Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

We want to cover a set of windows with vertical blinds. We have discussed with Lowes and Graber & Bali (emails) what we want and how to accomplish such. The purpose is to darken as that faces South and the Sun in the Winter is extremely bright.

No one seems to want to cut the bottoms so I will have to do that myself as well as the top corners of each vane to permit rotation as they will hit the

headrail slightly. I think I will purchase a small (low budget $50.00) paper cutter from Staples or OfficeDepot to do the cutting.

Example of what we want:


Our actual windows:


They won't need to move, just rotate open/closed.

The color will be Safari Buffalo:


I will solicit help from my sons for the installation -- they are awesome assistance -- they usually do most of the work.

Stay tuned! I will update as we progress.

Sounds like you hit a problem that I frequently encounter; you want a specific item for a specific task, and it appears that not many people have need for such a thing, therefore, the item that you need is not something that is produced.

TBH wonders why I constantly modify things, lol.

Good luck on your project.

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Some tell me I over engineer projects but I usually have few surprises in the process. I think we are ready to order and get these things up. I have just asked Graber if they would cut the bottom length to fit the application...awaiting their reply. Either them or me...we will move on.

Good luck with the project. I'd do the same thing. My wife and I will be married 30 years next Tuesday. She quit asking about 10 years in, "Why are you changing that?" She's discovered that she gets what she wants regardless.

I have used Bali and Levolor vertical blinds several times. I remember I ordered the head piece from Bali ( 2 - 148" each...1 was left , 1 was right) ....That put both control handles in the center. I ordered at the same time the PVC blind packs and cut them to length with a miter saw with a hollow ground plywood blade. Very simple and still looked professional. The Levolor (I bought from Home Depot ) also looked great but , they do not make to Custom length....only come in 4 " increments . Both work equally well and are very easy to install. Both also sell the PVC blind packs and offer different designs and colors.

I have considered options on cutting. I have a 10" table saw which I can purchase a new blade for a nice clean cut, 10" cut-off saw that does good miters -- same sizes so I can interchange blades.

But what I thought might be more simple is a paper cutter with the arm style. I may need to notch the upper corners about 1/2" or so of every vane so it will rotate 90° -- thats all we need. I would C-clamp a board to the cutter for a guide at 45° for consistency. I know if PVC is not supported when cut on power saws it can shatter. One installer said he uses a big pair of scissors.

I learned Graber and Bali are under the same parent company Spring Window Fashions: http://www.springswindowfashions.com/Pages/default.aspx
but their online pricing is different. Graber is about $50.00 cheaper per side for the same sizes but different color vane -- not real important -- similar colors available.

I've cut PVC before, but just pipe not anything like you are talking about. I used a radial arm saw with a $150 Forrest carbide tooth blade. Goes through it like butter with no chipping. I've also heard that if you put wide masking tape on both sides of the piece to be cut it stops chipping and tear-out, but don't know about shattering. I'll be interested to hear what you find that does the job.

Have never cut blinds but, have cut lots of different pvc's. jig saw, reciprocating saw, metal snips, & large hand held metal shears. All have worked great, with clean, precise cuts. Always used a metal blade on the power saws for pvc.