New here! Talk to me about non-computer diecutters

Welcome.

The dies are interchangeable and work on most all machines. You only have to make sure you have the right "sandwich" of cutting plates and that the die will fit in the width machine. I have a Cuttlebug and the large shape dies and embossing folders won't fit. I think the maximum width is 6 inches. If you are only planning to cut letters you should have no problem with any of the machines.

The size of the cutting platform.  From the site (not my own experience as I don't own one) you can cut up to 6x8 and the bigshot cuts up to 6.25x14 or so.  There is also the big shot pro which cuts gigantic things but it's quite the investment.

For the money, the Big Shot / Big Kick is a workhorse. The only dies it won't do are the really wide Spellbinders ones or the giant Sizzix ones that cut boxes and 3D stuff. For alphabets you can pretty much use any machine, but if you get the Big Shot / Big Kick and a magnetic platform you can cut a bunch of letters at once.

You can buy longer plates for the cuttlebug, though, to cut up to about 13".

I have a green cuttlebug.  I bought it, oh, probably over a decade or so ago with birthday money from my dad, so I'm gonna work it til it's dead.  When it's time to replace it, I will probably get a Big Shot to replace it.  I feel like some people are less than satisfied with newer cuttlebugs.  (It is also occasionally difficult to find replacement plates for the cuttlebug AND I think that they might no longer come with a C plate in the box... which makes it impossible to use for dies until you buy a C plate.)

Welcome mamakoala! We always love new blood in the game!

I used a Cuttlebug for years and loved it. Switched to a Vagabond (same platform as the BigShot, but motorized instead of a crank) when I could afford it.

If I were getting a crank style machine now, I would get the Big Shot because it has a slightly wider platform than the Cuttlebug, and you can get a magnetic platform for it. This platform replaces the base thick platform when you are using wafer thin dies, and the magnets hold the dies exactly where you want them: great when you have stamp & die sets where you stamp an image and then cut it out with the dies.

For letters, I have the Spellbinders "Font One: Upper Case" (great size for scrapbook page titles) and they work great in the Vagabond (and would work in any of the other machines). I also have a set of numbers from Taylored Expressions. I use those a lot on birthday cards and pages.

I have also collected quite a few words and phrases I can cut when needed. Last year, I made an alphabetical list so I would be able to check if I actually HAVE a word I am searching for. I keep them sorted sort of by theme.

I own a Cameo 2 but I snagged a display model Big Kick at J's for under $40 (same as Big Shot). I love and use both machines. I also purchased the magnetic plate and the embossing pads. I have bought some small sized alpha dies through Aliexpress.com for very, very cheap and they all cut beautifully. Downside is it can take 3 weeks to 2 months for delivery but it's worth it.

I'm going to recommend the Big Shot as well. I started with a Cuttlebug but I didn't find that it was stable enough for me. It moved around too much on my work surface. I sold it and bought a Big Shot. It's bigger, heavier and sturdier, and because I only scrap at home and don't need something portable, it was perfect for me. I now use a Vagabond but that is only because I found it on clearance at Michael's and it was such a good deal, I absolutely couldn't resist. I have to say that I do prefer the Vagabond, but I don't think I will spend the money to replace it when it goes (which I hear can happen completely out of the blue). You really can't go wrong buying the Big Shot.