Has anyone printed with 16 gauge copper…

Has anyone used 16 gauge copper engravings on Boxcar deep base?
It looks pretty simple. I’ve used copper foil stamping dies for printing, which has worked really well, but I’m trying to cut costs for shorter runs. For reference, 16 gauge is .064, the base is .853. That doesn’t allow much room for 2-sided tape. Comments?

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It’s messy, but you could try a spray adhesive. 3m makes a good one.

Scotch 77 spray, great but IIRC not easily removed.

Has anyone tried rubber cement? Might be too thick a film for the purpose.

The 2-sided tape is .004 which puts the total at .921. I think I’ll try that first, it may work. I’ve used the Scotch 77, it gets pretty messy. If push comes to shove, I can have a plate made that’s not as thick.

If the copper plate contains all the graphics for the job, why don’t you just mount it permanently to 3/4 inch plywood and build it up the rest of the way with paper, chipboard, etc. You can get plywood that is finished pretty well on one side, and at least one big box lumber store (around here at least) sells 2’ X 2’ and 2’ X 4’ pieces of plywood. 3/4 inch plywood is probably not quite 3/4 inch anyway.

If you went the plywood board route, you could probably get, from a die cutting die maker, some 3/4” die board scraps. much better board.

- My experience is, that wood gives out too easily, even hardwood. I end up building up low spots during the run. I really like metal base, because it holds up so much better.
- Regarding die board, I used to keep it in stock, I would cut it to the size I needed to fill out a chase. Great stuff. I haven’t tried it to mount dies.
- I’ve been using Owosso for my 16 gauge and 1/4” copper, all for printing. They can mount 16 gauge on cherrywood, type-high. Very reasonable. They will mount on metal, but it gets expensive.