Description
PMC150 Pneumatic Murrini Chopper Components
- Upgraded with an smaller foot pedal
- 3 cutting wheels (replaceable 22 mm standard nipper wheels)
- LED dimmable light
- NEW and Improved Polycarbonate shield, with removable plug for longer rod chopping. Many thanks to Dale Keating for this recommendation!
- All stainless steel construction
- Base plate mounting holes
- Matte finish
- Foot pedal
- Airline quick connect
- Flexible tubing connecting the foot pedal to operating cylinder
- Material Feed Ramp Pinch Guard
- Thumb screws for quick disconnect of shield
- The base can be screwed to a wood platform that can sit in a container, clamped to a workspace, or slid into our Catcher box.
- Options:
- Murrini catcher box to keep all the murrini totally enclosed to help minimize dust.
- Replacement blade kit
- Replacement Shield
matthewschmidt1 –
I’ve had my PMC150 Murrine Chopper for a few months now and have recently upgraded the rubber stopper to a flex stopper and a < 3mm bridge (both 3d printed) to ease the chopping without jamming including smaller diameter murrini. The machine is extremely well thought out and assembled. It's easily stored and put back on the work table. The catch bin is perfect for me as in my shop there are lots of tools that look similar and can be easily misplaced … everything looks similar thus hard to locate … unless of course the essential chopping tools are in the catch bin :-).
You can't go wrong on this purchase. It's a well worthwhile investment … especially as we get older and our hands and wrists get sore faster and the stiffness lasts longer.
Looking forward to learn about what Darte brings to market next!
Suzanne Van Laar –
Love this chopper! I grabbed it at the LV Glass Show in April, and it’s saved me hours of work — and probably some arthritis! It’s smooth, simple to use, and makes cutting cane quick and effortless. Awesome tool that makes the process so much easier!
Jim B. (verified owner) –
Such a great chopper! Compact and smooth running with no complicated components!
Susan Marcus-Mendoza (verified owner) –
I love this machine! I’ve never been good at cutting rods or cane so wasted some expensive glass. This machine makes chopping quick and easy. I’m so glad that I finally bought it.
Barbara Waggoner (verified owner) –
Our safety officer set the system up for our 225 members with only 2 steps to use the compressor and chopper safely.
When the company heard we had a piece come off, they immediately sent a new one with a return label for us to ship the 1st one back, so they could inspect to ensure no future issues. Great service.
Terri Elmore –
Money well spent. For me, this chopper is a lifesaver. With arthritic hands and wrists, I can chop even large diameter murrini & rods for my work with very little effort. One thing I’ve found useful is to place the foot pedal under my heel instead of using the ball of my foot.
Great invention! And it as so nice to meet you, Sue, at the Vegas Expo!
sdarte (store manager) –
Terri,
Thank you for your review! We are so happy that you are loving the PMC150 Murrini Chopper! You can also hold the small foot pedal in the palm of your hand and simply press with your fingers, but obviously you have found a way that works for you. Vegas was a great place to meet you and so many other wonderful people.
Tim Harlan (verified owner) –
Brand new but I’m very happy with the machine. I look forward to giving it a good workout in my studio!
sdarte (store manager) –
Tim, thank you for your kind review. Your work looks fantastic! Happy Chopping!
Debbie Appleby (verified owner) –
This by far the best piece of equipment ever! My arthritis thanks you profusely!
Kathy (verified owner) –
Diane Dito (verified owner) –
This is the little chopper that could! It effortlessly cuts cane up to 1/2″ thick, as well as delicate flowers and shapes, without small details snapping off. Powered by a small air compressor (which must be purchased separately if one doesn’t already have one), this is the huge upgrade that murrini artists have been waiting for!
I had the privilege of demo-ing this product during one of Tabitha Burrill’s classes at Glass Craft Bead Expo in Las Vegas this year. I was absolutely amazed at how effortlessly this little machine cut all shapes of Tabitha’s cane. The murrini were uniform in size with straight edges end-to-end.
This is a true evolution in cutting cane: no more hand or wrist strain, no more shoulder and neck pain from snipping murrini by hand for hours on end. Although designed ideally for cutting cane, the pneumatic chopper also makes short work of cutting scrap glass into 1/4-1/2″ squares for dots and/or mosaics.
One can opt to purchase a catcher box that attaches easily to the chopper. The catcher box is high- quality, powder- coated steel and perfect for the job of containing murrini. Gone are the days of murrini flying all over the studio when cut with manual nippers.
The only negative I have is an annoyance and not a fatal flaw. I got the catcher box with my order. The catcher box with the chopper in Vegas didn’t have any kind of cushioning on the inside bottom of the box. The box shown in the photo with the chopper does not show any padding on the interior bottom, either. My box HAS a non-removable cushioning pad on the inside. I thought it was a great idea… at first. However, there’s a small gap where the cushioning ends and the box’s walls begin on 3 sides. Small shards of glass and small pieces of cane often get trapped in these gaps, necessitating the use of tweezers to remove them. This might not happen to everyone and shouldn’t be considered a reason not to buy the chopper and catcher box! Perhaps it’s a design update, but I personally would prefer the bare, powder-coated metal on the inside.
