By: Barbara Mainwaring

                  Mat Cutting Instructions

Okay, basically all you need to cut a mat is some matboard and a sharp
blade.  I'll be assuming that your sharp blade is attached to some sort
of "mat cutter," which is basically just a handle that holds the blade
at an angle to produce a bevel cut (usually 45ø).

You want the blade depth to be just a bit more than the width of your
matboard, say 1/16" to 1/8".  If it's too deep, it will make it harder
to control and give you some really badly gouged corner cuts.  Too
shallow, obviously, won't cut through the mat board.  Most mat cutters
take standard X-acto blades, the kind you'd put in a hobby knife, and
can be adjusted with a screwdriver.

It's a good idea to have some spare mat board, preferably scrap, to put
underneath the piece you're cutting, to protect the surface you're
working on and keep the blade from dulling its point on the tabletop.

Now you want to get your mat board.  Generally you cut matboard from the
outside in; that is, you cut the outside to size, then cut the hole out
of the middle.  When you're first starting out, it's a good idea to cut
a few practice mats on any scraps you've got handy, before you start on
the matboard that you actually care about.  If you're just practicing,
the outside size doesn't matter, as long as all the corners are square.
You can check this by measuring the diagonals of your matboard--if
they're the same length, the corners are square.

Decide how wide you want the practice mat to be (say, 2").  Turn your
matboard over, so the "good" side is face down and the back is on top.
If you're using a ruler as your straight edge, measure in 2" (or
whatever) from the edge and draw a line parallel to it.  Do that for all
four sides, so that you've drawn a square on the back that's 2" in from
all the edges.  Don't worry about being tidy; let the intersections
overlap some (it should be more like a tic-tac-toe with a REALLY big
center square).  If you're using a mat cutter, you want to do the same
thing, but it's a bit easier to measure it; set the mat cutter at 2",
put the matboard face-down underneath the guide bar so that the edge is
flush with the stops, then draw your pencil down the guide bar to mark
your 2" line.

Once the matboard is marked, you're ready to cut.  Most hand-held mat
cutters are made so that you cut by pushing the cutter away from you.
This not only gives you better control, but is also safer.  The big,
"professional" mat cutters are made to cut by drawing the cutter toward
you; these cutters have the blade attached to a large, solid base so
that there's no chance of it jerking back and cutting you, and the base
provides stability to help control.  Since it's doubtful you'll have one
of these big guys (they're very expensive, and not worth the outlay
unless you plan to make a living doing this), I'll assume you're using a
hand-held cutter.

If you're using a mat cutter, put the matboard back under the guide bar
so that it's flush with the stops; if all you've got is the hand cutter,
you'll need a ruler (preferably a metal one, so the blade won't damage
it, with a cork back, so it won't slip).  Whichever one you use to guide
your blade, be VERY CAREFUL not to let the fingers of the hand holding
it go over the other edge; you could give yourself a very bad cut
otherwise.  You'll be cutting along the guide line next to the ruler,
using the lines at the top and bottom to tell you when to stop cutting.
Insert the blade of the cutter just a bit below the bottom line, maybe
1/16".  (Practice will tell you just how far outside the lines to start
and stop cutting.)  Push the blade in until the mat cutter is resting
flat against the back of the mat board, so the blade is all the way in.
Then push the cutter up through the mat board, using the guide bar or
ruler to keep it straight.  (If you have a steady hand, you might find
it easier to cut freehand than to use a ruler.)  Stop cutting a little
bit past the top line, maybe another 1/16".  There will be some
resistance as you cut, but you shouldn't have to push very hard--if
you're really using some muscle, then you may have your blade too deep.
If this is the first cut you've made since inserting the blade, you may
want to check and make sure it's cut cleanly all the way through; if not
you'll have to set the blade a bit deeper.  Repeat for all four sides.

If the center piece falls out, that's fine.  If it doesn't, DON'T push
it out; this will cause the corners to tear out on the front, and looks
very sloppy.  Use a spare blade to finish cutting the corners, keeping
the blade as close to the 45ø angle of the bevel cut as you can, so the
corners look smooth.

And there it is, you've cut a mat.  Now you want to examine the front
and see how good a job you've done.  The cuts should be clean and
smooth; if they're "fuzzy" or ragged the blade is probably dull.  If the
fuzziness isn't too bad, you can use a wooden emory board to gently sand
it off, so you don't have to cut a whole new mat.  The corners are the
tricky part; they should be clean, and the bevel should be smooth right
up to the joint.  The cut shouldn't extend beyond the corner; that's
called an "overcut" in the framing biz, and is sloppy workmanship.  If
it's a very tiny overcut, you can use the back of your fingernail to
smooth it back together; otherwise you'll have to cut a new mat (unless
you don't mind how it looks).

This will also give you some idea of what to look for if you decide to
have a mat cut in a professional frame shop.  Most shops have samples of
their work displayed on the walls; take a look at them and see how good
a job they're doing.  If the mats have lots of overcuts, ragged corners,
or corners where the bevel is sort of choppy-looking (not a smooth 45ø
all the way down), then you probably don't want to pay them to cut
yours.  Bear in mind that what they have on display should be examples
of their very best workmanship, so if their displays are badly done you
probably can't expect anything better on your own artwork.