Silver Bullet Cutters Forum

Hello all. I need some help with creating some decent stencils. I will be using the stencils for airbrushing and I am wondering what Thickness of plastic would you use for creating the stencils? The stencils will need to be plastic so I can reuse the stencils over and over and over again. Any help would be greatly appreciated. What settings are good for the stencils you were recommending? Thank you all very much and have a wonderful day.

John
One off concepts

Hmmm...I normally use vinyl for my stencils but those are for one time use. I have used transparency film for stencils but they are not what I would term longlasting stencils. I did see some plastic sheets at JoAnn's for quilt stencils which is probably what you are wanting. Looked like it would be a good material that the SB could easily cut. Someone who does a lot of stencil work will pipe in soon, I am sure, and can give you more info.

AWESOME TY very much. I will give that a try.

John
One Off Concepts

I too have used vinyl or contact paper....... for things like glasses or things that need to be "shaped" and also have used the laser transparencies. And the other thing I have used is the .020 clear plastic that has blue liner on both sides - that is very durable.

Good luck!

Vinyl is my go to also. You can cut a whole bunch out at once and use them.

zcockerill wrote:Hello all. I need some help with creating some decent stencils. I will be using the stencils for airbrushing and I am wondering what Thickness of plastic would you use for creating the stencils? The stencils will need to be plastic so I can reuse the stencils over and over and over again. Any help would be greatly appreciated. What settings are good for the stencils you were recommending? Thank you all very much and have a wonderful day.

John
One off concepts

John, a Link for some sheets you can create stencils with.

In the future we will be doing a webinar about this very topic. In fact, Sherri and I had a conversation about this a few days ago. I hope the link helps.

Thanks Michelle for the link. I have definitely used some of those (have a lot of Grafix products and have never been disappointed) -

Between you and Penny, my list of "to do" projects is getting longer..... and longer....... and longer!

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. Another issue I'm having with the stencils, is my second pass. The mat never ends back up at its original 0/0 cords. So when I try to make a second pass, my machine is not cutting on the design lines and then messes up my stencil.

When the machine finishes the first past the blade and mat return to a 0/0, but somehow something shifts or moves approximately 1/4 inch and then next pass is off. Any ideas why this is happening? Thank you all very much for your help.

John
One Off Concepts

Well my first thought is the stencil material isn't secure enough on the mat. I don't know what you are using. But when I do anything out of the ordinary I tape that puppy down I probably have overkill on the tape, but it beats it shifting.

LOL Suzan on the overkill. I am the same way. I have been to the end of a project on occasion just to have a heavier material shift and there goes the whole thing - so frustrating!

John - are you doing the regular multiple cut so you set it to "2" before you cut? Just wondering......

I would try a test piece, taped, with a simple shape and a multicut and see what happens. Has it been fine and is all of a sudden "shifting"? Just trying to rule out different things...

Very sorry for the delay in my response. I just got slammed with work. We will now be making a plaque for the Air Force Thunderbirds.

Well right now I have the Cutter set at 6. My force is speed is 350 and my force is 250.

You mean you have the click blade set at 6??? Which blade are you using and how thick is the material. I was asking about the multi-cut as it doesn't go over 5. That is why I asked you if you set the multi-cut to 2 so it would automatically do another cut. Have you tried that? I would also reduce the speed and do an extra multi-cut rather than cut twice at such a high force. Again curious about the material you are cutting.

Hmmmm I do not know how to do what you are describing. What I have done in the past is let the machine make its first pass. After it completes the pattern and goes back to 0/0, I then tell it to cut again. LOL guess i'm doing it all wrong lol. I do not know the thickness. I get the material at JoAnnes Fabrics and it says its "Heavy Duty Template Plastic" It's made by Dritz Quilting.

Yes the click blade is at "6". What speed would you recommend? How do I make the machine do 2 passes? Where is that in the setting please? I'm flying blind here lol. Should I change the force too?

In the software - look at the picture below. Ignore my engraving setting (that's what I was last working on!) and see what I highlighted - that is what I am talking about. I just chose the "3 times", but the default is off - then you can choose 2,3, 4 or 5 times.

And yes, if you are doing multi cut you can reduce the force. I would create a small square and practice on that. I have some .20 acetate (fairly thick) that I cut at 140, 4 passes and a speed of 400 - just to give you an idea. (and that wasn't even with a long blade - just me experimenting!) I have no idea if I am comparing apples to apples. Just checked my notebook on cutting materials. I have some different kinds to try, just haven't tried them all. So try the long blade at maybe 120 and 2-3 passes - I usually do one pass first to see how close I am - or not - and go from there to determine pressure and if I need to multi cut or not.

Hope that helps.
And I know quite a few people have cut the Dritz plastic - will see if they can chime in -

AHHHHHH ok. I see what you are saying. I will give that a try and see what happens. Thank you very much for explaining it to me. I greatly appreciate it.

John
One Off Concepts

You are welcome, John.

Gigi wrote:Thanks Michelle for the link. I have definitely used some of those (have a lot of Grafix products and have never been disappointed) -

Between you and Penny, my list of "to do" projects is getting longer..... and longer....... and longer!

I hear you Gigi, and not enough hours in a day to do them.

No - never enough time. Well maybe if I gave up all of my volunteer work and all of the other crazy things I get myself into I would have plenty of time - but I keep sabotaging that! LOL

Oh well - I will never be hurting for things to do!

GIGI,

Thank you for all the tips. I am able to cut through my material now and can make several passes, BUT (LOL) the machine isn't tracking right or something on the last passes around the box. (Refer to Pictures). I made two different stencils and when they both got to the end and the machine was cutting the square around my stencil, it would fall of track. On the second stencil, I moved my mat to a different spot on the SB and still got the same result. I made 4 passes on both stencils.

The words and pics on both stencils cut out perfect. So this is kind of odd to me that everything else cut out perfect but the big squares around my project. Both project were approximately 14 inches by 8 inches. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thank you.

John
One Off Concepts

Either your mat or your media is skewing a little. It will always show up more on the larger items.
If you are already using all four pinchwheels then you need to either slow your speed or reduce your force, or it could be a blunt blade.