So, about blades...

[RubberDuckyDecals]

can anyone give me a rough estimate of how long i should expect a blade to last? I'm not looking for super specifics but i'm just curious if i should expect a day, a week, a month worth of cutting out of a blade on my new roland gx24. Mostly just curious if I should be ordering one extra blade or a 10 pack hehe.

Also, I plan to be doing a lot of smallish decals ( 4" x 6") with fairly high detail, is that the kind of application that I should be using a 60 degree blade for, or is there something better? On some of the small ones that i've been testing with, the 50 degree that came with my roland seems to leave slight manglings on some of the tighter turns.

oh and one more thing.. any quick recommendations on a good starter book that covers this kind of thing or is it really just specific to each machine?

 

[WVB]

45 degree is for everyday use such as you are doing. 60 degree is used for thicker materials such as reflective.

Life expectancy is all going to depend on how often, how much, material type and settings of your machine. Now for a plug..

I use CleanCut Blades - they are better quality in both the blade as well as actual cuts in material. They last A LOT longer then blades I have used in the past. Plus he is overall a wonderful guy..

BTW - last order was a rush for me and we got them on Friday instead of Saturday - Thanks Again!!

 

[RubberDuckyDecals]

ok i must have misunderstood the catalog then... could swear i read that 45 degree blades were for the thick and reflective stuff and 60's were for the fragile stuff. Is the bunching and mangling of some small tight corners something that's just expected? I only get them on the smallest most fragile areas, it seems. I've got some test pieces that have 1.5mm lines and the turns around those seem to be where i'm seeing problems.

I had thought it was the force so i adjusted that and it follows what the manual says about only showing a very faint trace of the design on the backing paper so i'm pretty sure i have it right.

We're exclusively using oracal 751 cast vinyl right now.

 

[anothersign]

what i have found

I do alot of small very detailed stickers and i slow my plot& cut in half with small stuff and it works like a charm.

 

[Whit]

Another plug for "Cleancut Blades" !!!
Sharp is sharp,,, but these stay
sharper longer !!!
A couple last what a 5 pack used to !!!
-
just 2 cents !!!

 

[The dude]

blades

I will go along with Whit don't go any place else they have the best blades and are great to do business with. Good luck

 

[Kenny]

If your having trouble in the turns, check your blade offset (your manual will explain the procedure) and also try slowing the cutting speed down...if the cutting speed is too high, the blade does not have enough time to may the turn. I also use cleancutblade.com (Ross is a good vendor - this is from his signature "all Forum members get a 25% discount on blades)...cutting Oracal 751, you should get many months of use.

 

[The Big Squeegee]

Welcome to Signs 101

I use graphite instead of oil to lube the blade. What does everyone else use?

:Welcome: to :signs101: from Oklahoma
​

 

[RubberDuckyDecals]

you guys are great! thx so much. And Kenny, thx.. that "many months of use" was the rough answer i was looking for.

On this blade lubing.... is there an actual product for lubing the blades be it graphite or oil? I know back when I used to do a lot of heavy sewing, I used to use something called SewSlick which was a silicon/teflon fluid to lube my needles and it made a massive difference.. could something like that be used on my cutting blades? Granted, sewing needles are a lot more fragile than these cutter blades, but when I slicked my needles, they always seemed to last longer and have less burring and friction problems.

 

[cleancutblade]

I always suggest the 45° for all around cutting down to 1/4" letters. 60° for thick, metallized, and reflective. 60° also will work better on finer graphics and letters, but I think Kenny may be on to something with the speed. Dale, are you lubing the blade or the holder? I don't think lubing the blade (at the cut) will do much, you are not building up much heat there, good carbide is used for higher heat and abrasion resistance.

 

[Pro Image]

I use graphite instead of oil to lube the blade. What does everyone else use?

A drop of 3in1 oil............ never had a problem..........

 

[Geary]

Plugging The Blade Man!!

I always suggest the 45° for all around cutting down to 1/4" letters. 60° for thick, metallized, and reflective. 60° also will work better on finer graphics and letters, but I think Kenny may be on to something with the speed. Dale, are you lubing the blade or the holder? I don't think lubing the blade (at the cut) will do much, you are not building up much heat there, good carbide is used for higher heat and abrasion resistance.

Pay attention to this man. He knows more about blades than you and I will EVER care to know...ha! I put one of his blades in my cutter and had to back the grams off a LOT to keep from cutting into my backing paper....they are SO sharp! And it's been that way....like brand new....for a few months now and still cutting like greased lightening. Really really satisfied customer here.

Oh, and Ross is just about the nicest fella you'd ever want to speak with.

Oh, again.....just wanted to concur that the "60s" are for the thicker materials and the "45s" are for normal flim. Also wanted to say that I'd never heard anything about "lubricating the blade" before. And that's from speaking with numerous cutter makers....from Graphtec and Summa to Roland and my Signwarehouse Panther Pro. I also don't see how lubing a cutter that's not cutting metal makes any sense. :

~Gear

 

[RubberDuckyDecals]

i was looking over the cleancut site last night and I noticed that there were also 30 degree blades... these better than 45's for the super fragile stuff? I'm going to try to figure out how to slow down the gx24 tonight and see if that helps.. I suspect it will.

On the lubing, I might try to dig out my SewSlick and see how it does. It's not so much meant for heat as it is for avoiding burrs and helping material slide through more cleanly. Seems to me that if the blade is more slickery, it will have less friction on the turns and such. As an old historical reproduction sewer, I put my machines through some pretty horrible things and my needles still survived so I suspect its worth a shot.

 

[RubberDuckyDecals]

oh and one more thing... should i replace the default blade that came with my roland with a cleancut? or wait til my roland blade wears out?

 

[Kenny]

oh and one more thing... should i replace the default blade that came with my roland with a cleancut? or wait til my roland blade wears out?

This original blade may be part of your problem with pulling the vinyl in the corners if it is not making a clean-cut

I'd replace it, since you'll have to start over baselining cutting pressure (back way down and creep up slowly...you don't want to kill your cutting strip)

 

[Jackpine]

Another plug for "Cleancut Blades" !!!

 

[gr85z]

Same here got a set of Cleancut blades 2-45's and 2-60's. All I can say is Great sevice and great blades. The prices are competative also.

 

[Techman]

Originally Posted by signsbydale
I use graphite instead of oil to lube the blade. What does everyone else use?


A drop of 3in1 oil............ never had a problem.....

HUH???? I have nver ever heard of oiling a cutting blade. Why contaminate the vinyl. Plus its not needed.. Plastic is a very good self lubricator. Its made from oil..

 

[The Big Squeegee]

Imagination at work...lol

HUH???? I have never ever heard of oiling a cutting blade. Why contaminate the vinyl. Plus its not needed.. Plastic is a very good self lubricator. Its made from oil..

Sorry, I didn't think in my wildest dreams that anyone would take it that way.... I really did mean lubricate the holder.:Big Laugh

 

[Dave Drane]

I have been using Ross' CleanCut blades a few years now and they just don't wear out.