Hello good people of SMPM,

 

I have plagued @Mozart incessantly over recent years and he has been extremely patient. Thanks so much Max.

 

However, although I know Max is happy to help, I feel it's about time I tried to do at least something myself.

 

I chatted with Sven at Telford in the hopes that he might be open to making some custom stencil masks. I've use his 1ManArmy stencils on a couple of projects and am mightily impressed. Unfortunately he is a victim of his own success and is way too busy to look at custom stuff (unless you're a YouTube influencer 😄)

 

I think I know the answer to my following question but I'm seeking confirmation.

In your opinions, am I better to look for a laser cutter over a physical cutter for the small, stencil type details?

 

Max managed to cut me a set of masks for some walkway stencils on my 1/24th scale Spitfire build but he explained that it was at the limit of what his machine could manage. 

Since 1/32nd is likely to be smaller I guess laser could be the way to go?

 

Cheers,

Guy

Definitely the way to go for small stuff Guy, is a laser cutter available at a reasonable price? I must admit I have no knowledge whatsoever about them; availability, cost, ease of use, material to be cut, machine size etc etc. I’ll be interested to know what you know or have researched. 
Max 

I suspect one gets what one pays for Max? 

I saw a laser cutter on sale recently which has sparked my interest. 

 

https://store.creality.com/uk/products/cr-laser-falcon-laser-engraver-10w

 

It's marketed more as an engraver but appears to be capable of cutting thin material? 🤔

Edited May 20, 2025May 20 by geedubelyer

I believe Sven had to make custom modifications to his laser cutter in order for it to be capable of meeting his requirements, which suggests that an off-the-shelf unit still may not get the job done - at least, not to the same standard as 1ManArmy seems to manage. As far as the blade cutters are concerned, however, I can't even match what Max is able to achieve!

 

Kev

That's interesting Kev.

Thanks for the heads-up.

The machine I linked to earlier is a low priced hobby affair so may well not work.

Perhaps I should try to contact the manufacturer and ask their opinion?

5 hours ago, geedubelyer said:

Perhaps I should try to contact the manufacturer and ask their opinion?

I would! They may spin you some BS, but if the machine doesn't cost much, it may also be worth the gamble.

Kev

I am also very interested in this capability. From my research, the problem seems to be that laser cutters do not work well with sheets of media that are flammable, like many stencil media are. I would welcome any suggestions and or experience on this.

Yep, me too. Guy, I know you are using a laser cutter now, can you give us some info on what you have and how successful it is?