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I'm thinking very seriously about getting the Sizzix Vagabond, but I want some input.
1. do the cutting plates wear out quickly?
2. does it work well on the very intricate dies, such as what Cheery Lynn and Memory Box make?
3. How is the motor, has there been any problems with it burning out?
I've owned a Cuttlebug for over 3 years and love it. It has served me quite well, but my hands and wrists are suffering. I do classes and use a lot of die cuts, thus the thought of getting a Vagabond.
Bottom line, are you happy with your Vagabond and would you recommend it?
Quite a few people who post on the Papertrey Ink forum have the Vagabond and rave about it. From everything I've read, the motor is seriously heavy-duty (it's designed to cut thicker materials).
I love the look of it, and the size is nice as well – the reason I haven't bought one yet is that I don't have dedicated space for it. Maybe later on.
I have had my Vagabond for several months now and I really love it. Originally my Husband bought me one because the arthritis in my hands is getting worse and using a manual machine was becoming painful. However, since I have discovered how much more this machine can do I would recommend the Vagabond to anyone. And to answer your questions:
1. Do the cutting plates wear out quickly? No faster than any other cutting machine.
2. Does it work well on the very intricate dies, such as what Cheery Lynn and Memory Box make? I have used both types of die in my machine very successfully.
3. How is the motor, has there been any problems with it burning out? I have heard of some machines going wrong but mine is OK. All I would suggest is that you buy your Vagabond from a reputable retailer who will take care of you should there be any problems with the machine.
Thanks for passing along what you have. My LSS has one and I have been able to try it out and seen it in action. As for the intricate Cheery Lynn dies, it worked, with adding another piece of c/s to shim and of course rotating the dies a quarter turn. I'll have to look at the Sizzix warrantiy and see what the offer if there should be any problems. My LSS will give me a good deal, so the hard decision will be go through her or an on- line retailer.
If there are anymore out there that have anything to say about the Vagabond, good or bad, I'd like to hear it.
I Love my Vagabond!! Enough said! The only thing extra that you might need is the shim for brass dies, still waiting to get mine. Nestabilities don't work great with out it. But everything cuts like butter.........
Hi Jennifer! I'm glad to see that you received a few responses to your questions. There is a couple threads on the Vagabond machine that were posted last month. (I know because I posted 1 !!) I honestly cannot answer your questions because I'm still waiting for my machine! I had a B.S. and I sold it to help fund the Vagabond! I went with the Vagabond because of the motor and how quickly it can cut! I'm fortunate that at this time I do not have any health problems with my hands. One of these threads started because there is another member who inquired about the machine for the same reasons you have. As one of the posters said and I believe that should there be any problems you will have a warranty. For Tim Holtz to put his name on it, rest assured that any problems were corrected before it was put on the market. That was 1 of the reasons it took so long to get put out. (Not to say that there isn't a machine here or there that may have a problem, but I'm sure between Sizzix & Tim Holtz there is no need to worry!) There are a few videos on you tube that show how the machine works and they are great to watch, I have watched them a couple times each!! I read a lot of reviews and did some research before I decided to purchase this machine. Even though I don't have the machine yet if you have any other questions I will try and answer them for you if I can! Good luck with your decision!
Thanks for passing along what you have. My LSS has one and I have been able to try it out and seen it in action. As for the intricate Cheery Lynn dies, it worked, with adding another piece of c/s to shim and of course rotating the dies a quarter turn. I'll have to look at the Sizzix warrantiy and see what the offer if there should be any problems. My LSS will give me a good deal, so the hard decision will be go through her or an on- line retailer.
If there are anymore out there that have anything to say about the Vagabond, good or bad, I'd like to hear it.
Thank you.
I am still lamenting the loss of my cuttlebug (broke it). I bought a vagabond from Scrapyland.com on lay-a-way since that fit my budget. $170, no tax, no ship. I am not a Big Shot/Kick gal. So, the sandwich thing with thin dies such as nesties is a mystery. I think I need to buy something else. But, gotta wait. Would not have this problem with my cuttlebug. (A very nice lady is going to be sending me hers. I can't wait!) Cuttlebug is a simple machine. The Vagabond is NOT a replacement for the cuttlebug. Having said all of this, it is a great machine! It is a compact, stronger motorized Big Kick/Shot. But it will be great for you. Don't get rid of that cuttlebug.
I had my Vagabond for 3 months and I love it! Until I accidentally overloaded it with the extended cutting pad and embossing folder sandwich. I only found out that you weren't suppose to do that after the customer service rep at Sizzix looked it up. Hopefully Sizzix will honor the warranty, I'm anxiously waiting on a reply, but I'm extremely nervous about it.
I wonder if anyone else was able to have their warranty honored under these conditions.
I had my Vagabond for 3 months and I love it! Until I accidentally overloaded it with the extended cutting pad and embossing folder sandwich. I only found out that you weren't suppose to do that after the customer service rep at Sizzix looked it up. Hopefully Sizzix will honor the warranty, I'm anxiously waiting on a reply, but I'm extremely nervous about it.
I wonder if anyone else was able to have their warranty honored under these conditions.
Well, I've gotten my Vagabond, thanks to DH (what a man!) but I haven't had time to play. I've got the extra shim too for the thinner dies. Life is getting in the way of my play time, so once I can play with it, I'll get back and give a review.
I have to admit, my biggest concern is the motor, I'll have to watch the sandwiches.
