# question about weeding ss06 vs. ss10 stones



## leapoffaith (Nov 8, 2009)

I'm wondering if this is typical, or if I'm doing something wrong....

When I cut a design with ss10 stones, they weed beautifully. Many stick on the backing of the stone stencil material when I pull it off the cutter, and the rest almost all pull out very easily.

But ss06 is completely different. I have to punch out almost every, single circle on this size.

Is this the way it works, or is there something I need to do differently to cut or weed ss06 designs?

Thanks, I've got hundreds of little ss06 circles ahead of me tonight....


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I don't have a definite answer, but in my experience, increasing my down force just slightly to make sure the holes are "really" cut well tends to help. These holes are smaller, so they have a smaller surface that is going to give them grip on the backing and allow them to pull away. The extra down force just makes sure that all the adhesive has been cut through. I also take a squeege and go over the front and back of the design with some good pressure before weeding. Other than that, I PRAY


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## leapoffaith (Nov 8, 2009)

Slick, thank you. You're always helpful. 

I had an order that someone needed IMMEDIATELY (always the way) for seven different designs on seven different shirts (ugh -- one shirt for each design) and I was pushing those little *&*@* holes out with my weeding tool until 2:00 am. 

I decided at about 1:00 am that I don't charge enough for custom designs. 

I'll try your suggestions. Thank you for you answer.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I know the feeling. Those little buggers NEVER want to weed effectively when you're pushed for time


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## MDsUnique (Nov 19, 2009)

Have you seen Sandy McCauley 's YouTube video about weeding a Hartco template? She suggests using a brayer to make those circles stick good to the lower surface before pulling htem up. I think this is the link and hope it helps you out.

YouTube - Cutting a Rhinestone Template on a Silhouette


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## discoqueen (Jun 5, 2010)

She also mentions that she sprays her cutting mat with spray adhesive to really get that template material to stick. Then using the brayer to smoosh everything back down before peeling away. Seems to do the trick!


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## lizziemaxine (Nov 14, 2007)

MDsUnique said:


> Have you seen Sandy McCauley 's YouTube video about weeding a Hartco template? She suggests using a brayer to make those circles stick good to the lower surface before pulling htem up. I think this is the link and hope it helps you out.


A brayer works well but you can also use a rolling pin or even a glass or cup. Anything with a round, smooth surface. It does help.

I have attached a picture of a brayer for those that don't know what they are.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I'd been using a squeege, but I think I like the brayer better. Any suggestions on where to get one (I hate searching)?


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## lizziemaxine (Nov 14, 2007)

allhamps said:


> I'd been using a squeege, but I think I like the brayer better. Any suggestions on where to get one (I hate searching)?


A crafts store, such as Michaels or Hobby Hobby, should have them. Look in the clay section.

**** Blick Art Supplies is an online source.


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Great, thanks!! I actually have a Michael's coupon I need to use today, so I'll look for one


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## leapoffaith (Nov 8, 2009)

It looked like in the video Sandy was putting her stencil material on a sticky mat. Do you all use a sticky mat? I've never seen such a thing. Where do you get those??


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

I don't use a sticky mat. I cut directly from the roll, but I believe she had to use the mat for that particular cutter. It isn't very big. I actually bought a Cricut sticky mat from AC Moore. My plan was to use it for contour cutting iron on heat transfers. They are not that expensive, and the Cricut mats typically come 2 in a pack.


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## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Also try increasing your overcut setting.


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## leapoffaith (Nov 8, 2009)

Okay, I'm getting ready to cut some more ss06 designs.

I have a new brayer in hand.....(Hobby Lobby, ink stamp section)

Slick told me to increase the downforce. That's what my cutter calls pressure, right? I haven't touched these settings since the tech guy helped me set it up the first time and have no idea what these different functions do. I have my "pressure" set at 225. Should I increase it to like......250? Slick, is that what you were talking about with an increase in downforce?

Then Randy suggested that I increase my overcut. I don't have any idea what that is..... My cutter settings are for pressure and speed in the SmartCut software, and I have speed, force and offset on my cutter panel. Is offset the same as overcut? Sounds the same.  Offset is set at .40.....so increase to maybe 50? What the heck is offset?

