pawdell

Starting Out With Vinyl Cutting

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2 hours ago, Dakotagrafx said:

Ditto on the rotary cutter, I have actually wore a few out over the years

Which one(s) do you prefer? I started out with a Fiskars, but found that the OLFA felt a bit more sturdy.

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So far still using the fiskars and when they get worn replace (there was one particular one that was too thin of material right out of the package and felt dangerous) - I keep saying next ones will be olfa but so far haven't done it.  probably if I would get the better ones I wouldn't be replacing as much :)   Heck I am on my 3rd 6 ft cutting mat - after a while with lots of cuts they bulge up where all the cutting is done.

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13 hours ago, Dakotagrafx said:

So far still using the fiskars and when they get worn replace (there was one particular one that was too thin of material right out of the package and felt dangerous) - I keep saying next ones will be olfa but so far haven't done it.  probably if I would get the better ones I wouldn't be replacing as much :)   Heck I am on my 3rd 6 ft cutting mat - after a while with lots of cuts they bulge up where all the cutting is done.

go olfa, you won't regret it. Hahaha.

I've only had to change my cutting mat once - because the sun caught the corner of it, and warped it like crazy. I wrote to the manufacturer and asked if there was any way to fix the warp, they said no - and that it should have never warped in the first place, but wanted me to ship it to them so they could see if for themselves. No shipping labels, no offer to get a replacement one for a slight discount. I still have it, and it now protects the glass top of my main desk. It's convenient that I can just cut stuff right in front of my keyboard and now worry. :D

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i bought several self healing cuttings mats when wal mart had them on sale. so I have almost 2 of every size. my basic tools came with the cutter combo I bought. the main being a set of angle pointed tweezers I use for everything , I weed with them more than anything. but have the dental pik laying here for back up. lol.  another 1 for loud doesn't go with a Graphtec, I would guess that also goes for most servo cutters. I know ive been on the phone with primal while he was cutting with his titan2  could actual hear the vinyl sliding thru  the machine , which at the time had never heard with 1 of my stepper motor cutters.   @pawdell if your putting the cutter in another room , I don't really see any cutter being a noise issue. my sc I took home to cut with is prob the loudest cutter I have and I don't have any complaints about the noise from the wife, everything else n life is a complaint, lol. so I would say its safe to be in  another room. just like every other hobby ive been into, I now mess around with buying and selling a few used cutters and heat presses. I find it as fun as cutting vinyl and I learn something new with almost everyone. now its taken the help from the great guys & guys on here several times, but I feel like ive learned more doing this

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All of you are a gold mine. Thanks for all your help and pointers. Cutter might actually go in a room adjacent to the family room without partitions, so a stepper setup may make a difference in this situation.

 

  Anybody have issues with FCC Class A equipment in a home environment? I didn't know if a cutter would emit any interference. Also, could RF get into the cutter while cutting which could ruin the job? Will be using shielded cables from computer to cutter.

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1 hour ago, pawdell said:

All of you are a gold mine. Thanks for all your help and pointers. Cutter might actually go in a room adjacent to the family room without partitions, so a stepper setup may make a difference in this situation.

 

  Anybody have issues with FCC Class A equipment in a home environment? I didn't know if a cutter would emit any interference. Also, could RF get into the cutter while cutting which could ruin the job? Will be using shielded cables form computer to cutter.

my handheld ham radio has never been a problem

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Good to know, Dakotagrafx. How many watts? Are you also on HF? Wondering if there is any hash in the radio receiver coming from the cutter (just on or while operating) and would hate to key up and flood the cutter with RF and ruin a job or worse. I doubt that I would be doing both at the same time, but there is the chance that my Wife may become interested in cutting also.

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it is only 4-8 watts I believe - hits the local repeater - have done net check ins while cutting without issue

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i bought several self healing cuttings mats when wal mart had them on sale. so I have almost 2 of every size. my basic tools came with the cutter combo I bought. the main being a set of angle pointed tweezers I use for everything , I weed with them more than anything. but have the dental pik laying here for back up. lol. my cutter is upstairs, but we have an high ceiling in living room, which means the wife is sitting right below the room im cutting in with door open . nothing blocking the noise, so basically almost the same as it being in the room.  2nd the builder mustve just barely passed code with everything. Ive actually heard my neighbors wife coming dn their steps and think my wife was coming up ours. gotta love Raised beach houses, built cheap as possible, prices high as posssible

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Thanks cardudenc. A beach house seems nice, but the prices I have seen keeps it that way: seems nice. :D

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anytime pawdell. there was a guy on here that basically taught me 75% of what I know about this biz . I would hate to say how much time he has in helping me now. weve became pretty good friends since meeting on here 3 yrs ago.  I believe in paying it fwd, so don't hesitate to hit me up. Im up all hrs of the night. I def don't kno it all but sometimes can still find an answer. the bad is Im not a comp guy. so I still consider myself a newbie.

Eh.….Ive grown to hate the beach. liked it better from my house in the mtns of nc. should've just kept going back and forth every few weeks.

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On 4/7/2019 at 12:06 PM, MZ SKEETER said:

I agree, you do not want to start with a Cameo. Start with a full size vinyl cutter. You can do anything,  No reason to limit your self to a small size like that.  There is so much more that can be done with a full size vinyl cutter. You really will want a cutter with a stand.  Vinyl tracks much better, when it is on the vinyl rollers behind the stand, and you can cut at much longer and wider lengths. Don't go cheap and buy that MH. At least start with the SC2 or up. 

Also the better the cutter the better resell value my Graphtec would sell for a decent price if I should decide to sell it. 

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Good points. Thanks again everyone. I am mentally and physically gathering items to move forward on with this endeavor.

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Just wanted to say thanks again. Although I don't know how well a Silhouette works, this Graphtec is very solid! Amazing triangle and square (so far)  :-)

 

I'm sure I will have more questions in new threads, but wanted to complete this thread.

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52 minutes ago, pawdell said:

Just wanted to say thanks again. Although I don't know how well a Silhouette works, this Graphtec is very solid! Amazing triangle and square (so far)  :

Graphtec???? so did u order 1?

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awesome!! way to start out. I started with the dae woo of cutters and moving my way up. I have another used  ce 5000-60 coming. im hoping to mess around with a few used cutters working my way to the new 1 I want. which I thought was the ce 6000 now I wondering, someone had to bring up  summa. so been reading up on them. and the fc8600 , im sure I will have my mind made up by the time the $$$ is made

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3 minutes ago, pawdell said:

Thanks! I feel an addiction coming on. (Good kind).

yep, def better than crack!! lol  atleast it makes $$

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Yeah - I would normally not start out with equipment this nice, but with the encouragement from here, I feel better to have gone this route. I am sure I will miss out on some good lessons, but, hey, I'm getting old. Or, at least, feeling old.

The FC8600 was actually on my radar for a second. Network-able, I believe. I wondered about it and came across some used ones, but I already demolished the budget going to the 6000 and the 6000 is new.

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your correct on that. I believe I learned a lot of newbie lessons by starting with a cheap azz unforgiving cutter. def using a Graphtec over my SC model is like climbing out of a dae woo n to a Porsche. lol

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Yeah, lessons are a good thing. I usually don't think that at the time, but they can benefit later at the oddest times.

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