Spellbinders Grand Calibur Cut and Emboss Machine

I found Overstock.com to be a valuable resource for craft supplies. I not only got the machine for a great price, but I got 5% of purchase price credited to my account.

• How did the image on site compare with the actual product? Great
• How accurate was the on site description of the product? Accurate
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. First rate

It is a nice machine. Easier to use than the wizzard for me. I really enjoy it.

• How did the image on site compare with the actual product? fine
• How accurate was the on site description of the product? good
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. good

This is a machine I will use for years and pass along to my children and grandchildren. The ability to cut and emboss several shapes at a time makes the Grand Calibur useful for creating a supply of die cuts and embellishments for future projects. I have two other 'cut and emboss' machines, and enjoy using both of them, but the Grand Calibur is my favorite!!!!!

• How did the image on site compare with the actual product? The images on O.co have always exactly depicted the products that I've purchased.
• How accurate was the on site description of the product? The description of the product is totally accurate.
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. Product quality is superb.

I did lots of research into the various machines such as this one before deciding not to get any. Then I changed my mind but forgot my research and got this. It was a mistake. The machine itself is nice enough. It works fine, but the die selection it will work with is too limited for me. It does not work with Sizzix original dies, for example, or with the Tim Holtz line. The Big Shot, however, works with both of these, and the price of the Big Shot is about half of this--a little more than half. (You might have to look for that price, but I didn't have to look hard.) After buying this, I went ahead and bought the Big Shot and have gotten a lot more use out of it. You can even cut medium weight chipboard with the Big Shot and the Tim Holtz dies, which you can't do with the Grand Calibur. Another issue with this is that the raspberry plate that you need to buy for it if you want to use other dies (yes, you can use the sizzlits dies, for example), comes in two sizes. The smaller size was used for the predecessor (the Wizard), but it will work. It's better to get the larger size, which is harder to find, and the shipping price for the larger size, from my perspective, is prohibitive (but not terribly so). The larger size is better because you can use larger dies with it. If you use the smaller raspberry die, you're limited to that size of die. The larger raspberry sized die is the same size as the plates that the Grand Calibur comes with.

• How did the image on site compare with the actual product? FIne