Get started in Cricut...

[Eaglecliff]

...it says on the leaflet.
Wandering round our local Hobbycraft this morning I picked up a leaflet emblazoned as above. On display was a selection of machines which between them can apparently cut any shape out of almost any thin material, including wood. Which made me wonder if they would be any help to those of us in the fraternity who struggle to find transfers, sorry, decals, to provide numeration, proprietorship and/or decoration for our locos, coaches, wagons, buildings and the like. The machines are computer-controlled and are apparently widely used by the wedding and greeting card and general decoration fraternities (or should that be sororities?) amongst others. Has anyone come across them? The possibilities look promising, especially if they can work in materials thin but opaque enough for our purposes. Anyone else come across them? Oh, but Hobbycraft, at least my local branch, still lacks a decent range of basswood sections.

 

[playmofire]

I wasn't sure whether Cricut was a new sport or a town in Wales.

Seriously, I know nothing of it but Curry's also sell the machines, so maybe some price competition there.

Years ago in the days of Windows XP, I had a little label printer that printed on a range of materials, including clear and the great thing was that you could use all the colours and fonts available to Word and its equivalents, hence it was great for basic lettering on models The big disadvantage was that once you moved away from XP it wouldn't work any more.

I's not many months ago that I found it in the garage and ditched it.

 

[dunnyrail]

I was looking at these in Cambridge the other week and did some modest research, they can do all sorts including tgin wood and plasticard. It is possible to make lettering out of vynil sheet but you end up with lots of individual letters that need placing with great care. Some use the vynil to make a sort of transfer master and spray over removing the master when dry but I would worry about bleed through and fill in qeopadgb lettering and numbers 46890. Be nice to hear real experience in G.

 

[Eaglecliff]

I was looking at these in Cambridge the other week and did some modest research, they can do all sorts including tgin wood and plasticard. It is possible to make lettering out of vynil sheet but you end up with lots of individual letters that need placing with great care. Some use the vynil to make a sort of transfer master and spray over removing the master when dry but I would worry about bleed through and fill in qeopadgb lettering and numbers 46890. Be nice to hear real experience in G.

I've got some film which will take standard printing ink from my Epson but white is not possible and the ink eventually weathers if not varnished, even if it's solid enough in the first place. No, it's the Cricut possibilities I'd like to hear about if anyone has actually used the system..

 

[Rhinochugger]

I was looking at these in Cambridge the other week and did some modest research, they can do all sorts including tgin wood and plasticard. It is possible to make lettering out of vynil sheet but you end up with lots of individual letters that need placing with great care. Some use the vynil to make a sort of transfer master and spray over removing the master when dry but I would worry about bleed through and fill in qeopadgb lettering and numbers 46890. Be nice to hear real experience in G.

The way that some of the larger vinyl cutting machines work for shop signs etc, is that the vinyl is cut in reverse, and held with a front sheet. You can then either remove the unwanted bits, or alternatively only remove the adhesive backing from the bits you want, before you apply the whole sheet, then remove the front sheet to leave the letters in place.

Is that unclear enough ?

 

[ebay mike]

I wasn't sure whether Cricut was a new sport or a town in Wales.

Seriously, I know nothing of it but Curry's also sell the machines, so maybe some price competition there.

Years ago in the days of Windows XP, I had a little label printer that printed on a range of materials, including clear and the great thing was that you could use all the colours and fonts available to Word and its equivalents, hence it was great for basic lettering on models The big disadvantage was that once you moved away from XP it wouldn't work any more.

I's not many months ago that I found it in the garage and ditched it.

- my desktop is still running on W98 and XP.

 

[jimmielx]

I have a Silhouette Portrait. Same sort of thing as the Cricut.
Great for making painting masks for lettering etc.
Can even be used to make nameplates - at a push.
I recently wrote some fuller thoughts here

W&L Coach Partial Kit Build

A few months ago I bought a partial Brandbright Kit of a W&L Third Class Saloon - PS24 - on eBay. I bought it on bait of whim - it was stated that the kit was incomplete, and from the pictures looked to have a roof and a good number of white metal parts, but no other big bits. So I thought...

www.gscalecentral.net

But my overall thought is that it’s a great tool to have, but make sure your expectations of what it will cut are realistic. I do think that some of the newest Cricut machines have more force on the blade, but I still don’t think they will cut anything that would be structural in our scale. But for detailing parts - fantastic!

