It started off like any other day this week...busy working away making samples with the new Fiskars punches and part and parcel of road testing new products is trying out new materials but what I did next is unexplainable...unbelieveable and downright stupid...I should know better...if you feel resistance STOP is the Fiskars motto and I should practice what I preach. FELT self adhesive or otherwise is a definite NO NO when it comes to punches...it's never going to work so what on earth possessed me to persist with this insanity ending up with one very jammed...stuck fast disaster...
Normally with a paper jam a few sharp taps on the table does the trick but this is stuck on a whole other level...the more I tugged...the more the felt frayed...no amount of poking prodding or the utterance of bad words was going to persuade this guy to release his grip...
With deadlines snapping at my heels and no time to requisition a replacement...I needed to fire up the brain cells and come up with a "get me out of hot water" desperate measures solution pretty darned quick. Of course...lightbulb moment...the answer was staring me in the face...those HOT WATER magic words unlocked an idea so with nothing to lose I immersed the punch in a bowl of boiling water...
the punch had released and the felt floated free...
See you all tomorrow
Hugs Kath xxx
I was just a plain IDIOT last week. I tried to punch card which was thickish with one of my Fiskars border punches. I felt some resistance and instead of stopping like I know a should have done, for some reason I pressed harder and the lever snapped straight off! xx
ReplyDeleteGood thinking, and at that point, any attempt was better than nothing! Glad for you that it worked, Kath!
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd remembered the motto "If you feel resistance - stop!" yesterday morning while using my die cutting machine...... it's now gone to the great craft room in the sky. Maybe we should all use those words on a sampler to hang on the walls of our craft rooms.
ReplyDeleteJane
Funny how we think brute force will overcome situations a punch can't cope with - I had to replace a favourite because I persisted. Expensive lesson learned. Good on you Kath for your light bulb moment - that's in the "ones to remember" notebook now. Hugs xx
ReplyDeleteWe've all done it Kath but what a great lightbulb moment ..,.i expect there was a high sigh when you punch popped open
ReplyDeleteAnne
A great piece of advice Kath and one I would do well to heed! Sadly, my Vagabond went the same way, without the happy ending.... Hugs, Anne x
ReplyDeleteSo glad you managed to rescue it! I've not managed to break anything yet *touch wood*, but I shall definitely bear this trick in mind if the need ever arises. Which it shouldn't, after reading your cautionary tale, but you know what human beings are like, so chances are there will be a "should have listened to Kath" moment in future, lol. x
ReplyDeleteOh I totally get it..that darned adhesive..somewhere in the back of your mind your hands think that the punch will be so quick it will just slice through it...argh. Genius solution, drippy or not!
ReplyDeleteyep, that's a moment we have all 'felt'! lol couldn't 'resist'!
ReplyDeletehehe xxx
Our brain knows it wont work but that like voice just eggs-on so we try it...we've all done it (I was idiot enough to try a brand new flower punch on grunge board). Glad everything was resolved.
ReplyDeleteToni xx
Morning Kath. Oh I am still laughing. You are a very descriptive writer. Hope you have a better day today. Hugs. Jan. x
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant catch! Will try to remember this one if I ever get anything stuck in my punch/punches! Hope you didn't burn your fingers too badly Karen
ReplyDelete