The CB09 blade holder and blades might be an excellent option if you have experienced problems with the auto blade system, had trouble finding them or just want a much less expensive alternative.
In addition to being an excellent alternative that works perfectly, you will save a lot of money because your initial investment is not much more than the price of one AutoBlade, but when you purchase a holder, you can get the package with various sizes of blades. In any case, replacing blades after you purchase the holder will be so much less expensive.
The image below shows you that the blades for this blade holder are supplied with springs that you place over the blade.
Unscrew the black tip from the blade holder, place the blade inside. There is a magnet inside that will grab the blade. Once you have the blade in this position, just slip the spring over the blade and then carefully place the black tip over the blade & spring. Once everything is in the right position, screw the black tip back on.
At this point, you need to twist the other end (the silver end that is on the desk) of the holder to push the blade tip out of the black plastic tip.
This is how much mine protrudes and I am able to cut vinyl or cardstock without adjusting the amount the blade protrudes. I just select the material in the Silhouette Studio program. The adjustments you make to your materials in the program will work exactly right when you have the right amount of blade protruding from the start.
After adjusting how much the blade protrudes, I place the blade holder in the blue tool adapter matching up as shown below.
The images below show how the tool adapter should look after you close it. Here again you can see how much the blade protrudes from the black plastic tip. It is about the thickness of a credit card.
Note that if you are using an earlier model Cameo or Portrait, you don’t need an adapter. You just place the CB09 blade holder into the blade holder carriage directly.
There are some supposed CB09 blade holders on the market that are too large to fit in the tool adapter. Be sure you purchase the correct product. I have linked them in this post and you will find a set of links for the blade holders and replacement blades below.
I have also included links to alternative, less expensive mats that many of my subscribers are using.
After setting up the blade in the adapter, I pull the Tool 1 latch toward me, place the tool adapter in the Tool 1 position of the Cameo (or Portrait), push the adapter down as far as it goes and then push the tool latch all the way back, toward the machine, as far as it goes. The tool adapter should look snug.
In Silhouette Studio, in the Send screen, choose the Ratchet Blade as the Tool for Tool 1, make sure the Action is set to Cut (mine always defaults to Sketch) and choose the Material you will be cutting. In my case, I was cutting regular cardstock.
The next picture shows how perfectly the CB09 blade cut out my letters.
Note that there are 3 angles of blades available — the 30 degree blade for very thin vinyl and vellum type materials, the 40 degree blade for general purpose applications like card stock and the 60 degree blade for thicker materials.
Please tell me by commenting below if you have experienced problems with the AutoBlade. How have you solved the problem?
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