I received my deep cut housing and blade, as well as the 24 inch mat. I mostly work with Basswood 1/16 thickness and I want so badly for this machine to cut this type of wood. It did a fairly good job with the standard blade, but I had to run an Xacto knife through the wood after the cut to get the shapes to release.
Today I installed the deep cut housing and blade, put my wood strip on the mat and ran the machine. The machine cut the wood fine. Initially there was a problem, as my settings were incorrect. The machine did stop. I am not sure if it stopped because of the incorrect setting (the blade was slightly cutting the mat) or because Cricut was uploading updates. (
more about the software in a few).
Below you will see how I set up the wood and mat, as well as the final cuts. I'm super happy with this machine and I can visualize tons of ideas using it. So far it is working great for the simple shapes I need for my projects. I am not sure how the motor will stand up to time, but I think it is worth the risk.
Thinks to know before you buy:
- If you are creating your own designs, it is better to do them in Illustrator and export them to the Cricut Design Space software. Learning the Cricut software is fairly simple (there are tons of youtube tutorials)
- Cricut Design Space software cannot be installed on your computer. You must have internet access to operate the software. You can only make your cuts from their software program. (That means, no internet access, no cuts)
- You will need additional accessories for cutting wood. Deep cut housing/blades and longer mats.
- I am cutting this type of wood at my own risk. Before purchasing the machine, I did tons of research and could not find any sites, blogs, craft people cutting this type of wood with this machine. The Cricut company does not have this type of wood on their cutting list.
Update: December 3, 2015
I ran a few more cuts this morning. I have concluded that if you are using basswood, there will always be a need to run an Xacto knife through your cuts. I'm afraid of over burdening the Circuit motor, so I did not use the highest setting. I'm okay with that, as my cuts are precise and match up beautifully.
Here are photos of my test using the deep cut housing and blade:
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| Cricut Deep Cut Housing and Blade(additional purchase) |
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| 24 inch long Cutting Mat(additional purchase) |
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| 1/16 Basswood on cutting mat (machine loaded) |
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| A Cricut Mistake (The machine stopped after this cut, I changed the setting and it worked fine) |
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| The final cuts (I may have placed my shapes a little too close) |
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| Almost all of the shape released like this one. (I did use my Xacto to clean up a few areas) |
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| The final cuts…(if I don't blow the motor out, I think I may be in LOVE!) |
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