Thanks so much. My cutter has worked well so far, so I haven't messed with it at all.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

leapoffaith said:


> Okay, I'm getting ready to cut some more ss06 designs.
> 
> I have a new brayer in hand.....(Hobby Lobby, ink stamp section)
> 
> ...


I missed the latest posts to this thread! Yes, I use a sticky mat... they come with the KNK and ACS cutters. However, you can prepare a mat from just about anything large, flat, and made of plastic. The Cricut mats are a great options, too, although they are REALLY sticky when you first get them. So, I would try pressing a small sample of the rhinestone template material down to the mat, cutting maybe 20 small holes, and then making sure you can peel it back up without the holes tearing. If the mat is too sticky, then you can use an old T-Shirt and press and pull up a dozen times or more to help reduce the stickiness. Or some people will just use the natural oils from their hands and just pat the mat down for about 5 minutes or whatever. There's a You Tube video showing this somewhere.

I brayer the material well both before and after cutting. Before the cut, you need to make sure the material is pressed really well to your sticky mat so that there aren't any "air bubbles" which can lead to lousy cutting. Also, you want really good contact so that the material doesn't start to come loose or shift during the cut.

After the cut, you brayer again to make sure the cut circles are pressed REALLY well to the mat and will stick to the mat as you begin to pull up the template. Even if a lot of the circles don't stick to the mat, just press the template back down in another spot on the mat, brayer hard again, and then pull up. Eventually, you should get 95+% of the circles stuck to the mat and then you can use a scraper to scrape them all into a little wad to lift off and toss in the trash! QUICK and EASY weeding! 

Overcut and Offset are basically the same thing. They compensate for the fact a blade is positioned at an angle to the cutting surface, due to the cut of the blade. If you were to cut a REALLY big circle, you'd see that the circle won't quite close if the Offset/Overcut is set to 0. The software has cut the circle, but due to the angle of the blade, the circle won't close. Conversely, if you repeated this with a test pen in the cutter, the circle would be fine because a pen doesn't have an offset angle to the material. 

So, experiment with the Offset for your machine and also cutting the circles twice tends to result in MUCH easier weeding, as well.


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## leapoffaith (Nov 8, 2009)

I really want to thank everyone who answered in this thread.

I bought a brayer. I changed my pressure to 250. I changed my offset to 0.425. I sprayed a little spray adhesive to my regular weeding mat.

I cut a design that had over 1100 stones. I pulled it up three times, after running the brayer over it each times. After the three pulls, there were THREE little circles left. THREE!! I couldn't believe it. 

It almost made me cry.  My life just got easier. 

Thank you!!!!!


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

YAY!!!! That's fantastic news!!! Even though I have full confidence in this method it always makes me SO happy when it works for someone else!


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## sjidohair (Apr 9, 2008)

leapoffaith said:


> I really want to thank everyone who answered in this thread.
> 
> I bought a brayer. I changed my pressure to 250. I changed my offset to 0.425. I sprayed a little spray adhesive to my regular weeding mat.
> 
> ...


Becareful with the spray,,, as extra glue at this time of year , can then make the stones stick in the holes,, so you have to go back and pull them out,, even after dusting with baby powder or baking soda....

It is kinda a trade off,, harder weeding or faster production,,,,,,?

We all want both,, but at this time of year,, the glue oozies with heat and over flows in the holes,, coming into the cups that the stones fall into... and holds them in there..


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## Kim_t2_au (May 24, 2010)

leapoffaith said:


> Do you all use a sticky mat? I've never seen such a thing. Where do you get those??


I use a piece of template plastic that I got from a local patchwork shop. It doesn't come already sticky, I just occassionally spray it with a temporary adhesive. It is also great when I want to cut card as I attach the card to the plastic and don't risk cutting that plastic strip at the front of the cutter.

The template plastic cost me something like $2.50 (Australian) for an A3 piece.

Kim


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## discoqueen (Jun 5, 2010)

I use one of those bendy plastic cutting boards - the really thin kind - that I picked up at my local dollar store. 
Package of 2 for $1. Works great! My machine scores it a bit, but at that price, I can afford to replace them pretty often!


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