Foam in dies

[josch]

I'm new to the Die Cut Monthly club and this is my question. As I've not seen other dies with the white foam, is all of the foam to be left in the die, or are certain parts to be taken out, for example, in the July set, the small areas between the legs, etc. I'm rather confused. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[AmzdByHsGrace]

Hi! Welcome to the board... I would think that if there is foam it should be left in the die. We were having trouble with a few of the dies not cutting so they came out again with the foam included to make the dies cut better. Maybe someone can give you a more indept answer..
Again, welcome to the board!
God bless
Nyoka

[Carol J]

I agree with Nyoka. Leave it in. You can cut a few and see how they turn out, they should be easy to release the die cut from the die. I haven't tried my die from July yet, hopefully this weekend. Welcome to the MB !

[fabyon]

They needed to make the dies sharper, the foam is there to act as a cushion and also to protect your fingers. Especially for intricate dies, the foam helps you with the small bits which can be tricky to remove.

[Vampkitty Designs]

At least two of the dies so far I have removed them and they work smashing. But the October die, now I am confused. I started to remove the white foam, and read here folks believe it is to be left in.

I guess I'll try again with the foam in, but it sure didn't cut when I used the last set with the foam in which is why I removed it.

[pennyd]

I would not take the foam out. The dies are designed to cut this way. Many of the dies are intricate, so if you are having problems cutting I would suggest 2 things: waxpaper between the die and your paper (even with the foam) and a shim if necessary to get a complete cut. You can use folded up cardstock as a shim, but I have a metal one and it works great!

[rastauffer]

I love the foam in the dies; so much easier on the intricate dies. I am having a problem with over use though. I am making my Christmas cards and have used the lattice one over 50 times and the foam has compressed. I have to use a toothpick to release the small pieces. Does anyone have a useful hint for me?

[live4paper]

Oh my, that is tricky one. I would love some feedback too as I will be in the same boat shortly.

[pennyd]

Please, leave the foam in the dies - they are engineered to cut this way. It also makes it so much easier to get the paper out of the die after the cut.

[JudyH]

Originally Posted by rastauffer

I love the foam in the dies; so much easier on the intricate dies. I am having a problem with over use though. I am making my Christmas cards and have used the lattice one over 50 times and the foam has compressed. I have to use a toothpick to release the small pieces. Does anyone have a useful hint for me?

Blu-tack or any similar removable adhesive putty works wonders for removing tiny pieces of paper from your dies. I use it all the time.