bekbek324 1 Posted January 26, 2012 Just wanted to introduce myself and get me feet wet in the forum. I am a work at home mom with a small business making custom wood signs. I have been using the cricut for a year and have largely outgrown that piece of junk. After the Christmas rush I was able to upgrade to the MH-Series cutter (28in). I know, probably bottom of the line for most of you experienced cutters, but a major upgrade for me none-the-less! I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers about drifting vinyl. I've already wasted about 5 yards of vinyl (which is a big deal considering I only order my vinyl 10-25 yards at a time). I am playing with the roller tightness, and just cannot seem to get it straight. Thanks for any input! Rebekah Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ravenwind / One Off Grafx 187 Posted January 27, 2012 I line mine up with the 2 sets or rulers on mine set the clamps then to make sure it is going fairly straight i use the roll forward and back if it tracks right i then set it to cut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mabscotthandyman 1,410 Posted January 27, 2012 Hello and welcome. Take the time to align your vinyl so that it tracks true. Advance and back your vinyl the lenth of your cut and watch to see if it is tracking well or not then adjust to make tracking true you will become proficent in a while. The cheaper units dont track well as the high priced units but do very well with a little practice. Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markvvq 14 Posted January 27, 2012 By adjust vinyl they mean getting the vinyl straight, not adjusting the pinch rollers. Look at the tracking when advancing and retracting the vinyl and adjust untill it runs straight. Than you can cut without wasting vinyl. You need to do this each time you insert new vinyl Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmc 1 Posted January 28, 2012 thats a good cheaper cutter, ive used mine for 2 years, not a bit of trouble, i have the mh871 i have my pinch rollers to where the threads are flush with the top of the nut. on the vinyl tracking you have to play with it some, run the vinyl back and forth for the length of the cut your making and adjust as in the posts above .i also get the biggest plastic playing card i can find and put up against the extreme rh side of the cutter feed ,at the front of cutter ,and then another card at the rear of the cutter feed tape them down tight to the cutter ,leave the inside with no tape on it ,it will give you a nice sharp edge to put the vinyl up against and it will give you a 90 degree to the cutter blade , you do know how to set up the vinyl and run it back and forth dont you?turn on the cutter load the vinyl,roll off enough vinyl to do the job [mine really doesnt like to hit the roll it will throw the tracking off faster than anything punch the off line button then go to the up-down arrows and mash the frt arrow to run the vinyl out the frt.to watch for tracking straight ,adjust try again once you get it tracking straight, mash the left arrow to get the blade where you want it on the vinyl when you get everything right hit the origin button and your ready to cut ,or set the cutting pressure and the cutting speed the up-down arrows control the cutting speed the left-right arrow s control cutting pressure after you hit the origin button Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bekbek324 1 Posted January 31, 2012 Wow! You guys are awesome! I did everything you guys said and I have it down to where it is only off 1mm. I also haven't tried cutting anything longer than 2 feet yet either, so I might need to do a little more playing with it when I go to make a longer cut. Thanks for taking the time to explain things in a way that I could understand Cannot wait to work my way up in this business! I have my eye on their 15x15 heat press next...anybody have a preference between the clamshell and the digital swing arm? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
