Countertop protector?

[Colin]

I'm about to buy a 5' x 10' sheet of that self-healing cutting mat, cut it down the middle so I have two 30" x 10' pieces and cover my old scratched, marred, beat-up Formica countertop (weeding table).

Is there another less expensive option for this?



Thanks

 

[CentralSigns]

Mine is galvanised steel flashing way, way, cheaper but go through more blades with it.

 

[Colin]

I'm also not sure if I'll like the "softness" or "give" with the self-healing mat for a weeding table. I think that the hardness of an Arborite surface is nice for squeegeeing.

 

[Sticky Signs]

Glass. Works great.

 

[Colin]

Glass. Works great.

Ya? Any particular kind - like tempered.....or.....? Does it scratch at all with a medium to hard cut of a utility knife?

 

[Sticky Signs]

i think it's tempered but I could be wrong . It's about 1/4" thick. The table has been around longer than me so it's seen plenty of use. There are some little scratches in it but they're nothing to worry about. Seems to only scratch with a fresh blade and lots of pressure. Once the blade wears out a bit it doesn't scratch at all. Best part is that it still has second surface that's yet to be used.

 

[Colin]

Hmmmm. Thanks for this; I will look into it tommorow at a glass shop.

Hopefully it won't be too much of a pane.

 

[Sign Works]

I've tried them all and after using a cutting mat I'll use nothing else.

 

[Colin]

I've tried them all and after using a cutting mat I'll use nothing else.

Ooh, thanks for this. Experience! How was the mat superior to glass? How was the glass inferior? I have a self-healing mat on my 4x8 easel, but I imagine that it would be kinda "soft" for squeegeeing.

 

[iSign]

mats suit me fine... not "soft" ...glass is durable, but will cost more, and is too hard IMO.. besides, when I'm not weeding, sometimes I'm gathering tools & hardware for an install... would slow me down a lot to worry about glass breaking

 

[Colin]

....besides, when I'm not weeding, sometimes I'm gathering tools & hardware for an install... would slow me down a lot to worry about glass breaking

Ah yes, good point.

 

[R08]

I've tried them all and after using a cutting mat I'll use nothing else.

+1

Just got a new mat a few weeks ago and printed a banner with a grid and put it underneath. Works great.

 

[Colin]

Given that the ~3/16" thick cutting mats are designed to not be cut, I wonder what the best method would be to cut a 5' x 10' sheet down the middle?

 

[Firefox]

Given that the ~3/16" thick cutting mats are designed to not be cut, I wonder what the best method would be to cut a 5' x 10' sheet down the middle?

I have This mat from http://www.speedpress.com/products/2/1 that needed to be trimmed down a little. It was no problem with a utility knife and a couple passes down the straight edge.

It isn't that they are not designed to be cut, actually they are designed so the blade penetrates the surface slightly so it does not dull or break like it does on other harder surfaces. How deep it cuts into the mat depends on how much pressure you use as you might expect. They do take a lot of abuse but the self healing feature does go away with enough use... It does not really heal, but the cut you make in it closes up nice and tight so it isn't very noticeable and subsequent cuts don't tend to follow old cuts which helps a lot.

 

[Colin]

Thanks........yes, that's the one I bought from SpeedPress over 10 years ago.

 

[trik]

I don't think the mat will hurt you at all when squeegeeing. I have been using a mat for 10+ years, works great for us. We were going to try glass once, but the cost was more than the mat, and the idea of dropping tools on it was the other reason...lol

Good luck!!

 

[Colin]

I don't think the mat will hurt you at all when squeegeeing.

I guess I just thought that any give whatsoever would have a negative effect on the squeegeeing, and a hard surface would be better, but I think I'll use the mat.

Thank all!

 

[phototec]

Given that the ~3/16" thick cutting mats are designed to not be cut, I wonder what the best method would be to cut a 5' x 10' sheet down the middle?

Actually, Speedress says they will custom cut to fit your table, so they should be able to cut the 5x10 in half for you and it would make it easier to ship.

 

[Colin]

Yup! Tomorrow!

 

[Colin]

No answer at Speedpress right now (and their web site is down too).

Are some places in the States closed today (day after Thanksgiving)?