Let it go. . Let it gooooo

Last night I printed a piece from the eldritch horror and it came out beautifully. I print using "rafts." Basically a raft will print out a couple layers of pla and the print the piece on top of that. The raft is supposed to peel away from the piece easily.

However, this is not usually how it happens. I end up pulling out the bladed tools and using too much force, slipping and cutting myself.  (No joke, I have many scars on my thumbs and pointer fingers from stabbing it with the blade items.) I have been playing around with the settings for my raft. In the program I use, I have it set to set down a wide base, do a quick layer to fill in some space, and then do one full, normal row of filament It is flexible, but strong, and doing it this way helps the bottom of the print look smooth... when it doesn't stick, that is.

Last night, however,  this piece peeled off almost perfectly. there was one snafu in the corner, but dispatched easily. The post got some attention on instagram, so there are other people out there who feel my pain.

In the picture to the right, all that gray junk in the upper right corner is from my chiseling hack job. I guess it is better to have less. the top is mostly missing layer or two.