 I make a lot of models — all cut by hand — before I commit to making an edition of anything. One of the tools I couldn’t do without is my plastic quilting ruler. It’s 6″ wide, 12″ long, and lets me cut 2 edges at once. Since it’s clear plastic, I can see through to what I’m cutting underneath. That and the printed grid are really helpful when trying to center something on a page. The only drawback is that over time I’ve dug into the plastic with my X-acto knife, and the edge of the ruler isn’t as crisp as a metal ruler of the same age might be. Quilting rulers come in all sorts of sizes: 4″x 8″, 6″x 6″… I have another one that is 6″x 24″ — it can be a bit unwieldy but it comes in so handy when I need to quickly cut up a large parent sheet of paper.
  This week I bought a new ruler — The Book Wizard Tool. It’s an 8-1/2″ x 11″ clear plastic ruler with an 1/8″ grid (I bought it because it’s letter paper size). But it also has pre-drilled holes for marking stab bindings, pre-cut slits for marking diagonals and scores, and a booklet with instructions for making several types of Japanese stab bound books and an accordion book. I’ve used it already and I think it’ll make a good addition to my studio.
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Have you ever considered using a rotary cutter to cut your paper? I tried it, loved it, and use nothing but a rotary cutter anymore. And there’s no cutting into the quilt rule–another thing I, like you, can’t live without.
But the Book Wizard does look good. I like that it has 1/8 inch increments. That would be very nice. Actually, I suppose the quilt rule has 1/8 inches, but they are not as easy to follow as the Book Wizard looks.
I like the look of the Book Wizard too. Wonder if it’s available in Australia. I have a rotary cutter but have never used it. Perhaps I should take Amy’s advice. Love your blog.
Now that looks like a tool I can use. Thanks for putting it on the list. Happy to hear
you recovered from the shoot. THAT was a marathon.