The Fraser 500-1 Wool Cutter The Fraser 500-1 wool cutter has numerous uses. But they all revolve around the need to cut flat material, such as wool, leather and naugahyde into very uniform strips. And I know of no other inexpensive tool that does this any better than the Fraser 500-1 wool cutter does. I've had mine for years, and have never had a minutes' trouble with it. How I use the Fraser... I'm a rug hooker. I use a rug hook to draw strips of wool through a burlap backing to create what's known as a “hooked rug”. During the early to mid 1800s, home makers used scraps of cloth and burlap to create the first hooked rugs. Their motivation was to create rugs to cover their cold floors. Three of my hooked rugs... Today, there are thousands of gals who create beautiful pieces of art using basically the same techniques that were developed 150 years ago. At the time, they either cut their strips with scissors... or tore the cloth into strips. Both methods are still used today... but it's very time consuming... and hard to create uniform strips. A few years ago, a gentleman named Fraser designed and built a machine that makes this task simple, fast, and easy. What Is A Fraser Wool Cutter? It's a small machine that has a machined cutter-head (wheel), mounted on a shaft... which is turned with a hand-crank. Depending on the width of the strip you're cutting, if will cut between 2 and 4 strips at a time. The cutting mechanism is mounted in a compact frame that you can clamp to just about any table edge. 6” long & weighs 3 pounds The Fraser cuts strips as narrow as 2/32” for rug hooking... and as wide as 2”... for rug braiding. Width of cut is determined by which of the interchangeable cutter heads you have on your cutter. Changing heads can be done in seconds. The Fraser Cutter comes with one cutter head of your choice. Extra heads are available. No.1 for rug braiding cuts from 1/2" to 2" wide No.2 - 2/32" No.3 - 3/32" No.4 - 1/8" No.5 - 5/32" No.6 - 6/32" No.7 - 7/32" No 8 - 1/4" No 8.5 - 10/32" No.9 - 3/8" No.10 - 1/2 " Cutter heads size 8, 8.5, 9 & 10 come equipped with rubber rings to help feed the material. Why Would Someone Need A Fraser Wool Cutter? I've probably already answered this question. But if you've ever had to sit for hours trying to cut uniform wool strips for your next hooked rug, then you know how valuable it is NOT to have to go through that experience. What used to take 2 hours I can now do in 10 minutes and have better quality strips to boot. How To Use The Fraser Using the built in clamp, attach it to any table edge. Place your material on the platform and turn the hand crank slowly... feeding the material along the guide edge and into the cutting head. Continue to turn the crank until the material is fed through the Fraser. Place your cut strips aside and repeat the process. Sorry to make the process sound so simple. But in truth... it really is that simple. If you're cutting light material, turn the tensioner knob counter clockwise until the head stops cutting through the material. Then gently adjust the tensioner knob clockwise until the material is cutting cleanly. The same adjusting technique applies to different weight materials that you might use with the cutter. The only caveat I'd make here... is to never over-tighten the tensioner. Where To Buy The Fraser 500-1 Wool Cutter We carry the Fraser 500-1 wool cutter at our website : www.RugHookingCentral.com It's listed under “Supplies” Thanks for reading! Cheryl White