24" Black Cat Cougar...does anyone still use it?

24" Black Cat Cougar...does anyone still use it?

Postby mickiswit » July 23rd, 2017, 9:36 am

Hello, I have been ill for a few years and have had my Black Cat Cougar sitting idle in it's original box forever. I only used it a few times. How has the technology changed? Should I try to sell it and buy a new machine?
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Re: 24" Black Cat Cougar...does anyone still use it?

Postby Sassycutter » July 23rd, 2017, 11:38 am

I'm still using my 13" BC and it's working as good as ever! I use MTC and SCAL with mine. Sorry you've been out of commission but your machine should do a good job for you.
So much paper, so little time....
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Re: 24" Black Cat Cougar...does anyone still use it?

Postby pigtailpat » July 25th, 2017, 5:10 am

I use my 18" BC when I need it for quilting (it makes nice freezer paper stencils and when I need many at once, the large mat surface is a good fit for my 18" freezer paper rolls). I never felt I needed to upgrade my machine to silver bullet. I did add a pinch roller to my machine as I felt more secure with the extra roller. Sometimes, if I am in the mood to trace a shape rather than use freezer paper, I will cut out of thin cardboard the shape I need, but just cut multiples and adhere together to build up the required depth needed. The extra pinch roller comes in handy for heavier materials. It really is amazing the flexibility of having a cutter and I will never get rid of mine.
New owner of an 18" cougar and the gazelle...still a newbie at the cougar and will soon explore it............
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Re: 24" Black Cat Cougar...does anyone still use it?

Postby MeFlick » July 25th, 2017, 11:39 am

The technology of cutters hasn't really changed all that much. There have been software changes and enhancements made but it all still works with your BC Cougar cutter. While I used a BC Cougar for many years, I did upgrade to a Silver Bullet but there is nothing I can do with the SB that you cannot do with the Cougar. I may have a few more speed settings, a little more force, but the overall basics are all still the same. While I did upgrade, it had nothing to do with my Cougar but more to do with my cutter addiction. LOL My Cougar is still going strong. I gave it to my sister and she uses it to create things for the elementary school she works with. She uses it to do their bulletin boards among other things.

I am sorry to hear of your illness and your inability to enjoy your machine during that time. I hope this means that you have turned a corner and are doing better. Since you have been away from it for a while, and really only used your cutter previously a few times before, my suggestion would be to first break out your Cougar and relearn all you have forgotten in regards to cutting and the software. Get comfortable again with the cutter, figure out if it is something you will use regularly and enjoy. If you decide it is, then consider upgrading to the newer model. If not, and you are only going to use occasionally, then what you have may be enough for you for now. You really won't get much for your Cougar compared to what you paid for it if you sell it given that it has not been sold in several years, so I would use it and get a little more use from it first then decide whether to upgrade later once you are comfortable with it all again.

Since you mentioned it's been years since you used it, another thing to do is to make sure you are up to date on the software being used. You don't mention which one you used previously. If SCAL, there will be updates and changes and depending upon which version you have, you will want to bring it up to the latest. If MTC, you may have the latest depending upon when you first quit using your cutter as it has not been updated in several years. So check whichever to make sure you have it as up to date as it can be. Also, if you are going to have to spend time and relearn software, I would recommend going with SCAL over MTC for that reason too. SCAL Is actively being updated and enhanced. MTC. Is not. So, if you need to spend time learning or relearning software, SCAL is the better choice and should be here long term for users needs. As a long term MTC user, that saddens me to say but I feel that it is important for people to know.

Good luck and let us know if we can help further and I hope your health continues to improve.
Go Vols!
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Re: 24" Black Cat Cougar...does anyone still use it?

Postby belfry11 » August 27th, 2017, 8:39 pm

I still use my Black Cat Cougar. I use it with MTC. The Cougar is a strong machine.
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Re: 24" Black Cat Cougar...does anyone still use it?

Postby Gigi » August 27th, 2017, 8:53 pm

Both the Black Cat and Silver Bullet are built to be workhorses! We have many users that are happily using their Black Cat machines.
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Happily using an 24" Silver Bullet Platinum

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