A detailed cut

[zgriffiths]

This is for the people who were asking about the detail of this machine. Now mind you, I have only had this machine for three days, so I am sure it can go way beyond this. I was also asking the same question, if I should buy the Silver Bullet or the Cricut Explore. All I can say is, I'm beyond happy with the Silver Bullet and am beyond happy I didn't buy the Cricut Explore. I made this for my wife tonight.......

Flower.JPG

[Gigi]

That is a great job and your wife must be thrilled!

Thank you for sharing all of your great first cuts!!

[zgriffiths]

She loved it. It's nice to make her something vs buy her something. I love to see her smile when I make her something. This machine will make it that much easier to make her little surprises.

[bidgeeman]

Hi zcockerill
Wow!
Is that 80 gsm paper? Would you mind sharing your settings? Force, etc?

Thanks
Bidge

[PennyDuncan]

WOW!!! That is beautiful!!!! I'm sure it brought a warm smile to her face......it's awesome that you're really taking the time to learn your machine.....that's so important!! You're doing a FANTASTIC job!!!

[zgriffiths]

Thank you Gigi and Penny.... All I am doing is following both of your advice and I can't thank you both enough. Bidgeeman... I'm am not sure what kind of paper this is. To me it looks like colored printer paper (non-gloss). Please understand, I've never crafted, I do metal work. So I do not know much about paper and that stuff. As far as my settings, 400 speed and 80 pressure. I am using a 60 degree bit. Please note, I do not know if these settings are correct. I'm using the "test" button a lot and crossing my fingers. Hope this helps out some.

[Gigi]

Hi zcockerill
Wow!
Is that 80 gsm paper? Would you mind sharing your settings? Force, etc?

Thanks
Bidge

I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but no matter what settings were used, it is really important to find your own with the test cut, just as he is doing. What cuts at 80 for one could be 60 for another based on a dozen factors mentioned in other threads. Make that test button your new best friend!

[kim]

WOW...that is just AWESOME!!! I know your wife was thrilled. And, yes, it is really important to use the "test button" and to take the time to learn your machine. The learning curves from person to person, but it is a safe bet that you DO NOT want to have any HAVE TO GET IT DONE NOW kind of project while learning your machine. If you invest the time to learn, the rewards will be great. THe machine is a great piece of equipment if you do this. If you don't, you will only bring frustration upon yourself.

You will be surprised that when you do learn your machine, you will soon almost know intuitively the settings you should use and only have to fine tune. It's almost like learning to type....at first you have to think about where the keys are for each letter, and before you know it, your fingers just fly across the keyboard without thought.

[Gigi]

Great analogy Kim and so very true!

[Angel135612]

That is a lovely cut!!!! And I love the detail in it.

[sherri]

That is AMAZING! And yes, I thought you were only into metal as well! Good for you to step outside the box and see all that this machine can do! That is a beautiful file!
Sherri

[zgriffiths]

Thank you. I love anything that involves being creative. I'll post some more stuff tomorrow. I absolutely Love my Silver Bullet. Actually...... Here is a wedding cake topper I made today. I used the Silver Bullet to make a stencil for the date in the heart. The stencil was only 1 inch wide and 1/4 inch tall. So, very very small. Amazing detail in the stencil. The whole project is only 6 inches wide.

wedding topper.JPG

[Gigi]

WOW - that looks great. What did you use to make the cake topper. What a fabulous idea!

Love the detailed date. You could have used the pen tool for that as well, but I love your creativity. Thrilled you are loving the machine. You are certainly running it through its paces and teaching us all things!!!

[zgriffiths]

Thank you very much Gigi for the kind words. That is 16 gauge sheet metal. I sand it, primer it, sand it again lol, paint it, use the stencil, then clear coat it. I make all types of things out of metal. Most of it is painted/airbrushed. Sometimes my customers just want it in plain metal, so it will rust. So it all depends.

That piece unfortunately would not fit into the SB It is to thick of metal.

Believe it or not, but that piece I just made is going onto a $1000.00 wedding cake.

John
Oneoffconcepts.com

[Gigi]

OMG - seriously? A $1000 wedding cake? That must be one pretty amazing cake. Well I think there is no doubt you made the perfect topper for it - so classy in its simplicity.

I assumed you had cut out the cake topper - thanks for clarifying that. You are certainly one talented guy!

[PennyDuncan]

WOW!!!!! That is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SUPER IMPRESSED!!

[janrichards]

They are both very beautiful. How are you cutting 16 gauge metal? And did you design the flowers or is that a file you purchased? I am going to check out your site! Great work.
Jan

[zgriffiths]

Good morning. Thank you all for the kind words. I wasn't sure if I should post something that wasn't completely created by my SB lol.

(Janrichards)... I draw everything up on the computer. I took two different fronts and put them together. Then drew up a heart and connected them all together, but I could not get the date in the heart to cut out because it was way to small. I have a CNC machine that makes the actual cut. So I can cut really fine metal all the way up to an inch thick. I can cut any type of metal IE: Stainless Steel, Copper, Sheet Steel, Aluminum, and even Corrugated Metals. Plus I also weld. So if I want to make three dimensional pieces, I can. So whatever you can think up, I can draw it up and bring it to life.

The only problem with my CNC machine is I can't cut really tiny lettering. So that's where the SB is coming into play. I can just airbrush the tiny detail stuff that my CNC can't cut. So now, I have the best of both worlds.

The whole concept of our business is to make "One Off" stuff. Meaning you can't buy it anywhere else. I create the design from scratch. I'm sure a lot of you do the same thing. I've seen some pretty amazing stuff on all of your sites. Only difference is, I do it with metal lol.

As for the flower, I used an existing flower off the internet and cleaned it up (fixed a lot of the lines). I wanted to find something that had detail in it to test the limits of this machine. So far out of everything I have cut with the SB, has been a very impressive success. The SB just keeps on amazing me. The flower was just a test. When I buy a piece of machine, the very first thing I do is test its limits, that way I know what I have to work with. So I have a lot of test pieces of all different types of cuts lol. I do not buy files, but if you every need one drawn up to use on your machine, let me know and I'll be more than willing to help you out.

The SB just keeps on amazing me. I also have to say that the help on this forum amazes me too. You are all amazing and great. Thank you all for all the exceptional help. I really love being apart of the SB community.

As far as my site, It's up and running, but still under construction. I should have all my pictures up by this weekend.

Thank you all again!

John
One Off Concepts

[janrichards]

I had a feeling you had a CNC machine! That is great. I can tell by your comments that you are way more advanced than I am when it comes to the computer software. I don't design anything beyond simple items but I really admire those who can. There are several here who can do that also. I am glad you are enjoying your SB. this is a great forum where you can feel free to ask questions and show off your stuff! Thanks for your answer.
Jan