Stencil Burner/Cutter

katzuke · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 639 Location: Romeo, Michigan

Mornin!

Another FF member (Crystal) and I are both interested in purchasing stencil burners. She does a lot of quilting and wants to be able to duplicate intricate patterns. I am looking for something that will cut through at least a 10mil mylar. I work with a lot of plasters and need the durability of a thicker mylar.

Any recommendations regarding brands or features to look for?

stencilist · Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 11:41 am Post subject:

I recommend the Air Nouveau Stencil Burner available from http://www.pjstencils.com/

I don't usually cut anything that think, but overall I've found it to be the best performing one and use it frequently.

Sheri

katzuke · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 639 Location: Romeo, Michigan

Thanks so much, Sheri! I'm gonna visit the sight right now.

fontgeek · Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:07 pm Post subject:

You can also find stencil burners at places like Coast Airbrush, Dixie Art Supplies, Dick Blick, etc.

lisascenic · Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 8:52 pm Post subject:

True, but PJ is a real person, and addresses her packages withe the most beautiful handwriting. I like buying from her. We've never met, but I consider her a friend.

joeleitz · Joined: 05 Mar 2010 Posts: 13 Location: KS

I use a stencil burner for my projects but I've never been able to cut through anything heavier than 3 mil laminate plastic and still have clean edges. I don't know the brand of cutter I bought (without digging around for it) but it was only around $25 so I guess I didn't get one of the better ones available.
10 mil mylar is pretty heavy though...

_________________

the wall decals/stencils dude

1st year apprentice · Joined: 22 Jan 2010 Posts: 2043 Location: Scotland

Such an interesting subject that lights up my imagination in creativity.

Brian

anita · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2736 Location: upstate New York

I have cut stencils with an exacto knife and used a stencil burner. The burner, because it melts through the plastic of the mylar tends to leave a ridged edge which, if the design is not too intricate, can be successfully sanded off.

The stencil burner is faster and less strenuous on the hand, but also makes a noxious fume so use with adequate ventilation.

I think I like the quality of my cut stencils better due to the sharper edges.

Elena · Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 6283 Location: Murphy, NC

I have a kit that I bought for $19.99 +s/h that heats off and brings a bunch of cutters, and also uses x-acto knives. I have to find where I got it from...I'll be right back Wink

Elena · Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 6283 Location: Murphy, NC

ok, I'm 99.99% sure I got it from Debbie at http://paintinthetown.com/store/index.html but I juts can't find it now, please e-mail her and ask for it, it's called 'stencil burner'. If you google it amazon has one for 12.99 that doesn't have a box nor extra tips. I love mine.

Elena · Joined: 10 Oct 2006 Posts: 6283 Location: Murphy, NC

naturally I didn't read Anita's post Rolling Eyes

1st year apprentice · Joined: 22 Jan 2010 Posts: 2043 Location: Scotland

With the chat here and a visit to a few of the recomended sites, I am encouraged to try this out.
Looks easy and relaxing therefore wont be. Facinating, am quite relaxed about appraching this subject. Thanks all.

Brian

Fauxology · Joined: 24 Feb 2009 Posts: 7

We recently had to cut many of our own stencils and used the stencil burners from Michaels craft store. We went through two of them (the tips broke on first one) cutting the heavy .020 mylar -- I should have bought one through a pro studio. There are ragged edges to using a burner but it worked in our favor since we were troweling and the client liked it being perfectly imperfect. (Phew!) Thanks for all the links - good to know!

lisascenic · Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 1:48 pm Post subject:

Oddly, I don't get a ragged edge with a stencil burner. I've never had this problem.

I wonder what causes this for some poeple?

I'm not able to grab images from Flickr on my work pc anymore, so here's a couple of links of some of the many, many stencil projhects we've done in my studio over the years.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisascenic/3185555358/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisascenic/2456493973/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisascenic/73645300/

These were all done with a stencil burner. We do pay attention to how the burner is moving through the plastic, and don't force it to go faster than it wants to. Also, we check the collar attachment, which affects how the tip heats up.

alliekat · Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:14 am Post subject:

those are some lovely stencils lisa...

katzuke · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 639 Location: Romeo, Michigan

Yes, those are beautiful and quite detailed!

fontgeek · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:00 pm Post subject:

Ragged edges are typically from either (or both) the cutter not being hot enough to cut the material, the person cutting the stencil is trying to cut too fast, and or the table or surface they are cutting on isn't smooth enough to let the cutter move smoothly over it.
If your stencil is overly thick/heavy, the material may build up as little melted piles of gunk by the side rather than burning away cleanly.

Also, make sure you keep the tip of the burner/cutter clean and reasonably sharp.

lisascenic · Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:19 pm Post subject:

Do you all use a tempered glass cutting board? That might help with the rough edges.

If you're having issues with the cutting tips not heating up enough, you can have two tips in action, one in use, and one in waiting, heating on the tip-rest. Also, before you start every day, please check that the copper collar is firmly attached to the shaft of the burner.

stencilist · Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:28 pm Post subject:

Besides the glass, make sure your pattern is on paper that doesn't shred while you cut. I generally use tracing paper. I find the lightweight drives me crazy. Use medium weight. You can get it in sheets or by the roll from seth cole http://sethcole.com/.

I use and LOVE their #60 Duralene for stencil material for hand cutting.