Stenciling 101 | 5 out of 6 | Cutting Your Stencil 

Thanks Miker! It's easier than software--it's a website: www.baystencil.com. The cutter is a Cricut Explore Air 2, an excellent all-around machine.

@@BayStencil which store can i go to make a stencil im in Houston Texas

@David Cruz what you want for a local stencil design is a laser cutting service, like this one: www.sampsonshtx.com/ but /and you can also create and order online at a discount at Bay Stencil (www.baystencil.com). or you can create the design at Bay Stencil, download the SVGs and give them to the guys at Sampson's to cut (as long as it's small).

Hey Cory--depends on what you're cutting. If you're cutting standard construction paper or even card stock for a one-time-use stencil, then the auto blade should work fine. If you're cutting 7 mil mylar (like we use for custom orders at Bay Stencil), then you'll need to use the Kraft blade. (And, in fact, you may need to do two passes to cut all the way through, you can try it.) Somewhere in the middle (like 3 mil mylar, or heavy card stock) you might still be able to use the Autoblade. You might also try to simplify your design--if you are using cut files from Bay Stencil then this simplification has already been done for you (via the bridging that it does). If you are manually bridging your files, your stencil might have some parts that are just hanging out in the wind, and that is why the blade is snagging them and ripping them apart. Take for example if you try to cut a spiral. If a spiral isn't bridged, it will certainly snag and tear. If you have more questions about your Bay Stencil SVG download, you can always hit us up over there and tell us the order number, and we'll get you straightened out. Hope that helps!

I had it only set for one pass. But yes I'm trying to cut 7 mil mylar.

@@coryjeffreys5146 also, if it's the narrow bridges that are getting ruined, then you might try making a smaller stencil and enlarging it so that the bridges are less fragile (they'll be relatively thicker after you enlarge). Coming soon, we'll have a feature where you can set the size of the stencil and the bridge width as part of your download.