 

[3 minutes of fame]

I have one of these and for thin card and plastic and they work quite well. Wood is better cut on the laser cutter, as the blade force required limits the radius of cuts.

I would estimate the failure rate to be about 50% with some materials, as you do need to calibrate the cutting force for each material type. The cutting mats need replacing every so often and you can get through a few blades!

I rarely use mine now, as I have the led laser cutter. This does pretty much the same job and at about the same speed. It's only if the darkened edge to the cut part would be a problem or if I need to cut transparent materials that I would break out the Cricut!

 

[Brixham]

Staples have them, had a quick look today as never seen one before. £129.

Malcolm

 

[Eaglecliff]

Interesting comments; thanks, lads. I can't see me having the brain power to operate one of these myself, but I know where to turn if I need help.

 

[Stan B]

My daughter has the £200 machine which will take landscape A4.
She has done a number of both large and small signs for me. With careful positioning. The software helps here it's not very wasteful .

 

[Stan B]

Here are some examples large and small.
Stan

 

[manimal]

I used a Cricut to cut masks from painters tape for my 3d printed tank cars.

 

[jimmielx]

I used a Cricut to cut masks from painters tape for my 3d printed tank cars.

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Lovely tankers. Great job. And painters tape - great idea, I’ve used sticky backed vinyl to do the same, but I reckon painters tape (masking tape in the UK) would have a better level of adhesion.

 

[Eaglecliff]

I used a Cricut to cut masks from painters tape for my 3d printed tank cars.

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Those are brilliant. If only...

 

[manimal]

I've got some film which will take standard printing ink from my Epson but white is not possible and the ink eventually weathers if not varnished, even if it's solid enough in the first place. No, it's the Cricut possibilities I'd like to hear about if anyone has actually used the system..

Actually, White IS possible with many laser printers. I purchased a used HP Laserjet printer and a White toner cartridge from Ghost White Toner

 

[Greg Elmassian]

How did you transfer the cut printers tape to the tank car?

Also, I assume the white toner was printed on decal paper? If so, whose manufacturer?

Excellent results!

Greg

 

[manimal]

How did you transfer the cut printers tape to the tank car?

Also, I assume the white toner was printed on decal paper? If so, whose manufacturer?

Excellent results!

Greg

Carefully. I weeded out the small bits and just peeled off and pressed onto the car. The middle parts for a zero or a 4 I moved over with the "dental pick" tool included with the Cricut.

Yes, Clear decal film. I've used a number of them over the years (inkjet and laser) but for printing white I prefer the "premium" clear film ones with the blue paper background. The film that Ghost White sells is really nice.
-Dan

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Wow, weeding and then re-aligning the blue bits of the painter's tape has got to be a lot of work, considering how well it turned out, you really had to put the time in, or you are very skilled (or both!).

I've been thinking of the laser option for a while... did it take a bit to get the rest of the black toner out of the printer?

Greg

 

[manimal]

Wow, weeding and then re-aligning the blue bits of the painter's tape has got to be a lot of work, considering how well it turned out, you really had to put the time in, or you are very skilled (or both!).

I've been thinking of the laser option for a while... did it take a bit to get the rest of the black toner out of the printer?

Greg

The machine makes nice clean cuts. I just slip the pick tool under a piece I want to weed out, touch the tape so it sticks to the tool and yank. It goes pretty quick. However, when deciding on the car numbers, I did make a conscious effort to minimize the use of numbers 4,6,8, and 9. The hardest part was placing the 3 little lines in the balls of the logo.

The white toner cart goes in place of the black so whatever you want to be white most be black in the graphic. I test print with the black cart on regular paper then switch the cart to white and load the decal film. There is never any black to get out of the printer. If there was, There would be something wrong with the printer.