Paper slabbing tool

The sub-frame 50 may be returned to an uppermost position by 5 applying a rearward pressure on the thumb lever 54, causing the sharp edge 74 to disengaged from the gear The blade guard 44 is also pivotally movable about an axis 90 of bolts 92 as can be seen on Figure 5. In operation, the blade guard 44 is urged downwardly by a second 15 torsion spring 94 attached at a fixed end to the carriage frame The second latch block 80 is also urged against the mounting portion 88 of the blade guard 44 by a third torsion spring 96 also having a fixed end attached to the carriageframe When the slabbing tool is lifted up from a working surface, the blade 20 guard 44 automatically rotates downwardly to enclose the cutting blade Also during this motion, the second locking block 80 automatically rotates rearward to interfere with tab 86 and to lock the blade guard 44 in a down position.

This movement causes the blade guard 44 to raise and to expose the cutting blade Referring now specifically to Figures 5, 11 and 12, the blade carrier 34 of the paper roll slabbing tool of the preferred embodiment is pivotally mounted transversally inside the elongated carriage frame 20 about the axis of rotation of casters 24, by means of bolts through two bosses The blade carrier 34 is pivotally adjustable about its axis of mounting by means of a vertical slotted adjuster plate 36 mating with the cam lock assembly 38 as previously explained.

The blade carrier 34 comprises a blade holder supporting an utility knife blade The cutting blade 40 is held inside the blade holder by a rounded projection interfering into a rounded notch on the upper edge of the blade Such engagement is not illustrated here for being common to all utility knives using similar cutting blades. The cutting blade 40 is also held inside the blade holder by means of a lock plate slidable into a pair of opposite grooves in the blade holder The lock plate is held inside the blade holder against the cutting blade 40 by a cam pin cormected to a turn-knob A further feature of this quick-change blade holder is that the rotational movement of the cam pin is controlled by a second leaf spring held against the blade holder by a countersunk head bolt through the body ofthe blade holder , as shown on Figure When the turn-knob is turned in a locked position, the second leaf spring pushes against the flat portion ofthe lock pin for preventing the pin from rotating freely.

The replacement of a cutting blade 40 on this preferred embodiment is done quickly without tooling. The slabbing tool of the preferred embodiment may also optionally comprise a blade storage compartment for storing a number of spare cutting blades This compartment is illustrated on Figures 5 and The blade storage compartment is horizontally movable about a mounting bolt through an upper surface of the carriage frame The blade storage compartment has a cavity for lclainillg a number of spare cutting blades When the blade storage compartment is in the closed position, the hook-shaped formation interferes with a latching boss on the end of a fifth leaf spring The fifth leaf spring is held to the carriage frame 20 by bolts as shown of Figure The leaf spring also comprises a push-knob protruding through the side of the carriage frame A pressure from a user on the push-knob deflects the spring and disengages the boss from the hook-shaped formation to let the compartment swing in an opened position.

The paper roll slabbing tool of the preferred embodiment as described and illustrated herein is a safe implement for slabbing a roll of paper manually.

The tool provides a good grip for pushing a cutting blade through the surface of a roll, and its wheeled carriage allows a self-guided frictionless motion, reducing thereby the overall fatigue associated with roll slabbing operations.

Therefore it is not always practical to support these large rolls in a cantilevered mode, or to lift them off the floor with an arbour through their core as suggested by the prior art apparatus. These heavy rolls are simply left of the floor, and the paper is cut off the cores by paper mill workers using each a craftsman's utility knife. The slabbing of a core with an utility knife is a tedious process where workers tend to develop hand and wrist sprains.

In order to lessen the fatigue of the task, paper mill workers sometimes modify their grip on the knife and push it along instead of pulling on it as it is recommended. This practice is known for breaking knife blades and for causing severe injuries to the forearm and elbow of the user from scratching against the portion of a broken blade protruding from the surface of the roll.

In spite of the inconveniences and hazards of slabbing a paper roll with an utility knife, it has been found that the type of blade used in those knives is ideal for slicing through several layers of paper on a paper roll.

Therefore, and notwithstanding the injuries associated with this activity, this manual method of slabbing a paper roll is widely used in the paper making industry.

In the present invention, however, there is provided in a broad sense, a hand tool for slabbing a roll of paper, comprising an elongated carriage frame having a nominal length, width and depth, and handle means affixed thereto. The hand tool also has casters mounted on a right side and on a left side of the elongated frame for movably supporting the elongated frame along an upper segment of that roll.

There is also provided a blade carrier attached to the elongated frame and a cutting blade mounted in that blade carrier. During use, the cutting blade extends beneath the elongated frame and has a cutting edge facing towards a forward end of the elongated frame.

A first advantage of this aspect of the present invention is that a user thereof can slit a nominal layer of paper from the paper roll with ease for having a firm manual control of the cutting blade and for being able to move the elongated frame in a frictionless straight motion. In accordance to another aspect of the present invention, the handle means is a first mushroom type handle projecting from an upper side and near a forward end of the elongated frame, and a second full-palm type handle projecting from an upper side and near a rear end of the elongated frame.

