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Hey...thanks for the post! It prompted me to open mine up and try it. I have to say, I bought it a couple months ago but it looked so complicated. But... I just opened it up and set eyelets through the plastic cover that it came in and it went through soooo easily
I got one for Christmas (woo hoo).
I've read the back of the package but haven't broken it out yet.
I know that there have got to be some really cool ways to use it.
Okay. The Crop-A-Dile is unlike *EVERYTHING* you have ever before used to punch holes with and/or set eyelets with. And I do mean *EVERYTHING*!!!
What sets this tool apart is that it is made to be a true heavy-duty *TOOL* - this isn't made to be your everyday ordinary hole punch and eyelet set. By that, I'll draw an inference to men's tools: There are hand saws that you can buy for $1.99 and there are mounted electric mitre saws that cost hundreds of dollars. Which do you want when you're building a house?
Okay...here are just a few of the things it can do that no other tool on the market can do. And when I say it can *DO* it, I mean it can do these tasks like it is going through butter in a hot kitchen on a 90 degree day in the tropics!
~ Punch through leather.
~ Punch through balsa wood and "craft use" wood such as popsicle sticks and tongue depressors.
~ Punch through chipboard of differing thicknesses.
~ Punch through 8 layers of c/s.
~ Punch through metal. Not as in soda cans...as in galvanized metal pails, Altoid-type tins, bottle caps, picture frames, etc.
~ Punch through framing matte board.
~ Punch through plastic.
~ Do you do altered books? Your job just got a little easier if you lace your pages. Of if you do altered board books.
Is your mouth watering yet? That's before I get to the part about being able to set eyelets silently...that's right. *COMPLETELY* silently!! And don't even worry about having to apply a great deal of pressure - if you do that, you'll totally decimate your eyelet. (Trust me. I had to pick the remnants of my first eyelet out of the tool. Thankfully it was easy!)
Oh, and did I mention that if you're working on a project where spacing your eyelets as a specific depth is an issue that there is a depth guage on both the narrow and wide hole punches? Yup...you can move it from a depth of 1" up to 1/4" so that you've got one less thing to worry about.
Now...I'm not here to advocate that you get rid of any or all of your other eyelet setting tools. Trust me when I say that I still have a time and a place for my Karen Foster Click-It! tool for basic eyelets. Because I'm a firm believer in *MY* tools the same way my husband is for *his* tools: the right tool for the right job! ~ Kaylyn
Kaylyn, are you a spokesperson for crop-o-dile? If you aren't you should send them a copy of your post...they should start paying you. BTW I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE my crop-o-dile!!!
__________________ Heather
Proud owner of Paper Pretties - Where your creativity comes to life!
Kaylyn, are you a spokesperson for crop-o-dile? If you aren't you should send them a copy of your post...they should start paying you. BTW I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE my crop-o-dile!!!
Wish I was!! I was actually thinking that I should start a Blog of product reviews...the great, the good, the bad, and the don't-waste-your-hard-earned-crafting-dollars!! That's assuming (and on me, it's a biggie!) that my opinion is something people would actually care about!
Quote:
Originally Posted by gladlove
I have one but lost the instructions on how to use it. would someone please enlighten me...
Absolutely! Okay: there are *two* punches and *two* eyelet sets. The eyelet sets are at the *TOP* of the device. The punches are on *EITHER SIDE* of the device; I believe the small hole is 1/8" and the larger is 3/8" though I am not positive. Each punch has a sliding depth guage; thus, if you need to keep all of your holes no more shallow or deep than 1/2", move the appropriate depth guage accordingly.
Once you have your hole punched, you can set an eyelet. The same rules apply: smaller set for smaller eyelets, larger set for larger eyelets.
Now the big thing to remember with the Crop-A-Dile, *most especially* when you are setting eyelets, is to *NOT* over-squeeze. The work is done for your by the series of springs within the mechanism - so you don't have to do any extra heavy-duty work on your own. If you *DO* - you will literally either tear up your paper or tear up your project.
Find some "scraps" to play with first before you work on a project. I suggest things like matte board (framing departments), galvanized pails, paper bags (these are *SUCH* an awesome tool for paper bag books - you just fold your bags and squeeze your C-A-D!), chipboard cast-offs... just to get a feel for how the holes are punched. Then play with some old or el-cheapo eyelets to get a feel for how to set them.
Otherwise...not to worry!! We're all here to help you out if you need some more info!! Check out the gallery for some interesting projects - just enter Crop-A-Dile in the search box and see what pops up...the artists will often leave tips and/or "how-2s" in there. ~ K
__________________ Hi...My Name is Kaylyn...I'm An Alphaholic.
[B]
...thus, if you need to keep all of your holes no more shallow or deep than 1/2", move the appropriate depth guage accordingly...
Sorry about any confusion here! (Dang! I miss that Edit button!)
I should have written: "...if you need to keep all of your holes no more shallow or deep than 1"..."
*I* set my guage to 1/2" earlier today on both sides. That's where *I* am always ending up moving it to anyway, so while I was fiddling around at my table doing yet another seemingly endless straighten job, I set both guages to 1/2" for my own personal convenience.
Sorry 'bout the confusion there! ~ K
__________________ Hi...My Name is Kaylyn...I'm An Alphaholic.
[B]
I was fortunate enough to get one at Christmas, but was a little intimadated until I read your messages. So I've taken it out of it's packaging and tried a few scraps and can't wait to use it on a "real" project.
Thanks for the imput Kaylyn!!!
Thanks sooo much for the instructions...I had forgotten about setting the guage. After practicing, I see that is most important to get them equal-distance from edge of card. Now, I understand...
gladlove
I actually just ordered one of these a couple of days ago off of Home Shopping. It was their value of the day. It sold for 24.99, but came with a nice plastic PURPLE case and 400 eyelets!! Yeah, I could have gotten it for less with a coupon at Mikes, but the case and eyelets made it worth it to me. I'll let you know, but I can't wait for it to arrive!! And even my handle on mine is PURPLE to match the cute case it comes in!! Now....stalking the mailbox....!!! Karen.
I just love my crop a dile. It is so easy to use and the ease of punching through just about anything is awesome. It is worth all the money I spent on it. I still keep my other eyelet setter because when I need to put an eyelet or brad in the middle of the page, the crop a dile wont go that far. For any other needs, I use my crop a dile. It is so worth it...
