Just weeded a tough job. Has anybody tried an angled, sticky weeding table?

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Just for giggles, I stuck an unweeded heat press decal on a fairly freshly coated shirtboard, and was pleasantly surprised with how the waterbased adhesive helped hold the release liner in place, to aid weeding.

Not perfect by any stretch, but it seemed like an idea someone else here may have tried already.

This time of year we do a lot of cad cut glitter and one-off gifts and stuff. Honestly, it's a black hole unless you charge them out the wazoo, but we think it brings in better jobs. We usually have an employee weed that stuff, but today I got stuck. My 60+  year old eyes, and surly attitude (especially about helpers that don't show up) just got me to thinking...

Anybody got a killer weeding station that uses adhesive, and/or backlighting, maybe a tilting easel type against the wall, or some other tricky idea....one that might help keep Mr. Cranky Vinylmeister's language more civil??

[Frog]

Backlighting, heat, and clips. (The Stahl's version seems to have sort of a clamp on top) Maybe not even backlit

[Dottonedan]

Interestingly enough, I have just been pondering this issue myself.  It turns out, with my new job, I have to weed names for backs of teams. About 2-3 jobs every two weeks so far. That's not bad. Pretty easy.

I did though, have 6 jackets to do that were left chest (old English)  large letter C with the names running thru the center across the C.  Then, (it was outlines to knock out to the navy jacket).  What a mess!

So anyways,  good idea. While weeding today, I thought..."there must be some better way to do this".


Another story. "Sales guy comes in with two separate jobs for me to do mock ups for.  The quantity is 1 shirt each.  So I ask, ....these must be for the customer to take back and show, to take more orders from?
He says no, this was another some other shop printed but didn't want to do these two fill ins (last minute orders) after the screens were taken down.

So X printer doesn't want to do then (in other words,, customer didn't want to pay the setup fee again and new price on the tee). So we offer to do their 2 jobs for 1 shirt each (that new art needs created for).  Gotchya! 

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Andy, I actually called Stahls just TODAY about some easier to cut (think thinner....) Black Glitterflake than I just sent back to the other vendor we use. And I posed this same weeding question to the Customer Service Rep, and he pointed me to the very same unit you show.

I wonder why the heat?

I can see backlighting being pretty cool, because the cuts might show up during flexing. BUT...I am trying to avoid most of the movement of the release liner.

Dan, I didn't use to mind weeding sign vinyl so much, decades ago. But the heat press vinyls are much more annoying in some ways, and less in others. It is more easy to ruin letters or objects with high performance, pressure sensitive cast vinyl, but the release liner isn't a problem at all.

Heat press weeding can be improved. I'm convinced of it with just my little test today. Paper liners used in some sign vinyls won't work with a "sticky easel", but it really shouldn't be an advantage to have the liner stuck down with sign vinyl anyhow.

I just wondered if someone here has built a solution already. No doubt its been considered by a number of unhappy weeders, who really need to be doing something more important. (Or requiring specialized skill.)

Sheesh!  I'm trying to make myself LESS indispensable around this joint.  Weeding just aggravates me, but it makes me want to invent something...whether I draw the short straw or someone I'm paying to do it.

Dan, take a decal out the the print floor when it's handy and weed it on a fresh, really sticky shirtboard. Don't pull the vinyl straight up, but instead keep the waste LOOOOW....close to the board. It was an eye opener to me, but what do I know....

[Frog]

Andy, I actually called Stahls just TODAY about some easier to cut (think thinner....) Black Glitterflake than I just sent back to the other vendor we use. And I posed this same weeding question to the Customer Service Rep, and he pointed me to the very same unit you show.

I wonder why the heat?

With some materials, for instance Thermo Film, and Easy Weed, the backing is quite aggressively tacky. Good for weeding (and occasionally repositioning) some detailed stuff, but can also be a pain and slow-down.
A little heat can help ease this pain. I have set sheets in an oven, used a hair dryer, and recently started using a heating pad. With sheets underneath, and the one I'm working on on top.
Definitely saves some time.
On the other hand, there are some materials out there that have virtually no stick in the carrier sheet, and therefore require careful use of stick glue to reposition boo-boos.
I think that it was Stahls Sport Film Light that did that to me a few weeks back.

[Doug S]

I absolutely hate weeding but we are fortunate to have an employee that absolutely loves heat press.  I don't know why but she looks for an excuse to use it everyday. 

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Well...my needs are different than some. I'm pretty danged near sighted (since elementary school!) and without my glasses, standing at my loading station looking at the end of the belt I couldn't tell a man from a woman.

