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Wow. Apparently I missed the differences between the 2 paths and it's working now. Thank you for taking the time to point out the fix to my newbie question.

Thank you, sir. Really appreciate your input here. I’ll look into the scanner you mentioned. And yes, couldn’t agree more… restoring them is as much fun and rewarding as playing them (if not more). I’ve given a lot of $$ to Pinball Pimp. I do like his stencils but they end up costing me a fortune and I’ve messed things up more than once which always requires me to order another set have you heard of a machine called a GCC Puma III??

Photoshop won't do you any good for creating stencils. You need a vector program. Inkscape is a great and free program that will do what you need. It will take some playing with it to get the hang of it though. Working with vector graphics can be a bit tricky when you first start. I am unfamiliar with Signmaster, but I know inkscape can import and export all the major vector file formats. I'm assuming at a minimum signmaster can import EPS files. So if you don't like the design aspect of signmaster, so long as it functions as a cutting software you're good to go. The Vevor, looks like, and I believe it is essentially the same as a MH cutter which is pretty much the bottom of the barrel for cutters. That being said you can do pretty decent work with one once you get all the quirks worked and out everything dialed in. However, for larger decals like you would need for a pinball machine you would be doing yourself a favor spending a bit more and getting a more higher end cutter. The Titan sold on USCutters is a pretty reasonably priced and decent quality machine. And my hat off to you for restoring pinball machines. I have 3 now that I've done some simple repairs to and cleaned. Working on them is almost as much fun as playing them.

Gotta love the easy fixes.

You can go ahead and put that INITIAL BLADE POSITION>OUTSIDE, or it will leave a little J. in your design. But you should be looking for Blade offset. Blade offset is ZERO on Graphtecs. Which Cutting software are you using? Are you running the cutting on Windows or a Mac? If Windows, that cutter has a Graphtec cutting controller that you can make changes right from your computer. Before wasting vinyl and cutting text, use the TEST feature right from the vinyl cutter, and your triangle and square should be perfect. https://www.graphtecamerica.com/cp-downloads-fc8600 Under drivers is Win Controller V.OPS67.. Cutter must be ready to cut when using this operation. User manual is also on this page. This is the correct way to set the blade depth on any vinyl cutter. To start with, you should set your blade depth correctly, by taking the blade holder out of the machine, and firmly cut across a piece of scrap vinyl, you will be cutting. You should only be cutting the vinyl and barely a mark on wax paper backing, Adjust blade to get there, Then put the blade holder back in machine, and use the force of the machine to get there, same results, only cutting the vinyl and barely a mark in wax paper backing. You should barely see and feel the blade tip out of the blade holder. Regular sign vinyl is only 2-3 mil thick. You only cut with the very tip of the blade. When you think the blade is so far in the blade holder, that you think it would not even cut, that is probably correct.

I think that USCUTTER is working with the Chinese manufacturer to address several issues on these MH updated versions. That would explain the "Sold Out" situation, which is crazy to see, now right before Christmas when many people buy these low-end cutters as gifts or to start a work-from-home gig. There is an old rule in the technology (and automotive) business. Don't ever buy V1.0 of anything. Let the early-adopters work out the bugs first. Proof here, right?

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No problem, just here trying to help as many people as we can btw - thank you for taking the time to register to our forum.

Hey Josh, let's see what we can do. Quick questions --- when you bought the machine, did you have the seller demonstrate that it works? What program was running with the Puma? Why did you buy a unit without any compatible cutting software? SignBlazer (free to use abandonware) has the driver for Puma II which you can try. https://www.mediafire.com/file/fjk69hgu2cpnr16/signblazer_setup.exe/file

The GCC Puma is by far the superior cutter. What software is bundled with it? SignMaster is Vevor's version of VinylMaster. Same thing. If you are designing using Illustrator, then, yes, just Import the resulting .eps into SM and cut. Just a suggestion, but since you're already doing paintwork on wood, maybe try decorating a few Cornhole boards, and sell those!

Can I cut any type of Vinyl on my US cutter or does it have to be a certain grade? This is the vinyl catalog I have. Can I use all of these on my machine?

truth.

MH's are pretty much the bottom of the barrel of cutters. They are great to introduce you to the world of cutting and if you really take your time to dial in everything they can cut well but drifting/tracking is always a problem and there's nothing you can really do about it. The fact that you were able to get it all as close as you did is pretty impressive actually. To get the level of precision you're after you need to look for a cutter that uses a solenoid driver rather than stepper motors. The difference in performance between the two type of actuators is amazing.

At the top of your main layout screen is the word HELP.> HELP TOPICS. That is your user manual. Every design software that I have ever seen has a CIRCLE feature. Just like it has a Rectangle feature. You will probably see it on the left hand side. Or look up shapes.

"Can I cut any type of Vinyl on my US cutter " Yes. (Including HTV) The different thicknesses and metallic-imbedded materials will require some blade-changes (maybe 60* instead of 45*, that's why there's different color-coded caps on your blades) and fine-tuning of pressure force at the keypad. Unless you have specific needs, stick with the standard 651 Intermediate stuff. (Greenstar is USCUTTER's brand of this vinyl). By the way, that was a good question, LELE. You introduced a subject that's kinda complicated because of various factors, but hopefully can generate insightful input from the experts here!

The "line" you see is not a line, it's a white star on top of a black star. Either go through and delete the inner or outer star, merge the two, or do cut by color and only cut the white or the black.

You could use the outline tool and then merge the outline and the original line.

Thank you for registering and welcome to the forum!

(MH machines "Not Suitable for MacOS" -- per the specs) My advice, buy an old, obsolete fifty-dollar Dell or Toshiba laptop with legacy DB9 (serial) port, load it with VinylMaster and be happy. OR, buy the SC2 or LP3 cutters and upgrade from that MH, and go with SureCutsALot on the mac.

If you change the size of the stars but want it to still fit in the 13.75x9.75 area the spacing between the stars will have to shrink. Are you ok with that? Also, the stars are not square, so if you make the a 1.254 square they will be distorted from the current design. You ok with that too? I use Inkscape so I don't know the exact commands to do this in AI but here is the process I took to create this. I took one of your stars, resized it then duplicated it 6 times to create the top row. Then I duplicated that row to create the the 5 rows. Then I selected and copied a 4x5 grid of the stars and shifted then down and to the right. Flag Stars.eps