All in all, this is a compact, seriously efficient tool that will make many glass artists’ lives a lot easier. My only suggestion would be to make the catcher box pad removable, so that the box can be used with or without it, and to allow easy cleaning of glass shards.
I would buy this chopper again in a heartbeat. I highly recommend it.
sdarte (store manager) –
Diane, Thanks so much for your review! So glad you are enjoying the PMC150 chopper. As for your comments on the catcher box, I really appreciate the feedback. Makes me think that I should just include the pad and let the customer decide whether they want to install it or not. Best to let them decide. Sue.
Linda D. (verified owner) –
A wonderful product!
Laurie Schock –
I purchased the Murrini Chopper at GCBE 2025! I am so happy with the chopper, the ease of use and the fantastic workmanship! I pulled 3 pots of vitrigraph since i got home and chopped all 3 with no issues. If you do a lot of vitrigraph and like straight cuts, I highly recommend this chopper. It chops thin and thicker cane with ease.
So easy to set up, use and store, I’m sorry I waited as long as I did! Love it ❤️❤️
Betty White –
Wow! This chopper can handle thick and thin cane as well as shaped cane. It can chop a large volume of murrine in a very short time period. I like to chop my murrine fairly thin to use in landscapes and this is easy to accomplish and I just started using my chopper.
Learn from me, I had surgery on my thumb due to repetitve motion injury (cutting murrine with an old timey wheeled chopper). Thanks Sue and Brad! Great job!
Dale Keating –
Whether you are a glass studio, seasoned glass artist or just starting. I highly recommend investing in this pneumatic cane chopper for slicing batches of cane. It is efficient, easy to setup and use. It is incredibly smooth, allowing for precise and effortless slicing of cane and the pressure can be adjusted for various shapes and thicknesses. It can easily handle cane as thick as 1/2” and fancy shapes. This chopper also has a fantastic safety feature, ensuring that users can work confidently without the fear of accidents which is a huge plus in a classroom and my students love it! Cleaning and maintaining it is also easy. Thank you for such an outstanding tool that brings joy to the art of cane making!
Shannon Lynch –
Small, quiet, and extremely accurate… I’ve wanted this baby for so long💕I love my DARTE chopper!
Sherry V. (verified owner) –
I encountered this murrini chopper at the glass & bead expo earlier this month. This chopper is extremely easy to setup and use. I struggled cutting cane that has scalloped edges or critters with ears until now. I almost used up a whole cane trying to cut a cat face with ears and the ears did not survive. This chopper allows me to cut a perfect and uniform slice each time. It also saves my hands that now have arthritis. I highly recommend and Sue Darte is extremely professional and helpful. Thank you!
Randall (verified owner) –
Julianne (verified owner) –
A great tool, makes chopping Murrini a breeze!
sdarte (store manager) –
Julianne,
Thanks so much for your review! So glad you are happy with your purchase. It’s an investment, but we believe it pays for itself in helping you create great cuts with little effort. Afterall, you just want to create more, not work harder.
Sue & Brad
Tina Hutton (verified owner) –
Lori (verified owner) –
This is a great chopper, I bought it for production work and it really does a good job. Their customer service is excellent, Sue got back to me right away with all my questions, and she went out of her way to custom test a few rods for me. Picture is the first batch of around 60 pounds that I chopped. This is one of those tools that you might not need often, but when you do, you’re glad you got it.
Karen W. (verified owner) –
Equipment was shipped promptly with regular updates on status.
Delfie M. (verified owner) –
Chopper is great for murrini that is not too thick. Trying to cut murrini 1/2 inch becomes a little difficult. I am getting jams with the stopper. I watched your video on the stopper and I will adjust accordingly. Great time saver.
sdarte (store manager) –
Delfie, Thanks so much for your review. Yes, the stopper should be positioned above the rod, just enough that it touches. That prevents the jamming. We are in the process of developing a different stopper, that we hope will eliminate the jams.
Joseph B. (verified owner) –
What I can say is WOW – The PMC150 upgrade is absolutely the best investment I have made in tools for my glass shop. I pull a lot of Vitrigraph cane and I was always behind on chopping it with my old arm powered chopper (aka smasher). Now, I will say it again “WOW” I caught up on all the cane I needed to chop (approx 38ft – All from Vitrigraph pots) with the diameter varying from about 4mm to 8mm the PMC150 worked flawlessly and all the pieces had flat ends which is very important for my projects. And it only took about an hour instead of way too many hours and a very tired arm. The two photos showing the PMC150 with a soda can in the picture are for reference to show the size, the picture of the cane shows what the incredible PMC150 did, again WOW. Varying sizes of cane, all with nice flat cuts, see picture.
James Gary (verified owner) –
Great tool for cutting murrini. No stress on the hands with this tool.
Kelly Hanson (verified owner) –
Love this upgrade! My hands are thrilled 🙂
Eileen Golden (verified owner) –
The chopper not only takes the grunt work out of hand cutting murrini but it will save me time & money. I was wasting murrini by getting inconsistent slices cutting by hand. With this chopper, I can set the thickness and chop away!
Amy F. (verified owner) –
this is a life changing (for the better!) tool!