Mini Surface Plus (SS02P) - 2 Panels

New! The folks at Morton Glass Works have discontinued their previous cutting surfaces -- the SS02 Mini, the SM03 Super Mini, and the LS01 Maxi -- and in their place they now offer their long-awaited replacement: the Mini Surface Plus (SS02P). The SS02P is a modular set of surfaces that can be assembled and rearranged a number of ways, thus allowing you to enjoy the advantages of a small, medium, or large surface, depending on your needs.

The Morton Surfaces, as you may know, are hard molded plastic surfaces that are smooth on one side and have a 1/2" grid on the other. The grid system allows you to add innumerable devices and jigs to help you cut glass more easily and accurately. The grids also aid in cleanup, because they catch many of the tiny glass shards that inevitably fly about whilst you cut glass.

These new panels are more robust than Morton's old panels. They come in pairs, each panel being a petite 11.25" x 15.75", comprising 20 x 28 grid squares -- about the size of a TV tray table. This is very handy for those of you who create suncatchers while watching Golden Girls reruns. Assemble the pair together and you have a surface equivalent to a Super Mini Surface, give or take (40 x 28 squares). Four panels assemble into a surface the size of the former Maxi Surface (56 x 40 squares).

If you plan to use the panels with the Morton Portable Glass Shop, you will need to number the grid squares using about 100-150 numbers, depending on how many panels you will be working with. The multi-colored numbers are provided in the form of a neatly printed sheet of paper. You must cut out the numbers and paste them in the designated squares. If you've used the Portable Glass Shop before with the Mini, Super Mini or Maxi System, the numbering system will look familiar to you.

At first glance, all those numbers look a little overwhelming, but clearly a *lot* of thought has been put into this. In the end, all that cutting and pasting will be worth it, because it will allow you to use your surface, as both a 2-panel Mini and a 4-panel Maxi, with the Portable Glass Shop or the Circle and Border System.

If you do not plan to use the panels with the Portable Glass Shop, then you are off the hook. You can simply use the panels right out of the box.