Ron Percell

[Doug Christie]

What's Ron Percell doing? I know he's making a sign, but at the beginning he is using a hand held device with a electric cord. It sparks as he go's around his tracing. Anyone know what it is? thanks


Doug

http://letterheadsignsupply.com/how-to- ... onstration

[erik winkler]

Doug,

It is a machine which burns holes in the paper by pulsing electricity.
As you might notice, the paper is attached on a metal sheet to conduct the electricity.

Erik

[Doug Christie]

Thanks Eric. Does it pulse on it's own, or does the operator need to do it? Looks like it could be a handy tool to have. Here's one on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqG4WtsI ... re=related

[Mike Jackson]

Doug,
Ron used a regular pounce wheel at the very beginning, but then switched to an "Electro-Pounce" to perforate a pattern. There is a piece of sheet metal behind the paper connected to the ground wire of the Electro-Pounce. When the stylus point is run across the paper, it burns small holes in surface. It is possible to run the stylus down the side of a yard stick, but not a metal ruler. He didn't use any sort of ruler it he parts I watched.

Electro-Pounces come in two sizes: Junior and Senior. The Senior has a bit more control, but I only ever had a Junior and it did all I ever wanted.

Mike Jackson

[Dan Seese]

Doug,

This method of transferring a design has been around for a long time. Artists have used it for centuries. You draw the design on paper. Then you perforate the paper along the lines of the design. When you tape the paper to the surface you want to paint, you "pounce" it or rub it with pulverized chalk or charcoal, depending on the color of the surface you're painting. The pounce goes through the small holes in the paper & transfers the design to the surface.

I think the electro-pounce was invented in 1961. I didn't actually buy one until maybe 10 years ago and all I used for years was a pounce wheel with little teeth on it (couple of different sizes). The electro pounce saves time & energy on large areas. When I was in Italy I bought a book about how frescoes were painted and pounce patterns were a common tool. Probably back in Michaelangelo's day the holes were made with an awl - I don't really know. I sometimes use my plotter which has a pounce attachment and acts kind of like a sewing machine to punch the holes. That way a design created on my computer can be transferred and hand painted.

[Doug Christie]

Thanks again Mike.

[Doug Christie]

Thanks for the info Dan. I new about the manual way to do it (by hand), but ol' sparky threw me off. I saw a used one on ebay yesterday, but now I can't find it!

I found it if anyone is interested.

ELECTRO POUNCE: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Electro-Pounce- ... 4ab9c94b69

[Anthony Bennett]

Dan,
I am interested in the pounce attachment you have on your plotter.
Which plotter do you have please and is this attachment generic to your machine or an aftermarket addition that might fit my Graphtec?
regards
Tony

[Dan Seese]

Hi Tony,
I have a Graphtec FC5100-75. It's a really great plotter - accurate, reliable, fine detail, etc.

Unfortunately, they're pretty proud of these little pouncing tools and it looks like they run anywhere from about $86 US to $100. Not sure what they cost there in the UK. But it's a worthwhile investment if you think you'd use it periodically. Huge time saver. Just set it and walk away. When I'm doing a pattern larger than my plotter width I just make my own registration marks so I can overlap the paper panels and line them up. Graphtec has a setting in the plot dialog for automatic registration marks which I've never tried.

This link to a particular vendor shows what the tool looks like. http://www.uscutter.com/Graphtec-Pounci ... GRPAPOUNCE

You may need to see what fits your particular model. It just slips into the same hole where you attach your knife and it has a flat side to keep it properly aligned against the carriage.

Once you get it, do some tests with the settings. My plotter gives me 8 different settings I can pre-set for things like high-performance vinyl, sandblast material, pen tool, etc. including a Pounce Tool setting. You can adjust the force, speed and distance between the holes. Record your settings with a test sheet of pattern paper. That way you can quickly change it if you need it spaced far apart for large graphics or if you need it finer for smaller detail.

Good Luck.

[Anthony Bennett]

Thanks for that Dan,
Mine is the Graphtec C3000-60 I'll give graphtecGB a call in the morning.