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Howdy all. I bought a ton of screenprinting equipment from a good friend's widow. There's several squeegies, but many of them are as dull as a spoon. Is there a way to sharpen them or do I have to buy a new rubber thing?
-------------------- Felix Marcano PuertoRicoSigns.Com Luquillo, PR
Work hard, party like a tourist! Posts: 2275 | From: Luquillo, Puerto Rico, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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-------------------- Jimmy Chatham Chatham Signs 468 stark st Commerce, Ga 30529 Posts: 1766 | From: Commerce, GA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Hey Jimmy, thats how we used to make knives from our popsickle sticks in kindergarten (I'll bet thats one of those universal skills all kids discover around the world)
The guy I bought Island Sign from when it was strictly a screenprinting business showed me how to clamp a larger table on his drill press. Then he would make a jig that included a fence out of anything straight so you could feed the squeegee along the fence & a little drum sanding wheel about 3/4" diameter & tall enough to do the job. The fence would be adjusted to where the drum just skims the surface & you re-adjust it a few times to finish the job. Run the drill press on low speed & don't try to take it down too much in one pass.
Also make sure the rubber is not rotten. I've had the whole blade break off right when I started the first pull on a print job. Kind of a mess & not the way I like to start a 2 hour run of printing political signs.
posted
Hi there is a machine made especially for this purpose. In effect it is nothing but a long, upside down belt sander, and hinges to clamp the squeegie to and press it down on the belt. I suppose you could improvise this process like Doug, as long as you can keep the rubber straight and at a 90 degree angle. You'll get a better quality print with a sharp edge Hope this helps.
quote: The purpose of the squeegee, then, is to cut an even and controlled thickness of ink film to be laid on top of the garment. However, even before sharpening, the squeegee blade should be checked to make sure the edge is straight. Simply put a squeegee on a surface known to be flat, and back light the squeegee to see if any light appears under the blade. A straight blade will show no light. A warped blade will allow light to show in areas under the blade. There is no purpose to sharpening a blade until after the blade is proven to be straight.
A belt sander with a fine grit sandpaper like 200 plus can be used to straighten a blade, or a planing machine will cut the blade down to a straight edge.
The squeegee can be sharpened daily with an inexpensive, home made device. All you need to do is stand a squeegee up vertically on a flat, smooth board. Then, place wooden strips at least 1/2" (13 mm) thick on either side of the squeegee. If the wood is butted up against the blade, and screwed into the flat board, a track is created that will keep the blade 90 degrees from the board. Now, loosen the screws and slide at least 200 grit fine sandpaper under the wooden strips. Retighten the screws, and the blade can be sharpened like a barber's razor blade.
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When I was screenprinting, my squeegee sharpener consisted of a 1x6 pine board, about 30" long, that had a matching size piece of rough sandpaper glued to it. I think it was probably 80 to 100 grit.
When I needed to sharpen a squeegee, I'd just clamp the sandpaper board onto my bench, stand the squeegee on the sandpaper, and push/pull it longways until it was sharp. Never took more than 5 minutes.
-------------------- EmpY Mayo Pardo #138 South Elgin, IL. Posts: 436 | From: South Elgin, IL | Registered: Nov 1998
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(I'll bet thats one of those universal skills all kids discover around the world)
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