In case I’m not the only one who’s wondered whether a Cricut cutting mat would work, don’t try it. Leather and acrylic smell truly lovely in comparison!
Melted one up did ya?
It didn’t melt, just stank to high Heaven!
Good to know. I’ve looked at them a few times when at Michael’s but since I haven’t ever been able to find any information on what they’re made out of I’ve always steered clear. I don’t want to risk there being any PVC or other dangerous materials in there.
Whew! Thank you for this! I was minutes away from trying it.
any suggestions for settings for cutting 90lb paper without destroying the seklema mat?
Here is a post with lots of helpful settings. Somewhat Comprehensive Testing of Settings for Cutting Paper and Cardstock
You can try to dial in the settings using a plywood “mat” covered with removable adhesive if you’re worried about your Seklema. Those things aren’t cheap! I was accidentally gifted with two 12"X12" mats for Christmas, so hopefully I’m set for a long time to come.
I haven’t tried cutting paper yet but just out of curiousity, would there be any downside to using the adhesive spray on a piece of anodized aluminum, or other sheet metal, instead of plywood? I figure it would stay flatter and be easier to clean when reapplying the adhesive. Is flashback on the backside of the paper an issue?
Flashback on paper is definitely an issue, in my experience.
Is that in the case of using the plywood, metal or just in general?
I have not tried sheet metal, but had been using a piece of 1/8" ply with adhesive sprayed on, but got resin smoke residue on my paper. Reading through the forums, I found a tip about using acrylic as a sticky backer instead of ply and it works fantastic, without leaving a smoke residue. As for getting scrap acrylic, try a local sign maker, they often have off cuts or scratched stock!
Thanks. I’ll give that a try.
I have not tried metal except for the actual honeycomb tray. Using the tray, I had flashback. I love the Seklema mat, but it is stupid expensive.