Both handles are advantageously used for handling the hand tool of the present invention in a manner similar to the handling of a carpenter's plane. Both handles provide a firm grip on the tool while both hands of a user are held at a safe distance from the cutting edge of the blade. In accordance to yet another aspect of the present invention, the elongated frame comprises a pivotally lockable blade guard.

The blade guard encloses the cutting blade when the hand tool is lifted off a work surface for further enhancing a safe handling of this hand tool. In accordance to a further aspect of the present invention, the blade carrier also comprises a blade holder having a removable lock plate for retaining the cutting blade in the blade holder, and a cam-pin for retaining the lock plate in a blade retaining position.

Hence, in this further aspect of the present invention, blade changes are effected quickly without using additional tooling. Such an angle of cutting causes the blade to float at the set depth rather than being squeezed and pulled into a cut.

This angle is also known to require a minimum pushing force on a cutting blade used during the slabbing of a roll of paper. The preferred embodiment of the invention will be further understood from the following description, with reference to the drawings in which:. Referring to FIGS. The paper roll slabbing tool comprises an elongated carriage frame 20 and four pairs of casters 22,24,26,28 attached thereto.

The carriage frame 20 also has a front handle 30, preferably the shape of a mushroom type handle, and a rear handle 32, preferably the shape of a full-palm type handle. Both handles being similar to the handles of a wood plane, for manually moving the slabbing tool along the surface of a roll in a manner similar to the movement of a carpenter's plane.

The principal advantages of casters 22,24,26,28 are firstly that the elongated carriage frame 20 is easily pushed along a surface of a roll to be slabbed. Secondly, and because in use the casters are set astride the curvature of the roll, the elongated carriage frame 20 remains aligned with the longitudinal axis of that roll. The slabbing tool also has a blade carrier 34 which is only partly seen on the Figures referred to, but which will be explained in greater details when making reference particularly to FIGS.

The blade carrier 34 has a slotted adjuster plate 36 extending vertically therefrom and mating into a cam-lock assembly The depth of the cutting blade 40 is thereby adjustable in relation to the surface of a roll 42 as seen on FIG. When the slabbing tool is lifted off a roll surface, a blade guard 44 mounted inside the carriage frame 20 pivots downwardly to enclose the cutting blade 40, and to prevent a user of the tool from inadvertently contacting the cutting edge of the blade The blade guard 44 normally remains locked in a down position by a locking mechanism.

The locking mechanism as will be explained later may be released to allow the blade guard 44 to retract, by setting the tool on a roll surface causing a trailing rod or actuator member 46 to raise and to disengage the locking mechanism. It has been found that in certain circumstances when the blade is set at a radial orientation, the blade tends to dig in and be squeezed into the cut, whereas when the blade 40 it is set at an inclination as shown on FIG.

In other circumstances, however, a radial orientation of the blade has given the best operation. Alternatively, the blade carrier 34 may be fitted with a lateral angular blade adjuster which is not shown here for being known in the field of manual implements and especially in the field of woodworking tools.

Referring now to FIG. The forward pair of casters 22 of the slabbing tool is mounted on a sub-frame 50 which is pivotally movable about an axis through bolt 52 on the carriage frame The movement of the sub-frame 50 is controlled in a downward direction by a first lever 72, and in an upward direction by a ratchet type mechanism comprising a thumb lever Create circles in half-inch increments from one inch in diameter, all the way up to eight inches.

This is such an easy way to make your circle easel cards, or quickly cut out circle apertures! The curved stainless steel blade is based on designs from knife makers, and is self sharpening with every cut, so it glides through material with very little pressure. The cutting surface has a recessed guideline grid, which you can use with the enclosed scoring tool to crafts accurate score lines alongside using the guillotine to accurately cut your paper and card.

The clear finger guard protects your fingers from the blade when you are operating the guillotine but still lets you see where the blade is, and pushing down on this also helps support the paper you are cutting. Fiskars feature a lot in this list for a reason — their speciality is blades and they make long-lasting and reliable paper cutting tools.

This A5 guillotine is no exception. The guillotine will cut up to 5 sheets of up to 80gsm thickness at once, which is great if you are mass crafting for wedding invitations or Christmas cards. As well as having inch and centimetre measurement running along the top and bottom edges, it has these across the centre of the guillotine too, which is very handy if you are working with smaller mats. There are also marking in both orientations to help cut A6 and A6 sizes accurately every time.

What sets the TrueControl knife apart from most other craft knives is the blade changing system. Similarly, the replacement blades are packaged so that you can slip the end into knife handle and lock it in place before pulling the new blade out of its packaging. As well as being much safer, this keeps any oil or dirt you might have on your hands away from your fresh cutting blade.

This is comfortable and easy to hold and maneuveor with its soft grip — a light and precise cutting knife for card makers. The thick and strong blades work well with these thicknesses and this great value knife is a good choice. When not in use, store in the clear lid to keep your blade sharp, but when it does get less sharp from use, it is simple to change by twisting the knife handle to release. In accordance to another aspect of the present invention, the handle means is a first mushroom type handle projecting from an upper side and near a forward end of the elongated frame, and a second full-palm type handle projecting from an upper side and near a rear end of the elongated frame.