BUT!!!! if I take my glasses off, without any correction, I'd be a lean, mean, weeding machine--even for little details-- if I could roll my chair under an easel and put my nose about 7 inches from the decal. It's how I used to hand cut spray mask for backlit signage at our shop. I had a 2 sided easel back in the day, basically an A-Frame on casters, and could sit or stand or move the work piece up and down as needed.  No eye strain, ever. 

So you see, I'm kinda blind without specs, but If you get a splinter, I'm your guy. Just whip off the specs and I've got superman vision up close and personal.

So I'm going to proceed to whip up a proof of concept Sticky Weeding Easel, (Patent Not Pending), that will hang from a piano hinge on the wall beside my desk. "The Help" can weed heat press material however the heck they want, but I'm NOT EVER again doing that mess we just delivered, no no no. Not on a flat, slick table anyhow.

Next time I get handed a pile of decals from a panicked "Front Ender", I'm going to cart those suckers to my office back in the dungeon. I only share that space with the Head Officer of Shop Security, (Queen Josie the Cocker, no relation to Joe Cocker) and whatever radio station I like.

Her Royal Highness, Madame Josephine: Queen Over All She Surveys will think my new device is odd no doubt, and requires sniffing, but a calming word from me along with Liver Treats usually smoothes her hackles.

I'll post back here if I like it, and think it might be of value to someone.

 

[mooseman]

Hey Stan,
Oddly enough you and I have EXACTLY the same set of eyes. I do not do too much heat press but I have spent the better part of a day pickin & pullin easy weed. Here are two ideas I have yet to try but will share.

the first is simply a piece of tin contact cemented to a flat sheet of cabinet ply wood throw on the vinyl and add a hand full of magnets.
If you want to find some incredibly strong magnets, damn near can't pull apart magnets rob them from old computer hard drives or simply buy them here you want Neodymium Magnets

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/products.asp?cat=11
specific example @ $.50 ea
http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=B661

My second thought is simply to build a vacuum table much like the stuff that holds heat transfer paper when printing  and hook up a shop vac.
hit the switch suck down the sheet and weed away. I would put in a switched outlet for the vac to plug into so I could kill the vacuum quickly to reposition the sheet to suit my 7 inch vision range.
Hope you and your family are all well
PS......the 3000 I got from you is still cranking them out everyday
mooseman

[CBCB]

Hey Stan,
Oddly enough you and I have EXACTLY the same set of eyes. I do not do too much heat press but I have spent the better part of a day pickin & pullin easy weed. Here are two ideas I have yet to try but will share.

the first is simply a piece of tin contact cemented to a flat sheet of cabinet ply wood throw on the vinyl and add a hand full of magnets.
If you want to find some incredibly strong magnets, damn near can't pull apart magnets rob them from old computer hard drives or simply buy them here you want Neodymium Magnets

http://www.kjmagnetics.com/products.asp?cat=11
specific example @ $.50 ea
http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=B661

My second thought is simply to build a vacuum table much like the stuff that holds heat transfer paper when printing  and hook up a shop vac.
hit the switch suck down the sheet and weed away. I would put in a switched outlet for the vac to plug into so I could kill the vacuum quickly to reposition the sheet to suit my 7 inch vision range.
Hope you and your family are all well
PS......the 3000 I got from you is still cranking them out everyday
mooseman

Whoaaaa, that's a great idea. Metal table and magnets seems so simple! Definitely gunna try that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Professor Moosey,

That is a great idea! As much pharting around as I've done over the years, I'm ashamed I didnt' think of it.

I use rare earth magnets for lots of stuff and have for years. I have an old 1100 GoldWing and have a magentic tankbag for it. Trick is, the "tanks" on them are plastic. Neodymiums and epoxy to the rescue.

I need to hang stuff from the suspended ceiling from time to time for embroidery. Neodymiums and string to the rescue. (And PVC pipe for mounting and dismounting)

Stuff that needs to hang off the side of the dryer? Neodymium cup hooks to the rescue. Cheap ones work too, but the rare earth magnetic hooks are amazing.

They are excellent tools. But I didn't think about a weeding table using them. It would be an easy trial.

And I didn't try my vacuum table for weeding either, because I didn't think there would be enough "juice" to hold them down. That, and my  shop vacuums seem to get pretty warm when the air flow is restricted. Plus they are noisy. Printing Paper Transfers doesn't leave them running very long, so I get by.

Glad your 3000 is still  humming along!

Stan

[mooseman]

Good to hear from you Stan, and good to know you are still in the game.
mike