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12.03 General Guidelines When Using Accessory Tools
•
The Force accessory tools include the following: embosser, engraver, and piercer (aka punch tool). These
guidelines also apply to other accessories, such as miscellaneous pens, markers, glue pens and other
brands of tools that will fit into the Force. The Force rotary tool is covered in
Chapter 13
.
•
Because the tips of these accessory tools are vertically centered with the shafts, the
Blade Offset
is always
set to 0.
•
It is a good practice to keep the pinch wheels away from where accessory tools will be applied. This
provides a more even surface and keeps the wheels from smearing ink or glue when using those types of
items. Thus, keep the outside pinch wheels on the outside edges of the cutting mat and keep the middle
wheel in the up position. Alternatively, you can move the left pinch wheel to the far-left side, leave the right
pinch wheel under the far-right rectangle, and then move the middle pinch wheel to the leftmost rectangle
position to secure the left side of the mat.
•
The table at the end of this chapter contains suggested settings for your initial testing. Remember that other
factors can affect results, such as a different brand of paper, a different type of surface under the material, a
different brand of pen or marker, etc. Always do tests first!
•
When you discover your own best settings, be sure to record them in the blank form available later in this
chapter.
12.04 Drawing with a Pen or Glue Pen
Demo:
•
Most pens, markers, glue pens, etc.
can be directly inserted into the blade holder seat on the Force. It’s not
necessary to tighten both screws as long as one of them can lock onto a flat vertical surface on the tool.
•
For glue pens and ball point pens, it’s best to prime them (scribble on scrap paper) shortly before mounting
so that the ink or glue is ready to flow. Another option is to have a separate layer with a test shape that will
be drawn before the project. That shape can be positioned to draw on a scrap outside of the main material
you’re using for the project.
•
In the suggested settings at the end of this chapter, take note of the very low setting for an ultra-fine tip
Sharpie. It is very easy to bend these tips if the
CD/ED
is set too high. So, start with a very low setting and
plan to draw a small test shape to see if the results will be satisfactory. Slower speeds also help yield more
consistent results with markers.
•
As with most other accessory tools, set the Z origin using the top of the material. To avoid marking your
project material, a scrap of the material, placed elsewhere on the mat, can be used for this purpose.
•
For lettering, using single line / open path fonts work well, as they do not require a fill. Refer to
Section 6.11
.
•
If you do want to “color in” your shapes, use the
Line Fill
function presented in
Section 10.09
.
12.05 Embossing and Scoring
Embossing:
Scoring:
Embossing Aluminum:
•
has two ends. One end is slightly smaller than the other and useful when
scoring paper or cardstock for foldup projects. The larger end is more suitable when embossing paper or
cardstock for decorative purposes.
•
When scoring, the surface beneath the paper or cardstock can be the mat itself. Note that if your score
lines are not “deep” on the reverse side then fold ALL score lines forward first. Flip over the project and you
Summary of Contents for KNK Force
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