plastic for masters?

hiloboy · Dec 6, 2007

I'm trying to find a plastic of some type. may be 1/16 inch or so clear that i can use to make some masters for my pantograph.and i need some thing that is not to hard to cut my designs into.i have tryed polycarbonate sheet and that is not the way to go way to hard.. i'm trying to make masters for some of the designs of kamons and family creast that i have call for all the time.. any ideas would really help..

Tim Wells · Dec 6, 2007

Acrylic is softer and less brittle. Kydex will also work.

fegarex · Dec 6, 2007

I've used polycarbonate for years without problems. I'm not up on all the materials out there but the polycarbonate or "Lexan" type brand is not brittle at all. In fact it is essentially unbreakable. It is what they make crash helmets and bullet proof glass out of. It might be a bit tougher to engrave than other materials but sure is light years easier than metal. The trick is to fasten it well to avoid vibration. I've tried the "Plexiglas" variety and that will chip too easily.
I've made hundreds of masters of of the polycarbonate and they hold up well too. I lube them with a Teflon spray to make them work better. Remington makes a spray called "Dry Lube" that works super.

hiloboy · Dec 6, 2007

i'm sorry it wasn't polycarbonate sheet i tryed.. it was plexiglas and it was hard to cut and vary brittle..what i would like to do is try some of the acrylic or polycarbonate or the kydex before i go out and buy 4x8 sheet and pay shipping all the way to hawaii. to find out it dosen't work like i did with the plexiglas..do you think there is a company or does anyone here know how i can get some scrapes to see what works before i order...not trying to be cheap just trying to get the right thing and to try to stop the bleeding on the next buy..Fegarex can you tell me more about how you hold or fasten the sheet when you are doing your cutting..and what type of a grave do you use?

fegarex · Dec 6, 2007

If you have any "paint and glass" stores they should have some of it in stock. Even places like Lowes and Home Depot stock it and have smaller sizes. It is expensive compared to plexiglass but not that much. I have a local glass company here that I buy it from and get a better price because I can use a lot of the small "scrap" sizes. I don't know what size masters you are making but I have a block of wood about 8" X 10" that is 1 1/2" thick. On the bottom of that I have 2" X 1" "tee" glued and screwed on so I can hold the block in my engraving vise. All I do is screw several screws right through the master to hold it to the wood.

monk · Dec 6, 2007

plastic masters

easiest and cheapiest- combined with durability imho engravers plastic the very kind used in the engraving shops to make name badges, door plates, and such. it cuts very nicely with a gravermeister or lindsay.
use a # 53 or # 54 round graver. i prefer the 54 as it has a better feel with my stylus. buy from the
bannister company in new jersey. ask if they have any mtl. that is "off color" or whatever. you can save bucks this way. if you don't cut your grooves too deeply, you can cut designs on both sides of the blank, which is an even greater saving. i shear my blanks to a 6x12" size. very economical, and fits nicely on the panto table. this stuff is not brittle. questions monk45@verizon.net

Dmitriy Pavlov · Dec 6, 2007

Hi. I used lot of years regular furniture plastic around 0.5 mm thickness. I cut out a picture with big jewelry saw and glued or rivet it on a thicker sheet of plastic, as a layer. It give my a step that more comfortable and precise then cut lines. If you have any question, my phone is: 608 277 0001

Keith · Dec 6, 2007

Im with Monk on the gravoply. Nash in New Jersey is another supplier, or you can
check the local trophy shop for off colored or yellowed stock.
I got a bunch for a few dollars and have been using it for years.
Keith

quickcut07 · Dec 6, 2007

Hi don't know if this is the way you want to go but over the last 30 yrs. or so my father and myself have cut hundreds of stencils. If we were only making one for limited purposes we used a product similar to picture matting or poster style board. The material is about 1/8" thick, resembles compressed cardboard. Dad come up with this years ago, he had been into leather work many years prior to opening a trophy and engraving business. He used his knife for cutting leather to cut the design into the matting material. Then took a tool similar to a curved burnishing tool to gently smooth the cut by tracing around it so the stylus on the NewHermies engraver could slide gently and with great control around the layout. If the designs were to be used quite often lexan , polycarbonate or whatever namebadge material we had in stock was put use. Namebadge material comes with a plastic or paper sheet over it. When it gets to old the covering will not release as easy as it should. Scrap to some a perfect stencil medium for Dad. Plexiglass will cause you nothing but headaches. It is to brittle to cut and becomes even more tempermental with age. The matting is the quickest, lexan the most durable. If the is a trophy business nearby they should have sheets of nameplate material. Unless they only use precut badge material. The ugly or out of date badge material you can probably get real cheap, or free. I could probably dig up suppliers if I have not tossed the old cataloges. Hope some of this helps, it's kinda funny that I just ran into some of Dad's hand cut stencils on the weekend.

