Method for cutting sheet material

Apparatus for cutting a sheet of material along a preselected line, the apparatus comprising:

• a table having an upper surface sized and shaped for receiving the sheet of material;
• an elongate guide positionable above the sheet of material when the sheet is received by the upper surface of the table, the guide having a track extending longitudinally along the guide and two inward facing edges spaced by a gap having a generally constant width positioned generally vertically above the preselected line on the sheet of material when the guide is positioned above the sheet of material and the sheet is received by the upper surface of the table;
• a wire positionable adjacent the upper surface of the table and below the sheet of material when the sheet of material is received by the upper surface of the table, the wire being positioned laterally between said edges and vertically below the gap of the guide when the guide is positioned above the sheet of material;
• and
• a shuttle moveably engaging the guide track for pulling the wire upward through-the sheet of material and through the gap in the elongate guide to cut the sheet of material along the preselected line.

A method of cutting a sheet of material, the method comprising the steps of:

• positioning an elongate guide adjacent a first face of a sheet of material, the guide having two edges spaced by a gap having a generally constant width;
• positioning a wire adjacent a second face of the sheet of material opposite said first face;
• and
• pulling the wire through the sheet of material and through the gap between the spaced edges of the elongate guide thereby to cut the sheet of material.