What surface are you cutting on

[Leadbelly]

Hi Guy's

What surface are you cutting on, for the first few years as I was getting started working from the house I use the glass top from an old coffee table which I have to say was just perfect, well for me anyway. I now have an 8ft x 4ft table in a workshop with a sheet of rolled steel as a cutting surface, it's not as comfortable as the glass but works just fine. The reason for the steel is because an 8ft x 4ft sheet of toughen glass with polished edges is just far to expensive.

BTW what kind of straight edges are you guy's using to cut your taped vinyl text. As for me it's a 3ft steel rule and stanley knife, I do need a longer edge all advice, help and ideas more than welcome.

Leadbelly

 

[mortil]

ive welded myself a frame and got myself 2 pieces of 70x200cm Opallaminated glass from my job under there i got 4 lighttubes and ontop i got a semitransparent cuttingmat this is where i mount most of my stickers and vinyl too. built my own holder for the application tape at one end of the table.

 

[bob]

...
BTW what kind of straight edges are you guy's using to cut your taped vinyl text. As for me it's a 3ft steel rule and stanley knife, I do need a longer edge all advice, help and ideas more than welcome...

I'm not sure what's available there on the emerald isle but any decent drywall supply house will have rules up to to 10 feet long. In one or two foot increments. While there you can also pick up a 4 foot or even larger aluminum T-square.

I have aluminum rules in 4 and 6 feet and one day, when it's important to me, I'll pick up an 8 footer. They are 2" wide which is handy for marking banner hems as well as for weighting the edge of a banner for taping. I've added a strip of very thin, like 1/16" to 1/32" or so, non-skid carpet pad using banner hem tape to the backs of each. Makes then stay where you put them.

They're not those ridiculous safety rulers** and you can lop off a finger tip if you're sufficiently stupid as to put one in the wrong place. Consider aluminum rules as sort of a Darwinian survival test.

**Ridiculous because not only do they cater to the excessively fearful, they are absolutely rigid which severely limits their usefulness in any length longer than a couple of feet. The 2" aluminum rule is sufficiently flexible as to conform to undulations and irregularities in surface topology.

 

[Letterbox Mike]

They're not those ridiculous safety rulers** and you can lop off a finger tip if you're sufficiently stupid as to put one in the wrong place. Consider aluminum rules as sort of a Darwinian survival test.

**Ridiculous because not only do they cater to the excessively fearful, they are absolutely rigid which severely limits their usefulness in any length longer than a couple of feet. The 2" aluminum rule is sufficiently flexible as to conform to undulations and irregularities in surface topology.

Yes. If you're smart, get regular flat rulers. We have both, I make my employees use the safety ones because they always manage to nick or cut something if they use the regular ones. On the rare occasion I ever go in the back and do production, I won't touch the safety ones, I only use the dangerous ones. Also, I've noticed the safety ones develop a bow over time.

 

[Gene@mpls]

They're not those ridiculous safety rulers** and you can lop off a finger tip if you're sufficiently stupid as to put one in the wrong place. Consider aluminum rules as sort of a Darwinian survival test.

**Ridiculous because not only do they cater to the excessively fearful, they are absolutely rigid which severely limits their usefulness in any length longer than a couple of feet.

I believe these to be made by Republican fear-mongers:ROFLMAO:. I use Bob's rules with non-skid rubber tape (3M) on the back. 2,4,6, and 9 ft. I have also made .25 inch clear polycarb rules (stiffen with a strip of dibond) which is great for cutting between rows of prints and labels.

 

[Prairieboy]

I agree the glass top table is a great surface to work on but I just purchased a new JavlinCutter and man It's the Cat's Meow. I don't know how I cut long banners with out it.

 

[S'N'S]

I agree the glass top table is a great surface to work on but I just purchased a new JavlinCutter and man It's the Cat's Meow. I don't know how I cut long banners with out it.

Wow, just priced one of those Javlin cutters 1.6meters long......$986.00 (Australian$)
I have always used aluminium rulers but found you shave tiny little bits off and over time they end up with a noticeable curve in the cutting edge.

 

[Prairieboy]

I got the 100 inch Javlin model it retails between $500.- $800 us it is sold by many suppliers. Cuts lazer straight if you have a lot of triming it's the only way to go

 

[CheapVehicleWrap]

Use a 120" indexable goes for $1400. I can cut a hair off a 25' piece with no problem using standard utility knife blades. Great investment.