Paper Fun with Seklema Mat

Beyond the Manual
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Thank you for this very useful information and great pictures!

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Okay @henryhbk and @johnbrooker, Iā€™ve got good news and bad news.

Bad news: silk (Iā€™m using 8mm Habotai, very thin) does not stick to the mat at all. Something about the texture or finish. If you stick it first to low tack masking, the masking will stick to the mat. But in that case, might as well just stick the masking to the crumb tray with magnets. Well, maybe it would prevent cut pieces from flying around if you used the mat. Yeah, that might be worthwhile.

Good news: I tried the silk twice, once just sticking it down to the crumb tray with lots of magnets, and the second time I put some low tack masking on first (helped a lot with keeping it flat) then held it down with magnets. It cut very well (had to use a little more powerā€“10%-- to get through the silk vs the tissue) and it does appear that the edges are cauterized.

This photo shows, left to right, the masking plus silk after cutting and peeling (it was a kiss cutā€“the masking was not cut through); middle one is the fiddle that was peeled off the masking, and the far right one is the fiddle that was cut directly on the crumb tray with magnets holding down both interior and exterior of cut (Iā€™ve got some teeny neodymium magnets).

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Hereā€™s a closeup:

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Edit: the torn looking bit on the upper right edge is where I had to cut it with scissors because I accidentally blocked that bit of silk with a magnet when I was laser cutting. Duh!

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That mat looks like it will be a life saver (or at least aggravation/effort/cursing saver) for many of us! Thanks for sharing your testing of it.

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Nice. Will have to get some silk and play aroundā€¦

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Thank you kindly!

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This word! :+1:

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Absolutely jaw dropping! Thank you for sharing these experiments :slight_smile:

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This seems like a no-brainer if you are going to be working with paper. @martinell.jan, seems like we should order one of these mats!

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Thanks @cynd11! I need to get me one of those!!

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30

This mat material looks ideal. Thank you for sharing and tagging me. Not only will it actually hold down the material, but reduces consumable use and looks simple to use for even the most unskilled. Very professional.

I imagine you mounted it to hardboard or some other surface? Or did you apply it directly to the honeycomb?

Looks like it can even be cleaned to restore tack level. Excellent find.

Thanks again.

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Itā€™s on its own stiff board, I just laid it in there.

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Iā€™m part dacron since 2006.

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Wow! Very impressive! :relaxed:

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I use alcohol to clean my Seklema. Seems to work at least as well as water and dries so much faster.

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Good to know! Just rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol?

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Samā€™s Club rubbing alcohol. I use it for rotary engraving to clean the mat and keep it tacky. Iā€™m not sure how long it will last in the GF, but for rotary use, the mat Iā€™m using has been in place for over a year. Still have the reverse side to use when the first side is no longer tacky.

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How often are you using it?

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Tell me is this is useful. I recall my grandma using spray starch to stiffen and flatten the silk to allow her to work with it easier.
So, starched silk along with tacky spray on the back side and then placed on the mat to laser cut with the GF.

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39

Great tool! Thanks for sharing thisā€“Iā€™ll definitely be using one.

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Seems like you could also use a Silhouette or Cricut cutting mat for holding down paper. Theyā€™re available at just about any craft supply store.

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