Both handles are advantageously used for handling the hand tool of the present invention in a manner similar to the handling of a carpenter's plane. Both handles provide a firm grip on the tool while both hands of a user are held at a safe distance from the cutting edge of the blade. In accordance to yet another aspect of the present invention, the elongated frame comprises a pivotally lockable blade guard. The blade guard encloses the cutting blade when the hand tool is lifted off a work surface for further enhancing a safe handling of this hand tool.

In accordance to a further aspect of the present invention, the blade carrier also comprises a blade holder having a removable lock plate for retaining the cutting blade in the blade holder, and a cam-pin for retaining the lock plate in a blade retaining position. Hence, in this further aspect of the present invention, blade changes are effected quickly without using additional tooling.

Such an angle of cutting causes the blade to float at the set depth rather than being squeezed and pulled into a cut. This angle is also known to require a minimum pushing force on a cutting blade used during the slabbing of a roll of paper. The preferred embodiment of the invention will be further understood from the following description, with reference to the drawings in which:.

Referring to FIGS. The paper roll slabbing tool comprises an elongated carriage frame 20 and four pairs of casters 22,24,26,28 attached thereto. The carriage frame 20 also has a front handle 30, preferably the shape of a mushroom type handle, and a rear handle 32, preferably the shape of a full-palm type handle.

Both handles being similar to the handles of a wood plane, for manually moving the slabbing tool along the surface of a roll in a manner similar to the movement of a carpenter's plane. The principal advantages of casters 22,24,26,28 are firstly that the elongated carriage frame 20 is easily pushed along a surface of a roll to be slabbed. Secondly, and because in use the casters are set astride the curvature of the roll, the elongated carriage frame 20 remains aligned with the longitudinal axis of that roll.

The slabbing tool also has a blade carrier 34 which is only partly seen on the Figures referred to, but which will be explained in greater details when making reference particularly to FIGS. The blade carrier 34 has a slotted adjuster plate 36 extending vertically therefrom and mating into a cam-lock assembly The depth of the cutting blade 40 is thereby adjustable in relation to the surface of a roll 42 as seen on FIG.

When the slabbing tool is lifted off a roll surface, a blade guard 44 mounted inside the carriage frame 20 pivots downwardly to enclose the cutting blade 40, and to prevent a user of the tool from inadvertently contacting the cutting edge of the blade The blade guard 44 normally remains locked in a down position by a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism as will be explained later may be released to allow the blade guard 44 to retract, by setting the tool on a roll surface causing a trailing rod or actuator member 46 to raise and to disengage the locking mechanism.

It has been found that in certain circumstances when the blade is set at a radial orientation, the blade tends to dig in and be squeezed into the cut, whereas when the blade 40 it is set at an inclination as shown on FIG.

In other circumstances, however, a radial orientation of the blade has given the best operation. Alternatively, the blade carrier 34 may be fitted with a lateral angular blade adjuster which is not shown here for being known in the field of manual implements and especially in the field of woodworking tools.

Referring now to FIG. The forward pair of casters 22 of the slabbing tool is mounted on a sub-frame 50 which is pivotally movable about an axis through bolt 52 on the carriage frame The movement of the sub-frame 50 is controlled in a downward direction by a first lever 72, and in an upward direction by a ratchet type mechanism comprising a thumb lever In use, the paper roll slabbing tool is pushed in successive passes along the upper segment of a paper roll, slicing a few layers therefrom at every pass.

When the last plies 56 on a core 58 are being slit off, as illustrated in FIG. This causes the front casters 22 to lower on the core 58 while continuing to support the tool in a path parallel to the surface of the roll, for preventing the blade 40 from digging into the core 58 at the end of this last cut. During the lowering of the front casters 22, the second forward pair of casters 24 continues to support, in cooperation with the rearmost casters 26,28, the slabbing tool in a path parallel to the surface of the roll.

Likewise when the lowering feature of the front casters 22 is not selected, during the slabbing of the outer layers of a roll of paper for example, the two pairs of rearmost casters 26,28 maintain the slabbing tool in a parallel path with the surface of the roll, even when both pairs of foremost casters 22,24 project beyond any supporting surface at the very end of a cut. In order to explain the movement of the front casters 22 in greater details, reference may be made to FIGS.

The sub-frame 50 is pivotally mounted about an axis 60 along bolts 52 on the carriage frame During normal operation of the slabbing tool, the sub-frame 50 is held in an upper position by a first latch block 64 of the first lever 72 as it can be seen on FIG.

The movement of first lever 72 is somewhat restricted by a first leaf spring 66 acting against a first flat region 68, or against a second flat region 70 of the first latch block Such an interference of the first leaf spring 66 with the first latch block 64 retains the first lever 72 in a first locking position or in a second disengaged position 72' as shown in dotted lines on FIG.