I have searched and searched both Internet and Glowforge Beyond the Manual and I can’t find anyone who has listed any starter settings. I don’t want to waste as materials are so expensive.
Has anyone had any success using this in the glow forge to make stencils with? If so, can you give me any recommendations to get started cutting?
I bought some 10 mil Mylar Stencil sheets and they work really well at Speed 250, Power 25 Pass 1x…as long as it’s not a very intricate stencil. But I got these settings off of Beyond the Manual and tried it both at 250 and 245 and 250 was the sweet spot for me.
Now I’m wanting to try out this oil board for stenciling. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Thank you. ~Meg
I don’t believe that anyone has posted about this particular product. There are, however, Proofgrade settings for 20# paper and cardboard. I think some testing between the settings for those two materials will probably get you some decent results. At $1.50 per sheet you can probably spare a quarter of a sheet to dial in your settings.
Edit: There was a post about this, but no settings shared: Stencil board
Testing is the only way to be sure. Try my method in #6 here:
So I took a minute and worked it out, you’re paying about 0.75 cents per square inch. [1]
My test method uses about 2 square inches, you you’re “wasting” 1.5 cents of material. Seems pretty affordable to get the exact settings dialed in. Even if you have to do a couple tries at the test template… you could do it ten times and only consume 15 cents’ worth of oil board.
I know I’m calculating ideal costs and ignoring stuff like shipping and certain realities about how efficiently you can use your material… but even if I’m off by a factor of ten it’s still only 15 cents to run a test.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
12 inches by 17.5 inches, 210 square inches per board. 8 sheets per package, that’s 1680 square inches for $12.54. $12.54/1680 in2 yields 0.75¢ per square inch. ↩︎
I think the big risk would be a volatile oil, like lighter weight stuff – mineral spirits, etc.
I would think that this board probably won’t be much of an elevated fire risk, but to your point I’d watch it like a hawk, especially at first. Solid @chris1 advice, as always.
Thank you, dklgood. I’ll try using the Proofgrade settings and dial in from there. I had thought about trying the cardboard, but this is stiffer than cardboard. But you are right! It’s not that much money if I used one for a test piece. I can always order more. I just sometimes like to ask if others have used it and what settings so I can use it as a starting off point. I had noticed other posts about Oil Board for stenciling, but there weren’t any settings posted.
Thanks! I’ll use the Proofgrade settings for Cardboard and #20 paper as dklgood recommended and then dial in my settings from there.
Sometimes it’s just easier to see what others have used as a starting point. I usually come onto these boards first when trying a new (to me) material to see tips, recommendations, and settings from others. I then dial in from there.
I saw on another website that someone had used it with a laser cutter. They just didn’t mention what settings they used. I know in the Navy they were die cut vice laser cut, but that was way back in 1989 when we were still wearing dungarees as our working uniform.
If I get a chance to try it out when I get back home today I’ll come back and post my settings. I know some of you may feel this is cheating, but I’d rather try to use someone else’s settings first and then go from there. Why reinvent the wheel if I don’t have to. Perhaps it can help someone else as well.
Thank you to all of you who commented and gave me tips/recommendations.
There’s no cheating here, a successful cut is a successful cut
The reason why I recommend my method over just “try a setting and adjust” is because it usually lets you get the settings absolutely nailed in the first test. If you do it one setting at a time, you can fiddle with it through several iterations and still not have it quite right. It’s a bit more work to setup the SVG in the GF interface, but once you do you just do the one test and you’re set. You frequently end up saving time and materials in the end.
The best part is that that same test can be reused on other similar materials, so it’s even faster in future tests.
Old style oilboard was made with linseed oil which is extremely flammable until 100% cured. You might want to check with the manufacturer regarding flammability of yhis product.
Sorry for not updating…life events happened! Proofgrade Material setting for 1/8" Corrugated Cardboard setting worked perfectly. It was no more flammable than cutting cardstock or any other paper type material. It cut beautifully each time with no scortch markings. I did use magnets and I did have blow-away, but I stood by my Glowforge Pro to watch as it was cutting. Zero issues. This is a game changer for me in making stencils as it is the same material we used in the Navy for stencils on our uniforms back in the day. My brother is using these stencils to paint on some wooden flags he’s making. Mylar stencils are okay, but a little thin. This is thicker material and he will have more use out of them with spray painting. We got this oil board directly from Stencil Ease website vice their Amazon storefront, but I have more of it on order from Amazon.
I did not play around with the settings as I just selected the 1/8" Corrugated Cardboard Proofgrade. I had zero issues so I didn’t need to adjust the settings from Glowforge’s Proofgrade. I have a Glowforge Pro, but I’m not sure if that makes any difference.
There were zero sparks or flashback. It cut so smoothly. Game changer for me with stencil material. I think it actually cut better than Mylar stencil material.
