Settings Recommendations

[heathertheresa]

I have stencil material that I purchased from Hobby Lobby, it is Show-Off's stencil material, no thickness is labeled on the package so I don't know exact thickness of it. I have been cutting with the settings below, but I think I could get a better cut. Anyone have any recommendations on what settings/blade I should be using?

45^ blade
130 force
400 velocity
2 (or sometimes 3 passes)

There is some level of detail to the design of the stencil, it is all straight lines, but some are fairly close together.

Also, I have been using the Re-Nu sheets to make the mat sticky again. I find I am having to Re-Nu again after cutting about 9, maybe 10 sheets of stencil. I do usually wash the mat before adding the Re-Nu. Is this usual or should it somehow be lasting longer? I do brayer down the stencil sheet before loading it into the machine. I did try the Extra Sticky Re-Nu, but as I pulled the stencil off the mat, the entire Extra Sticky sheet came off the mat with the stencil.

Thanks for any help you guys can offer!!

[Gigi]

Without knowing the thickness it is next to impossible to make a suggestion for some of the settings. I did google them and found that many people say they don't like using the 8x10 blanks because they are much thicker. What size are you using?

Almost all stencil blanks need the 60 degree plus blade and that is where I would recommend starting first. Then use the test cut to determine the actual force. You can start with your 130 and see how well that does as it would be totally different with the proper blade. If you think you need multi pass, which you probably do, instead of the test cut button which moves incrementally with each test cut. you could make two small rectangles for the test and then use the multi cut at 2 to see how it does. You should not have to use the Renu every time. Usually just washing the mat well with a non abrasive scrubbie and dish soap will return most of the stickiness when dry. You can also tape the outside edges to secure it if that seems better.

But first, use the correct blade and go from there. Let us know if you have further questions.

[heathertheresa]

The website for the maker of this material says that is it 0.2mm. Any recommendations for force & velocity with that thickness? Thanks!

[Gigi]

Every material and machine is a little different. I mean each person sets their blade a little differently. The best teacher is to use the test cut and find the force that is best for you. And I explained options in an earlier post if you want to do a lower the force and do a multipass. I would start at 140 and one pass and then you can judge from there how many extra passes/cuts you need. It is always better to cut at a lower force multiple times than a much higher force once.