that sounds like a great idea i was just wondering the cost of the material and how long you let the pattern sit before you cut it so that the pattern didnt rub off

 

thanks for the great idea,saves alot of money in tape and time.

kris

That is a great idea...

My variation on that theme is to cover the workpiece with dollar-store self-adhesive shelf paper and to attach the pattern to that using spray adhesive... it has all the benefits of the matte book covers except that I can't see the wood underneath.

 

Spence

This material is self adhesive. It is in the school materials section in my Walmart. It may be in other places also. Walmart sometimes catergorizes things with very little thought as to what they will be used for. The grain is visible through the material even though it is matte finished. Give it a try, I think you will like the results. I have had to set my printer, an Epson CX5400 on the economy printing setup or it takes the ink about an hour to dry. It is very black though. I hope this helps. Oh, the material might also be found as a drawer liner. Seems I have also seen something similar there.

Very interesting ... how were you able to feed it through the printer?  Is it stiff enough to go through like a regular sheet of paper, or did you have to do something different?

 

Thanks,

 

- Tom

 

Thanks, I am going to give this a try on my next project.

My husband and I came up with something like that only we are using the full page label paper to print on. Most of the time it comes off, but for the time it don't just spray with mineral spirts let stand a min or too to soke in and it peels right off. We buy it at office max in a pack of 100. It is made by Avery # 5353. I do all the patterns on my computer and put them together for him. We have been doing all patterns this way now for over 2 year. He is doing great being self tought.  I hope the picture opens this was his pride and joy. And now he is moving on to new things.

We do watch for sales on it but a pack of 100 is about 21.00 and he leaves it on for a long time. Wee He will do up pattrens and place then on the board before he gets to them. They peel off just fine and if he happens to get one that don't then he just mists some minral oil on it and it peels right off. The minral oil will darken the project a little but you really can't tell when your all done. He mist the pattren well wait 5 min then peel. Then wait for the project to dry all the way before staining or painting.

Just one additional thing I have found out. I first tried printing on the film just using the normal printing. It took quite some time to dry. I now print using the "economy" setting on my printer. That seems to print in almost a gray scale allowing the printed pattern to dry in just about 30 min to an hour. The only problem I have discovered is that sometimes in the drilling some drill saw dust gets under the film and makes a little bump. It's on the top though so really is not a problem.

I'm working on cuts of my grand kids from patterns I made. I'll post them when I get them done. Coming out pretty good for my first time creating patterns from photos.

 

Happy Scrolling

hking19421,

 

Regarding you technique improvement that you describe as: "...seems to print in almost a gray scale allowing the printed pattern to dry in about 30 min to an hour."

 

You didn't reveal the "time for ink to dry" aspect of your technique before this.  I am amazed that you see "the only problem... is... drill saw dust gets under the film."

 

I suspect that we all have more time than we have money, BUT, to be happy with a technique improvement that still needs 30-60 minutes for ink to dry is NOT an efficient method at all.

 

Print the pattern on paper, for gosh sakes... nothing is cheaper or quicker... and it's less prone to smearing compared to printing on plastic.

 

Then, either:

a) lay down (on the workpiece) a layer of packing or masking tape or a cheap self-adhesive shelf paper and attach the pattern atop that with spray adhesive, or

b)attach the pattern to the workpiece with spray adhesive and cover that with clear packing tape or transparent self-adhesive contact/shelf paper. 

 

Either approach would have you ready to begin work less than 5 minutes after the printer is done.  And I suspect the costs are at most equal to and potentially far less than, what you're doing.

 

I don't mean to imply you have to do it like I do it... but I implore you to re-examine your method in a better light.

 

Spence

Thanks for the comment, but how do you see the grain direction with all that stuff taped all over the wood. Do you drill prior to putting the clear tape over the paper or shelf paper? If you don't do you not get saw dust under the tape and shelf paper? My method only has one clear layer over the wood. If you are using the shelf paper why not just print on it. If drying time gets to be a problem just print your patterns one day and cut them the next. My computer is in my home and my saw is in my shop. Drying time is not a problem for me. You could always use another type of printer or another type of ink.

 

Thanks for the comment.