spare desk top

[Ebbtide]

Uchida is the king of cutting mattes.
In the advertising studio, 4 of us in 2 shifts would wear out an Uchida in 4 months. Alvins didn't last one.
And by wear out, I mean got too grooved and pitted to be safe.
If it's only going to get minimal use, brand doesn't matter that much.

Funny drawer moment.... when a young freelance commercial artist I got to fill in for one of the top mechanical dogs at Revlon.
They show me to his office and make a point out of not making a mess.
"He's very fussy about his tools"
They leave and the first thing I do is pull out the top drawer completely out of the desk and dump it on the floor.

I didn't get asked back....

 

[Ebbtide]

Ever notice the stippled dimples on the cutting mats?
Back in the BC days, that's Before Computers, all printed material started with paper mechanicals. The type galley proofs were cut up and rubber cemented in place and the photos were cemented in place as well. Then it was off to the film strippers, plate makers and the printing presses.
Rubber cement was applied with a brush.
Instead of brushing on the cement on little bitty pieces of paper, you brushed in on the whole sheet, let it dry, placed the proof on the cutting board and then cut out the parts you needed.
The stipples made sure that the cement didn't hold too well and allowed you to lift the paper off the mat.
Before the Uchida and Alvin plastic mats we'd take a sheet of illustration board, good old Bainbridge 172 Hot Press, and cover it in a couple layers of 2" masking tape. The tape gave the same effect, making the bits of type proof and photo lift off the cutting board.
And when you are correcting the legal copy spelling error by stripping in a letter or two of 8 pt type, that's really handy

Little advertising trivia that may come in handy one day.

 

[Scott321]

Not sure if this qualifies as a Gadget but the desk I use has my monitor on it, speakers, a lamp, keyboard and my mouse so right away it's kinda full...

G2

I bought a long wooden board, put some pavers (bricks) I had laying around, placed the pavers wide enough to fit my keyboard through, and laid the board on top to place my monitor(s), speakers, and desk lamp on. This way I just slide my keyboard and mouse under my monitor when I need the desk space.

One of these days I need to get a real desk. I've been using the same kitchen countertop on top of two file cabinets as a desk for the last 20 years.

 

[22-rimfire]

Uchida is the king of cutting mattes.
In the advertising studio, 4 of us in 2 shifts would wear out an Uchida in 4 months. Alvins didn't last one.
And by wear out, I mean got too grooved and pitted to be safe.
If it's only going to get minimal use, brand doesn't matter that much.

Funny drawer moment.... when a young freelance commercial artist I got to fill in for one of the top mechanical dogs at Revlon.
They show me to his office and make a point out of not making a mess.
"He's very fussy about his tools"
They leave and the first thing I do is pull out the top drawer completely out of the desk and dump it on the floor.

I didn't get asked back....

I am not familiar with the brand Uchida, but I would guess they make the stuff that we used to cover the surface of drafting tables to allow for cutting. My use of the Alvin mattes is limited to be quite honest and more than anything just provide a place for my computer mouse to sit on the slide out shelf feature on my desk. I used to involved with drafting quite closely and regularly. Times have really changed.

Ever notice the stippled dimples on the cutting mats?
Back in the BC days, that's Before Computers, all printed material started with paper mechanicals. The type galley proofs were cut up and rubber cemented in place and the photos were cemented in place as well. Then it was off to the film strippers, plate makers and the printing presses.
Rubber cement was applied with a brush.
Instead of brushing on the cement on little bitty pieces of paper, you brushed in on the whole sheet, let it dry, placed the proof on the cutting board and then cut out the parts you needed.
The stipples made sure that the cement didn't hold too well and allowed you to lift the paper off the mat.
Before the Uchida and Alvin plastic mats we'd take a sheet of illustration board, good old Bainbridge 172 Hot Press, and cover it in a couple layers of 2" masking tape. The tape gave the same effect, making the bits of type proof and photo lift off the cutting board.
And when you are correcting the legal copy spelling error by stripping in a letter or two of 8 pt type, that's really handy

Little advertising trivia that may come in handy one day.

I appreciate your comments, summarizing the old ways, and so forth.

 

[Ebbtide]

16' x 6'
I had the biggest desk in the place

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Looks like it should be in the movie Tron

My wife picked up some Fiskar mats for me, a small one for the desk and a larger one for my workbench in the basement, so far I like them, haven't cut much on them yet but will see how that goes!
G2