Pros & Cons

I received a query about my opinion of the die cut station from Joann's, and I thought I'd share it here for everyone. I'll start out with the Pros ...

I love it that I have all my dies, embosslits, plates, etc. in one spot, and I can do the cutting right on top at a perfect height. I believe the original price was $159.99, and I got it on sale for $99.99 online.

I had to build the unit (which I enjoy doing), but there were a MILLION pieces, and I really worked up a sweat during the 3 hours it took me to put it together! But, I loved every minute!

The top drawer is the shallowest, so I use that to store all my cutting plates, multi-purpose platforms, texture plates, & inserts for using the movers & shapers dies. I also keep my cords in there for my Cricut Expression.

The front has 8 slots designed to hold 12x12 paper, but since I have paper racks, I chose to use these slots to hold my Sizzlit cases and my one Kwikutz alphabet. I'd have preferred more drawers, but this works too, it's just that I have to bend down to see what I'm looking for.

Now, for the cons: Only the bottom drawer is deep enough for the dies to go in upright with the labels visible. I had to re-label all my dies so I could store them sideways, plus they still have to be in the drawer angled to fit.

The drawers aren't on glides, so with the weight of the dies, it's a little awkward opening & closing them. I'm going to look into purchasing some glides somewhere and installing them myself, but who knows if I'll ever getting around to that!

All in all, if I had to weigh the pros & cons, I think it has more cons than pros. Sure, it's convenient, but I think there's a lot of wasted space, and this baby's gonna be full to capacity by the end of the year, I'm sure. For now, it's fine, cause I think it's the only thing out there, but I think somebody's going to design something soon that's much more practical. Just give 'em some time.

Somebody suggested one of the Craftsman rolling tool chests to store punches ... maybe something like that would be good for dies? I don't know, but if you've got a coupon, and you need something now, I think it's a good thing.