't a clue which one I should get... I was hoping that you could help, please?

I don't really fancy a computrised one because they don't seem to make the best use of the paper you have. I remember seeing Dawn Bibby tearing up teeny little bits of paper & still being able to place them on the dies on the Revolution & that seemed like a good idea. The Revolution itself was a lovely looking machine, but it did seem very expensive compared to other machines & I wondered if I would just be paying for it being so pretty! (Which is fine, but if I'm just paying for pretty then I'd like to know!) Also I really want to be able to use my existing brass stencils to emboss with whatever machine I get & I remember Dawn saying that you couldn't do that with the Revolution... It's also very important to me that I can use as wide a range of dies as possible with whichever machine I got. I don't want to be tied into buying just one manufacturer's dies in the future. Talking of which, I only have one die which came with a bulk lot of stuff from eBay, so if anyone knows of a good package deal on a machine, embossing folder & dies then I'd be interested too!:)

Thanks ever so much!:D

[LorraineJ]

The Cuttlebug is fairly easy to use, cheap to run and the dyes are inexpensive.

[blarf]

Cuttlebug!
I've had a quickutz and a big shot (I still have a craft robo) but it's my cuttlebug that I use most.

[jeanfan]

Cuttlebug`s my favourite too

[gill71]

I really, really love my Revolution; you are best buying dies for it from the US as they are so much cheaper.
If you want versatility though, embossing stencils, etc, I'd go for the Cuttlebug - got one of those too and it's great.

[Phree]

I would say do not under any circumstances by the Revolution - the major factor against it IMO is the width of it's aperture for allowing your dies and card stock to pass through. As far as I can see it is not as wide as most other machines on the market and therefore will not be able to take the larger dies and embossing folders.

For me the 2 best machines out there are the Cuttlebug and the Wizard, but we seem to have a number of BigShot owners on the forum who all love their machine.

The Cuttlebug is perhaps the least expensive of these, but I do have a question mark over it's robustness. It can be broken - I have heard of this happening on more than one occasion from more than one source. Now to be fair from what I have heard you probably have to be being fairly stupid and actually trying to force the handle round with something inside your sandwich of cutting and embossing plates that the machine does not want to allow through - the strong resistance from the machine should be a warning to stop and wind it backwards to reverse back out what ever it is that the machine does not like. However this to my mind does raise the question about the bug's robustness as I have never heard of anyone breaking a Wizard or BigShot simply because they used the wrong mat in it.

The biggest culprit for killing Cuttlebugs (because they are irrepairable if they do break in this way) is the Kars embossing mat which people use to emboss their brass stencils - the kind of stencil you normally emboss with a ball tool and light box. There are numerous tales on forum such as this one of people who have broken their bug in this way.

However maybe others have heard similar tales of broken BigShots and Wizards too - or maybe it only really affects the Cuttlebug because there is an embossing mat being sold as specifically for the Cuttlebug, but that mat is causing problems.

[gill71]

I would say do not under any circumstances by the Revolution - the major factor against it IMO is the width of it's aperture for allowing your dies and card stock to pass through. As far as I can see it is not as wide as most other machines on the market and therefore will not be able to take the larger dies and embossing folders.

Oh Phree:(, I feel I have to defend my poor Revolution!!
Yes, it's not as wide as the CB, it's a little more than 4" across but the Quickutz catalogue is huge and always being added to. There is an extension platform that you can run 12" alphabets and borders through.
I can't imagine it ever breaking and it's so lovely sitting there on my desk!!!
Got it for my birthday last year and it's got to be one of the best presents ever!!

[Phree]

The thing is Gill, nearly all these machines allow you to run other manufacturers dies through them, so why buy a revoloution when you can run the Quickcutz dies through a machine that has a wider aperture?

[gill71]

I get your point Phree, but I wouldn't be without it!

[Jeanette]

I LOVE my Bigshot!!! :D