Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Private_collector]

Hello Folks!
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Bought a Graphtec vinyl sign cutter today. No more paying people to do my stencils and vehicle signage. It's not new, in fact it is nearly two decades old, but is a good quality machine. Would have been for professional use in the days of WIN98! Came with the computer system it runs on, and all the software disks (3.5"), as well as the manuals and extra font libraries.
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Also came with a number of part rolls of vinyl film.
In the early 90s I ran a small sign and graphics printing business as a side line to my 'day job'. Perhaps you read my how to book, entitled The Underachievers Guide to Extremely Small Business!

Ah, it was simpler times then!

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Tony

Just because it's old doesn't mean it doesn't work good, just look at us.


Good find, should be fun to experiment with and a useful tool. WIN 98 my shop computer has WIN 2000 still works fine, just don't connect it to the Web or load any updates. Old computers are amazingly stable as long as they are left alone.

Look forward to seeing how it works cutting painting stencils.

Cheers Phil

[David Dunlop]

Hmmm. I wonder if my wife's new Cricut stencil cutter would work for this stuff? She bought it for crafting. Guess I need to get crafty and try it out next time she's off shopping.

[Private_collector]

Hi David,

I had not heard about Cricut stencil cutters until you wrote about it. Having now looked into these on internet, I don't see why it couldn't be used to make vehicle stencils. From what I have read, they take a fairly small sheet of stencil material, but that material is specifically for stencil use so should be absolutely ideal! I suppose two sheets could be joined end to end to make longer stencils. I would give it a try. Could be quite a revelation for other folks, who want to do the same thing. If you do get to play with it, please let me know what you think.

Phil, I'm really excited about getting my sign cutter. It virtually fell into my lap, courtesy of my friend (and fellow MLU member) Andy Cusworth. It belonged to the Father of a friend of his. The Father used it commercially, both in UK and in Aus after he emigrated. Unfortunately he passed away several months ago, and the cutter was part of the estate. The entire setup cost me $200AUD. I think the rolls of vinyl that came with the cutter are probably worth almost the full purchase price. If you look at it that way, I bought the vinyl rolls and got the cutter and computer thrown in for free!

Over a year ago, I bought a stencil set from a UK company. It was reusable, and if memory serves me right, the materal was called Oilboard. It doesn't seem to have adhesive, or if it does it is VERY low tack. Might just be surface tension that keeps it snuggly attached to the surface. I used it to spray 'over filling' warnings onto the fuel tanks and it worked really well. The Cricut machine David spoke of would be better suited to making those than my cutter, that's why I am keen to hear how any test goes. With my machine, you would weed away the actual letters/numbers, leaving the surrounding vinyl to be applied to the surface. You spray onto the surface, then remove the 'negative' sign background once finished, leaving painted writing instead of vinyl stickers. To use this method you MUST ensure the paint adheres well to the panel or removing the stencil vinyl will also take off your paint. Good prep work prior to the paint job takes care of that, so should not present as an issue. There are low tack materials you can use, and I recommend use of this. Unfortunately they are single use only.

I'm always amazed how much businesses are charging for computer-cut signage. It is really easy to produce, and takes virtually no time at all, especially if you request an existing font. The catch is, of course, that the cutting machines are not something most people have lying around, so they know they can charge big $£€ for what really is a very quick, simple, and cheap product.

[Private_collector]

David,

Been looking into Cricut machine capabilities, and see it should be able to do stencils, provided you use a deep-cut blade. Oilboard would allow you to do multiple stencils from a single piece of board, BUT it seems to be quite elusive for purchase online. At least it is hard to find in blank sheet form, and in a size suitable for Cricut. For that matter, I didn't see any suitable for my machine either. Using paint-mask film will give you exactly the finished product needed to do vehicle numbers or lettering. You just can't reuse it.. I've not used paint-mask yet, but am keen to try it when I can.

Added 1715hrs: Oilboard sheets and rolls available here http://www.hittmarking.com/category/...ets-and-rolls/

[Private_collector]

There are a couple of things which need to be done to the sign cutter before I will be able to use it. One issue in particular requires diagnostic assessment that I just can't do myself, so a local egg-head is doing the testing for me. The LCD display shows scrambled characters instead of English. My computer guy says that could either be an easy fix, OR the LCD board may need replacement. Wonderful! I called the manufacturer, they don't have parts for 'legacy' machines such as mine. Legacy?? Why don't they just say old, ancient, un-new, relic....
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The day I bought my cutter, I saw that the pinch rollers x2 were perishing and coming apart. I put a sheet of light cardboard through the cutter on Sunday night, and the moment the rollers turned one flew apart, the other turned to a sticky mess of stinky black cheese that thoroughly coated the cardboad and eventually the metal roller beneath it (after the card shot out of the cutter). Methinks it had sat idle for some length of time! 5 min on ebay found me new rollers, $10 for a pair. I removed all the rubber mush from the old ones, in case I needed to 'sleeve' them with fresh rubber of a suitable size. Automotive oil/fuel/water hose would do the trick, but I won't need to worry about that now.
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Hmmmmm, what should I make first, when the cutter is ready to go. (I'm remaining optomistic!!)

Legacy, bah!

P.S: The sunshine cab roof is now with the local sandblasters, and will be ready for me to pickup on Thursday. If I paint insides of my other set of wheels tomorrow, they will be ready to paint the outsides on Friday, hopefully as I am also painting the roof. Happy days.

[motto]

A few years ago I purchased a couple of Marsh stencil cutters 3/4" and 1". The machines were ex government, I believe they came from the Ordnance Factory Maribyrnong. The deal included a number of rolls of paper weighing about 60 pounds each. The rolls are approximately 2' diameter and 10" wide. I have sold some rolls already at $100 each but still have some that I am prepared to sell if anyone is interested.

David