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o When cutting thin chipboard with the red blade, use 20 Post-It notes. When cutting any material with
the blue blade, only use 15 Post-It notes.
o For very thick materials, such as balsa or craft foam, use 10 Post-It notes. Note that you do not
want the rim of the blade holder mounted above the black tool-holder piece. Otherwise, the blade
will not reach the material or will be too high to apply the needed pressure for cutting.
o The table at the end of this chapter includes a column for blade height based on the number of
Post-It note sheets used by the testers.
2.01.4 Adjust the Speed, Force, and Number of Passes Based on the Material and Shapes
• Using correct cut settings is equally important as the type of blade, blade length, and blade height. Refer to
Section 2.03 for details. Suggested settings are located at the end of this chapter and settings for using the
various Skycut accessory tools are located at the end of Chapter 4.
2.01.5 Perform Test Cuts!
• You have two options:
(1) Perform the built-in test cut on the Skycut itself using the Test option on the Main Screen or from within
the Speed/Force Screen.
(2) Select any basic shape and size it to be around 0.3” – 0.5” (~ 8 mm – 13 mm):
o I personally like using a design with an internal shape, such as a ring. You can then easily see if the
blade is cutting into the mat (or into the backing sheet on rolled materials) when you lift out the cut
shape and observe where the internal shape cut. To locate a ring, click on the General Power
Shapes icon on the left side Tool Panel and go to Basic Shapes>Basic.
o When cutting intricate shapes, use a small letter or a shape will lots of sharp turns for testing. For a
rhinestone project, use a small portion of your rhinestone pattern as a test.
• There is a flow chart in Section 2.09 which will help you determine which settings to change when test
cutting a material.
2.01.6 Keep the Cutting Mat Clean and Sticky
• Press your materials evenly to the mat. Consider using a brayer both before AND after cutting. Repressing
the material after cutting can greatly aid in weeding the cut shapes from the waste.
• When necessary, tape thicker materials to the mat to keep them from slipping during the cut.
• If you cut a range of materials, you might need more than one mat so that you can use stickier mats for
certain materials.
• Refer back to Section 1.08 for information on cleaning the cutting mat and adding more adhesive,
Use 20 for cardstock, vinyl, fabric
Use 15 with blue blade and for
slightly thicker materials
Use 10 for thick materials like craft
foam and balsa