New Equipment

ArtLady

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Founding Member
Joined
Oct 13, 1999
Posts
1,245
Location
Lawrenceville, Georgia
I just received my Fletcher 3100 63" wall mounted "everything" cutter.

Any tips for it's use.

It is really impressive on the wall.



------------------
Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the cat.
 
Better yet, get the cat out of the frame shop... cat hair is hard to remove from framing.

Sue
smile.gif
 
No tips, but an observation (although my using that word may make some around here shudder...):
I've found that the clamp tends to mark the lower portion of the mat board .... called Fletcher and they suggested a fix .... loosening the top and bottom clamp screws and adjusting the bottom out some .... but it still occurs ...so, I use a small scrap (about 10" x 10") as a pad between the clamp and the board ... I know, it's a Band-Aid approach, but it'll hafta do till I can figure out a better solution.
Other than that, I'm in love with the sucker.
 
If you adhere your scrap to the back of the clamp where it hits, the scuff mark will disappear.
 
Mel, I thought I had a C&H too, but it turned out C&H had me. I found someone who wanted my C&H in spite of my complaining. It cost me $200 for the lesson. It probably won't cost them quite as much. The Fletcher is worth the price. Unlike their underpinner, they got this one right mostly.
 
I must have missed the discussion about your C&H. I have one and don't dislike it at all, but haven't had anything else since the Keen-Cut at the store where I worked. What was wrong with the C&H, or can you point me to the archives?
 
15 years ago I bought a fletcher wall cutter. It was a great glass cutter but not a good board cutter. A few years later it was moved to become a dedicated glass cutter where it still serves well. I replaced it with a C&H which we kept for about 4 months before we were lucky enough to find someone that would buy it. We then bought a Fletcher 3000 which served us well as a board cutter for about 10 years. Recently I have been working in many frame shops around my area and I notice the higher volume shops all have Dahle or Kuttrimmer board cutters. These are big table mounted paper cutters. They are fast, square, and straight. I now have a Dahle and we no longer have mat cuttings around the shop but we have thousands of ready cut mats which sell very well. With a wall cutter it was too time consuming to cut them up but the table cutter makes short work of them. Of course we also have a Fletcher F-6100 computer mat cutter that speeds things up as well. The Fletcher 3000 wall cutter is still well used.

[This message has been edited by Scarfinger (edited June 10, 2000).]
 
I took my 3000 home to keep my Oval Master mat cutter company in the basement. At the rate I am going pretty soon I will have a complete shop in the basement as well as the gallery. Oh My. Don't tell LJ.

Couldn't bear to part with my old 3000 great piece of equipment(paid $250 used) but my framer said it was too small and had no clamp. What the framer wants the framer gets. You never know. If I move the frame shop to a warehouse somewhere the extra equipment may come in handy.

PS-I love used equipment.

------------------
Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the cat.
 
G'day Scarfinger,
You mention 'Dahle table cutter'. Can you please explain what you mean by 'table cutter'?
What method of cutting does this use? Guillotine, rotary blade, circular saw???
Is it hand operated or power?
Down here in the Land of Oz, I have not come across this terminology.
Thanks heaps. Hooroo!
 
G'day. I spent a few years down under back in the 70's. The Dahle and Kutrimmers are big old fashioned paper cutters. They have huge blades and cut up to 40 inches. Mounted on their own legs and with a foot pedal to clamp the board. Great for mat board.
 
Mel, do you mean haven't already had wallcutter problems, or haven't already seen the review?? Thanx for the tip: I'll go into it. How's stuff?
 
If you want to take a closer look at the type of products DAHLE offers go to the following Web site:
http://www.dahleusa.com/Cutters.htm

They are an excellent type and quality of cutters and most distributors carry the line. They are made in Germany. Dahle also makes the best pair of scissors to use in the frame shop. They are the 8" All Round Shears. They are right or left handed and are the best tool to cut wire as well as mat board or paper. Most shop owners we have sold them to come back to order a second pair to take home.
 
MM,

Some of us would say that "haven't already had C&H wall cutter problems" is a given. However, I meant and should have said (actually I had tried to stop that first post), "If you haven't already gone to the archives and found the earlier information."
 
Framing Fool & Le,

the addition of the scrap piece of matboard attached to the clamp of your F-3000 or F-3100 is a very temporary fix, and can cause other problems. As it no longer allows the clamp to grab "evenly" along the vertical length of the clamp.

The bolts on the top and bottom of the clamp can be easily loosened to allow this clamp to be adjusted, so that it runs parallel to the cutting surface. These bolts also control the pressure. A business card inserted under the clamp when it is closed should grab. Of course it is not necessary to push on the spring driven lever, nor should the operator allow the clamp to "Spring" closed. This will definitely create a mark.

