Tool Force and Velocity?

[dearwendy714]

Hello fellow crafters! I hope someone can help. Does anyone have a guideline in what force and velocity they use on the different tools. I just bought a couple new mats because I had ruined my first mat. It got warped and had bad cuts after a couple months. I can already tell from my new mat its already showing cutting marks and don't want to ruin them. I purchased the gotta have it all kit so any help what force and velocity you use would be great. It would definitely help give me a guideline. At the moment I cutting card stock paper that has a lot of details . I would also like to emboss things, do vinyl, cut chipboard, grave soft metals, cut balsa wood, and wood veneer. Also I know this machine can cut tissue paper any great tips or videos would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your support.
Wendy

[Gigi]

Penny has a guide on her blog. I attached it below.

You will see cut marks on your mat - that is the blade going through the adhesive. When you should be concerned is if you can feel the cut with your fingernail - then the blade is cutting into the mat and it will dull the blade faster. Be sure to use the setting tool when you cut your media AND always do a test cut and take notes. The test cut will save you from cutting too deeply into your mat. I still use it whenever I am using something I am not familiar with,or I just want to double check. It's better to waste the space of one little rectangle than a whole sheet of card stock or whatever........

Lisa and I have both very successfully cut tissue paper but it IS challenging. Lisa has a video on her blog (mindovermatters.blogspot.com). I am pretty sure I have photos of tissue paper cuts in my photo album in the gallery here. We both used the fabric blade. My settings were a force of 5 and a speed of 400. (that was fast for me at the time! ) LOL The hardest part of tissue paper is making sure it is stuck firmly to the mat and then you have to remove it VERY slowly. I would not suggest you try cutting tissue paper anytime soon. Work with card stock and different types of card stock and get comfortable with that first before you try the more difficult things. Give yourself time..... it is a process but a fun one.
Hope that helps.

Oh - and rotate your mat to ease with any warping. I use different pinch blades and turn it 90 degrees and 180 degrees periodically to shift the stress so it doesn't warp.

Hope some of this has helped.

[Elizabeth]

Another way to keep your mat from warping is to vary the position of the pinch wheels within the margins of the mat. By doing this, and rotating, as Gigi recommends, I generally get a year of solid use out of two mats that I use regularly.

I agree with Gigi, that tissue paper is difficult, and you might want to wait a bit until you are more familiar with your settings. I haven't cut balsa wood, but I think with its thickness, I would do a double cut at a lighter pressure.

[Gigi]

Thanks Elizabeth - meant to add the pinch wheel part and got distracted!! Imagine that!! LOL

[Christen]

Awesome you guys! As usual.... Okay, I got to view Penny's chart in my ibooks ap, because of that link. Appreciate it greatly. Have somewhat warped my map already, first by placing it too close to the right edge, which was tightening in too close as it moved through, and; Then noticed the warp from the pich wheels. More mats ordered and on the way, thanks to the wonderful seemingly instant filling of the order. Just doing cardstock, and it isn't making the cut all the way through. Have lowered and raised the blade in the holder from the dime's height to just above to just below that setting. The blades shows no damage. Have tried with 60 and 45 degree blades. Sure would like your thoughts.

[Christen]

Roflmao! Sorry for the typos!

[Gigi]

If your mat is warped that will definitely affect your cuts. You can try rotating your mat to see if that resolved the warp a little. Also be sure the paper is well brayered down.

[Christen]

Tried both...Thank You Much! Best of Luck to Rob...we have a grad with the same troubles! Keep seeing what you want to have happen, and how happy it makes you feel. It will come through -

[Gigi]

Thanks Christen - he is working on interviews this coming week hopefully!!

As for your cuts, as I said at the beginning , if your mat is severely warped that alone is probably creating your problem.....

[LisaH]

Christen, raise your holder slightly above the depth of the setting tool and increase your force ever so slightly...gradual (2 or 3 steps) at a time should help with the cuts. (that is if the paper is brayered down really well and the mat isn't warped too much) Also, do you have the tables? They make a real difference in the cuts by keeping the mat on a level surface and not allowing any "droop" in it...which can cause cutting issues.

[Christen]

A lot of the stick is gone from the mat. I thought of using the re-nu sheet. The mat was SO sticky at first and I didn't think to cover any of it, so the pinch wheels got covered in that ... then I covered the unused areas in paper and they picked up some of that. Cleaned em with 409, which is recommended for MCI tape decks (my husband is a musician), but it didn't remove everything. Will try the orange gum remover when we get some... Then I noticed the unevenness of the mat and how it was throwing the alignment off. Seems I've made a mess of things, and am SO green at this. The cutting worked good right up until I got my first print and cut done... 2 days ago. It's 8 days new!! Wish I had had more time to read before starting... Sheri was so good about getting the forums for me early, but I just didn't have time. Perhaps, if it is okay with everyone it might effect, a sheet of newbie information could be available somewhere... Is there an "I blew It" forum thread somewhere? lol I'll be very vigilant about the mat curve when I get the new ones, and if I haven't irreparably damaged the cutter, will order the shelves immediately. Thanks... Oh BTW I love your card with the summer fairy on it. So whimsical!!

[Christen]

Gigi...I wish i knew what constitutes severe...there are small warps where the pinch wheels are, and I'm not sure which thing caused it ....but in a few days will have some new ones, and will see then. I ordered some small ones, so I won't have to worry about the adhesive adhering to the pinch wheels making 'em dirty. Best of Luck to your family

[LisaH]

Thanks!

You can always put painters tape along the line of the pinch wheels on the mat if you can't move it to where they roll along the margin where there is no sticky. At least, LOL, that's what I do! Just make sure the media isn't over it because it won't stick and will mess up your cut.

You can also clean your mats with a non-stick dish scrubby and a little dawn dish detergent (or any that isn't a moisturizer one) and some warm water. Just wet, put the detergent on and lightly scrub, rinse well and let dry. Some use baby wipes - just make sure they don't contain lanolin. I just get better results with the dish soap. You will be AMAZED at how much "sticky" will still be on your mat when you clean them well. HTH

[Christen]

Will do both the cleaning and the taping with the new stuff. Hoping it is just the mat. Will know soon... Impatient, but can wait that long. You are awesome! Thank you so much!!

[Elizabeth]

In the meantime, you can try placing one pinch wheel down, and running your hand over the mat to flatten it before placing the next pinch wheel down. I find this works sometimes on my older mats. Once you get familiar with your cutter, you probably won't need to replace the mats so often. I usually get at least 6 months out of two mats used in rotation.

Until you get the tables, you can use boxes to keep your mat level. They don't look nearly as pretty, or work as well, but they are an ok temporary solution. I used the 12" square photo boxes from Michaels. Reams of paper should also work.

[Gigi]

GREAT idea, Elizabeth - never thought of the straightening part!!!

Mine last about that long too as I have gotten pretty good at rotating and washing and refreshing. I am always surprised at how sticky they are again after washing!

[Elizabeth]

Me, too, Gigi! I remember whining last year, because it took forever for me to need to use my Renu, since I could resticky my mats so well just by washing them!

[Christen]

My granddaughter just went down for a nap...you both have wonderful hints. Will try them all. Thank You!

[LisaH]

Thanks for mentioning about the flattening, Elizabeth. I do that too, but it's so second nature, I didn't even think to mention it.

[Christen]

I have been experimenting with a few things, and have discovered it is the complexity of my paths that are causing some of the cutting problems. I'd love to be able to cut a bit more complicated things, so I will likely be ordering some new blades...and a host of things that seem to go along with it. The mat is working on fairly simple things now. Thank You all so much for your help!!!