I love it. I had a Sizzix Express that died on the first use (it was a common motor issue they had) and Sizzix replaced it quickly and with the Vagabond. The Vagabond is well designed and so much quieter. I also like that I don't have to flip pages on the white base plate like I have to on my Big Shot.
I'm actually pretty careful about my sandwiches on the Vagabond. I use it mostly for bulk work. If I want to try out a new material or seriously shim a sandwich, I use the Big Kick. I've stretched that thing out from heavy use and am AMAZED that I haven't broken it. However, it's because I value the Vagabond more than the Big Kick that I am careful about it.
As for plates, I finally snapped my first plate on the Big Shot - four years later. I cut way more than the usual 150-200 cuts on it. I'm shocked it took that long. I know I ran it through for about 200 passes a couple of years ago using those same plates as I threw out my shoulder doing all of that over a course of a couple of days. That project led me to the powered Big Shot. I've used that same top plate (I use a clean uncut one for the bottom as I shim my Nesties so I only have to do one pass to cut and emboss) many, many times since then and it still took forever to snap it.
FWIW, I use Nesties with both regularly and have no issues.
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I'm placing an order for the Vagabond and so!!! looking forward to receiving it. My only question right now is, do I need to buy extra plates or will the A and B plates from my Cuttlebug work with the Vagabond?
__________________ Lord, help me today to draw strength from everything that comes to me!~ from Days of Heaven upon Earth My Gallery My E-mail
Good for you! I still haven't played with mine yet, no time and no desire. Okay the desire is there, I'm just not interested in card making right now. I have taken on the role of caregiver to my BFF that has just been diagnosed with lung cancer.
You will need the extra shim plate if you are going to use the thinner dies, such as Spellbinders, Memory Box, Cheery Lynn, etc. I haven't tried the Cuttlebug plates yet, and doubt that I will, I don't want to risk any problems. Luckily, Michaels does carry the extra plates, but not the Solo shim plate. See the link Sizzix - Accessories - Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adaptor
This is where I got mine.
Thanks for that info. They should be a little narrower too, as I tried the Sizzix plates in the CB and they were just a tad too wide. It's always nice to know of the options!
I'm placing an order for the Vagabond and so!!! looking forward to receiving it. My only question right now is, do I need to buy extra plates or will the A and B plates from my Cuttlebug work with the Vagabond?
The plates you will need for steel rule dies and embossing folders come with the machine.
__________________ Blog: www.tammytutterow.com
Illustrator and Crafty Girl
Stamp and Die Designer for Spellbinders
Well, I've gotten my Vagabond, thanks to DH (what a man!) but I haven't had time to play. I've got the extra shim too for the thinner dies. Life is getting in the way of my play time, so once I can play with it, I'll get back and give a review.
I have to admit, my biggest concern is the motor, I'll have to watch the sandwiches.
Sizzix honored their warranty! Once I sent out my Vagabond with the return label they provided my new one showed up on my doorsteps THE NEXT DAY!!
Then Tim Holtz had a new video which he says the are coming out with the Gauge keys you can check the sandwich by fitting it between the keys and if it doesn't fit there then it definitely won't fit into your machine... takes all the guess work out of it! They're going to be included in a new productions of the Vagabond, but for the current owners of the Vagabond Tim said that Sizzix will send them for FREE. Just have to wait for Sizzix to release that promotion on their blog. I'm loving Sizzix more and more
About the size of your stack-
Keep an eye on the Sizzix blog. We have a gauge that we are going to be giving out and will have info on the blog soon about how to get one. I have one and it is super cool looking (looks like old skeleton keys) and is very handy for measuring your stack.
__________________ Blog: www.tammytutterow.com
Illustrator and Crafty Girl
Stamp and Die Designer for Spellbinders
I'm placing an order for the Vagabond and so!!! looking forward to receiving it. My only question right now is, do I need to buy extra plates or will the A and B plates from my Cuttlebug work with the Vagabond?
You will need the extra shim plate if you are going to use the thinner dies, such as Spellbinders, Memory Box, Cheery Lynn, etc. I haven't tried the Cuttlebug plates yet, and doubt that I will, I don't want to risk any problems. Luckily, Michaels does carry the extra plates, but not the Solo shim plate. See the link
Sizzix - Accessories - Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adaptor
This is where I got mine.
Once again, you do need this Sizzix Solo Wafer Thin Die Adapter plate for use with the Spellbinders, Memory Box, Cheery Lynn and other thin metal dies. I haven't seen a way around it.
I am contemplating buying an electronic machine because my online business has grown so much that cranking is no longer healthy or a good use of my time. I originally was thinking about buying the BS Express, despite having reservations about buying a machine with only a motor (no crank as backup). I read the reviews, about 90% were good. So I called up the only autorized retailer (Archivers) in my area to see if she had one. Boy did I get an earfull! She highly advised me AGAINST purchasing it from them because of all of the issues that the motors have had. She said MOST of her customers have had issues with the Express machine within 2 years. She suggested the Vagabond. She said that they had both machines to demo in store and I could come play with them if I wanted. She did tell me that they'd had the Vagabond demo unit for about 2 years and she said it had taken a LOT of abuse and suffered great misuse and it still works perfectly. She even told me that she thought I could get the Vagabond cheaper than through them (which I did find it for under $150!), so she was not just trying to make a bigger sale by talking it up. I think she's totally changed my mind!
Vagabond pros and cons