If you feel the foam strip under the clamp has become worn, just call the Customer Service Dept at Fletcher, and they'll help you out with a replacement. 1-800-THE-FTCO

Osgood,

You've obviously figured out that "Paper Cutter" or "Paper Trimmer" = American English is the same as Guillotine in Australia and most of Europe. It is the most popular way to size boards in the European framing market. "Wall cutters" tend to be the most popular in North America. Both do a much better job than trying to use your straight line mat cutter, as they are both dedicated to sizing material.

John


------------------
______________________________________
The Frame Workshop of Appleton, Inc.
www.theframeworkshop.com
Appleton, Wisconsin
jerserwi@aol.com
______________________________________
 
John, You tell me my fix is temporary at best and then go on to talk about adjusting the machine. I need to get rid of the scuff mark Fletcher designed into the machine. Does that adjustment have anything to do with getting rid of the scuff mark?
 
John,
I have indeed figured that out. I have had a look at the Dahle website. I can see that this type of cutter would be advantageous for bulk jobs. Currently I have a Fletcher board and glass cutter which I use for MDF, Perspex and glass, and a SpeedMat matcutter, which I use to size my mats as well as cut the opening. (I don't know why there aren't more framers familiar with Speedmat, it is so much easier to use than the C&H type matcutter)
I believe you will be coming down to Australia for the annual trade show this year in Melbourne. If I can afford to go down there I hope I can meet you in person. (Its quite a long way from here)
 
Le,

Yes, the adjustments I refer to WILL indeed control the "scuff" mark at the bottom of the mat. When the angle of the clamp is NOT parallel to the back surface, then the bottom makes contact with the matboard first, leaving the "scuff". This of course is enhanced if the operator allows the clamp to "Spring" shut too abruptly.

As mentioned above, you may require a new strip along that clamp edge as well. Call 1-800-843-3826

John
-----------------------------
John Ranes II, CPF, GCF
Technical Consultant to The Fletcher-Terry Company
jerserwi@aol.com
------------------------------
 
Osgood,

Yes indeed, I will be at the Melbourne Fair in August. I will also be conducting some mat cutting workshops for Anton's in Perth (16-17th) and Brisbane (19-20th) prior to the Fair. After the Fair, I'll be conducting three days of different programs for The Framing School in Sydney (29th-31st). HOPE TO SEE YOU There.

****************************************

RELATED TO THE SUBJECT - In Australia, I'll be demonstrating the F-3100 which has the added ability to cut MDF, popular in many parts of the world, outside of North America. In US and Canadian Shows, we typically demonstrate the F-3000. Although it won't cut MDF, it has a slight advantage in cutting and breaking smaller pieces of glass.

ArtLady may have opted for the F-3100 as it cuts some types of GatorFoam better than the F-3000.

John

------------------
______________________________________
The Frame Workshop of Appleton, Inc.
www.theframeworkshop.com
Appleton, Wisconsin
jerserwi@aol.com
______________________________________

[This message has been edited by John Ranes II, CPF, GCF (edited June 16, 2000).]
 
We love our new 3100. We "opted" for it because it cuts 63". The hardboard option was an unexpected surprise.

John, Have a wonderful time downunder. This is their winter season isn't it. Not a fun flight. Worked in Singapore a few years back and it was a 24 hour trip to get there.



------------------
Timberwoman
AL
I cut the mat, I pet the cat.
 
Well, of course if it were as simple as adjusting the clamp bar, I'm sure we both would have done so and not opted to state the obvious. Much to the utter amazement of anyone interested, adjusting the clamp bar does NOT improve the stiuation ... hence our observations.

I've been using the "scrap mat board" for months and have measured the forces up and down the bar with the latest high tech intrumentation available from the US Bureau of Weights and Measures, as well as taking under advisement the unsolicited opinions of some passing aliens, and the forces exerted are constant and do NOT vary over the height of the board under clamp.


And, yes, the scuffing is cured.

This is a design problem; plain and simple. I've followed every worthless piece of advice offered by the Fletcher Folks, and the only thing that works is the aforementioned Band-Aid.

Like the thing, anyway ....
 
John, I'm envious of your itinerary in Australia. Been there twice, and if possible would go every Jan/Feb. As a hopeless romantic concerning travel, I even enjoyed the flight. Do you do NZ and Tasmania as well? We didn't find much commerce in the latter, which made it all the more enjoyable. (Now you've done it! I have to go haul out the candids and reminisce.)
 
John,
If I am able to go to the trade show in Melbourne, I will look for you and say G'day.
 
I've had my 3100 for a few ywars now, and despite the scuffing problem (a piece of scap matboard under the clamp fixes that), it saves me a lot of time and trouble around my very small shop. We use it for everything it was designed for, and it cuts matboard, glass and plexi very well and FAST! (and yes, it looks very impressive on the wall).

------------------
Seth J. Bogdanove, CPF
 
Back
Top