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Carol Esh
10-01-2007, 10:47 PM
Howdy all!

In the five days that my husband and I have had our laser we have been able to answer a lot of question that we had before it arrived. During that time we have experiemented with several different material while avoiding PCV and vinyl.

We are currently trying things on felt that was purchased at a local store. The felt is a very stiff sheet (almost like it contains starch) that comes in several different colors. I have pretty much given up on any rastering with it but was wondering if anyone has had any problems with cutting? I also have some regular soft felt that I am going to experiement with next. In doing some research on the web and in forums I haven't been able to find much information about using felt and had the following questions:

Is there a type that should be avoided?
Should I be using something like the Multimat before cutting out small pieces?
Any other tips or hints when working with felt?

Hoping be able to contribute to the forum in the future (after I feel like I can answer more question than I ask that is :o )

Carol
Epilog Mini 45W, CorelDraw X3

Mike Null
10-01-2007, 11:12 PM
Carol

Welcome to SMC. Sorry I can't be of any help with your question but wish you good luck with your new toy.

Darren Null
10-01-2007, 11:12 PM
Oddly enough, I'm going to be attempting to cut felt for the bottom of beermats later today- for the first time. I plan to stick it to a bit of plywood with masking tape and nuke it until it cooperates. I'll let you know what I learn.

If material is your thing, this page may save you some cost/time:
http://www.laserproi.com/en/engr_showcase_detail.php?ID=English_040920003343

Rodne Gold
10-02-2007, 2:31 AM
Cutting baize or felt works very well , just experiment with settings. almost no discolouration. Best is to get sheets of self adesive felt and kiss cut it , no glueing involved when applying.

Frank Corker
10-02-2007, 4:28 AM
I agree with Rodney regarding the baize and the small amount of felt that I did it cut cleanly, however it did stink a bit like burned hair

Stephen Beckham
10-02-2007, 6:47 AM
Carol - welcome aboard... I heard it said somewhere that owning a laser is somewhere between a JOB and a HOBBY...

I guess that means you have a new JOBBY! :D

Mitchell Andrus
10-02-2007, 8:58 AM
Carol, welcome.

Next time you have a kid's party or event, engrave the kids' names onto fig newtons. Big Hit!!!

.... can't just be all work, right?

Carol Esh
10-02-2007, 1:30 PM
Thanks for the welcome!

It still amazes me how versitile these machines are. I keep coming up with more and more ideas of things I want to make. My husband has even headed out to pick up more wood material because we have about used up the "scrap wood" we had around the house.

Even our kids want to make things. I better get off the internet (looking at the new link) and get back to my jobby to see if I cover the burned wood smell with burned hair smell. Need to also add some newton cookies to the shopping list for the week :D

Darren let me know how the beer mats go.

Darren Null
10-03-2007, 9:06 AM
Felt cuts splendidly (second time round AFTER I held it down with masking tape). I used the same settings to cut the felt as I use for veneer, and that seems to be about right- clean cut with no scorching.

The beermats were veneer with a felt backing. The guy liked them and bought them, but we agreed that maybe something a little more robust would be needed for the next batch. They're fine for home use and quite elegant, but possibly a little delicate for constant pub use. I didn't remember to take a picture- I had to deliver them as soon as the glue dried (the glueing part took longer than anticipated because the veneer started curling, so had to be put under piles of books to dry).

Carol Esh
10-03-2007, 11:52 PM
I finally had success with the felt as well. First try it wouldn't stay down, then I tried doublesided poster tape. That worked ok but took a bit more than I liked. Third try I used a few neo magnets on the edges and they worked great! Few more tries with the settings and came up with a good settings profile for both types of felt I had. :)