John B. · Dec 6, 2007

Hi Hiloboy.
The best plastic for cutting panto masters is PETG, IMO.
Clear plastic about 1.5mm or 1/16 inch thick.
Cuts very cleanly with a regular square graver.
And being nice and thin it reduces the distortion of your image if you don't keep your head exactly over the line of cut.
It is available in sheets up to 4x8 feet from any decent plastic supply house and not too expensive.
Hope this helps, John B.

hiloboy · Dec 6, 2007

thanks for all the help lots off great ideas..from makeing short term masters to masters that last forever..i just talk a supply house that told me to try PETG, they are going to send me some of it to try before i order a couple 4x8..but i'm still going to try some of the stuff you told me about that i maybe can get around town here..

vanknife · Dec 6, 2007

Good day Hiloboy,
I have made many a stencil for my gravograph from old phone cards, they cut easy you get them any ware and back them on a thicker back stiffener they last for years. I sometimes cut them with my rotary hand piece with small burs and clean them up with a sharp hobby knife. There is a lot of uses for those little cards like cut a this strip and use the strait long side as a ruler for curved objects etc.

Cheers

"VAN"

silverchip · Dec 7, 2007

Plastic

I go to Home Depo and buy acrylic sheet in small sizes and make patterns.

Tom White · Dec 7, 2007

Hi,

What I have used and still do. I use peel and stick flooring pieces from the home improvement store I stick them to a rigid background and you can cut them with a "V" shaped wood carving tool really easily I look for the thicker ones with no texture on the surface usually the really cheap stuff.
It works for me.

Tom

Steve Adams · Dec 7, 2007

I use clear rigid vinyl. It comes transparent, and you can get the thickness you want. It cuts with a V parting tool or hollowed graver. Altough I use polymer patterns for most copy and logos, the clear rigid vinyl is used for my hand cut patterns when doing something more complex.

hiloboy · Dec 7, 2007

Steve Adams said:
I use clear rigid vinyl. It comes transparent, and you can get the thickness you want. It cuts with a V parting tool or hollowed graver. Altough I use polymer patterns for most copy and logos, the clear rigid vinyl is used for my hand cut patterns when doing something more complex.

Steve, can you tell me more about polymer patterns? how you make one? how do you use it on pantograph?and where can i get the polymer to use for making logos..

gtsport · Dec 7, 2007

Plastic Pattern Material

I have used the rigid vinyl like Steve Adams mentioned, but I also found another source from when I worked at Midwest Airlines. The inner windows from the passenger compartment on the aircraft are replaced annually, are about 14 by 20 inches, and are very similar to the vinyl sheet. If you know an airline maintenance person, you can probably get more than you'll ever be able to use.

Steve Adams · Dec 8, 2007

Photo Polymer material is a UV sensitive polymer. Black and white art is converted to a transparency, placed on top of the polymer then exposed to overhead confined UV light. The UV light hardens the polymer except for where the artwork blocks the light. The polymer is then scrubbed with soft brushes and water, rinsed and dryed ( cured ). This all takes about 20 to 30 minutes. A metal backed polymer is best for use as templates or patterns on a pantograph, and use the appropriate stylus for the design. Just clamp or tape the polymer pattern to your pattern table, and set the ratio to the pattern you've made. Do a google search under photo polymer, and get the water soluble green stuff with metal backing in the thickness you want. If you have some bucks to spend, get a all in one platemaker, it does all three steps of the process. There are also companies that will make polymer patterns for you. Store fresh material away from light.

Steve Adams · Dec 8, 2007

Joe,
I took a Midwest flight once from Milwaukee to Dallas. Now I know why all the inner widows were missing. Steve

Steve Adams · Dec 8, 2007

Polymer --- Pitman Company Inc. Itasca, IL Hope this helps. Steve

plastic for masters?

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