haumana

to the forum!* *Participation in this forum is known to cause addictive behaviors.

No problem, but I am wondering why you're up at some un-Godly hour (It's only 10p here). The 60-degree just gets you a clean cut for the smaller and/or more intricate stuff. Many people, myself included, have changed to 60-degree and haven't bothered to go back to the 45's. Nothing is wrong with the 45's, I just keep mine at 60 because I'm too lazy to recalibrate the 45-degree again. Others order a second blade holder ($40) and have their 45-degree and 60-degree set to the ideal depth and just swap them out on an as-needed basis. If you win a bid on eBay or order the blades directly from US Cutter, they come in sets of three. I have one set of 45 and one set of 60. I don't think I'll need any additional sets before I run my cutter into the ground. Unless you're cutting some really hard stuff that will torture your blades, you will always have time to replace the sets as you go along. The LP also comes with a ball point pen and pen holder so you can plot instead of cut. I haven't used that feature at all, but I'd like to think that I would get back into CAD to plot drawings. Some have even managed to get mini-sharpie pens in the carriage to plot. Again, something I have yet to try but hope to do one day. If you're looking for good quality vinyl at a reasonable price, I hear that Fellers is definitely worth checking out. If you hit the Vinyl bulletin board, there are a few threads that will take you to some vinyl companies that are willing to send you sample stuff. Other members buy their vinyl on eBay, but I caution you that there are unscrupulous sellers who will say that it's vinyl, but it's actually self-adhesive contact paper. Scissors ... I use any sharp scissors that's available to me to cut the vinyl. I wish the cutter came with a self cutting feature, but then again, that could just be one more mechanical part to break. I use a fiskars to cut my vinyl, then use an xacto for weeding. I use whatever squeegees that Banner John sent to me when I first got started. Different people have different preferences. Squeegees are pretty cheap, pick-up a couple at wherever you happen to be purchasing your vinyl. Cutting your finished stuff can done by scissors, again, any sharp scissors will do. Lots of members here use regular paper cutters. I have a rotary paper cutter. I hate it, but it works and I'm too cheap to buy a regular chop type. I also use a straight edge and rotary fiskars. Keep the questions coming, we've got lots of answers

Daniel - do a search in YouTube. Malibu Dragon and put together a very quick video on how to vectorize with Inkscape.

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I discriminate against stupid people. Stupidity should be painful. What matters most is how well you walk through the fire. If you can't be part of the solution, stop complaining. It's hard to soar with the eagles when you're surrounded by turkeys. Common sense is not so common. There are not stupid questions, only stupid people.

Wow ... welcome to the (addictive) forum. You are correct that the LP and the PCut are similar with the contour cut being the only difference between the two. If you're willing to pay the price, the Graphtec would be the first choice, with the Copam in a very close second. Oracal is popular vinyl by many. I can only speak for myself when I say that it's easy to work with and is predictable to handle. I've been sent some vinyl from Fellers and that seems to work pretty well too. I've heard nothing but good stuff about Fellers. I mostly buy Oracal because I live in isolation and the variety of vinyl brands are slim. It helps for me to stick with the same brand and series (ex. Oracal 651) so that I don't need to do a lot of tweaking of to get the blade depth, speed and pressure "dialed in." Application tape. Choose whatever makes you feel comfortable. Just keep in mind that there are some things you might cut that would be better if applied wet, and for that you can only go with paper tape. I think the clear tape is a bit more expensive, but it sure does showcase the cut graphic a lot better (although the clear app tape reminds me of the clear plastic tape that hospitals use to tape down the I.V.'s and stuff ) A lot of members have both, but usually prefer one over the other, depending on the use/application. I only have paper because I'm just a hobbiest and the paper app tape was waaaaaay cheaper than the clear stuff at my (one and only) local supply store. The LP does have both a USB and serial port. Not everyone has issues using the USB port for the cutter (knock on wood). For those that do run into situations of difficulties, serial is usually the best fix. Not to worry, if you're computer does not have a serial port, you can always purchase a keyspan (Serial to USB) adapter. Those can be found on the US Cutter website, your local computer store, Radio Shack, or dirt cheap on eBay. I hope I addressed most of your questions, if not, I apologize. Keep on asking good questions, and you'll keep on getting nothing but honest answers on the this forum. Again, WELCOME to the forum! EDIT: I forgot to mention, the LP ships with (3) 45-degree blades. If you think you'll be doing more intricate graphics you'll probably want to pick-up some 60-degree blades. You can get those from US Cutter (via eBay) for a lot cheaper than if you were to purchase it through their online store. The blades should last you a while. I got my LP about a year and a half ago. I've only used one 45-degree and one 60-degree - both still have a LOT more cutting life on them. Software - if you're on a PC, you can download and try Sign Balzer Elements (SBE). It'll be in trial mode, but until we hear from the new owners of the software company, trial mode is somewhat permanent. It's full functioning with not time or use limit. Corel and Illy can draw in vector so you're one step ahead of the game. You can always convert the raster to vector and only use SBE as a cutting app (and not necessarily a design app).

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That's such an awesome idea! If not a thread, would you be willing to share your recipes with me? I can post them up on a web page for everyone to download if you'd like to share with the masses. I love honey and would love to try some of the recipes that have some ... actually I would really like to look at the any and all of your recipes. A few members of my family have cholesterol issues, which I know can lead to all kinds of bad things (sigh).