Morso questions....

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lawrieh
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Morso questions....

Post by lawrieh »

Hi all
I am just about to celebrate my first year making frames. Quality is so much better than when I started and the enjoyment/satisfaction levels are also rising.

I have added
Foot operate Alpha underpinner (instead of nailing in the side, incredibly easier and such a better finished result)
Ultimat 48" mat cutter (still needs tweaking, seems to stick on the guide)
Morso F (last arrived via fleabay this week- previously I was getting beautiful cuts with lots dust with a Dewalt mitre saw and fine toothed blade)

The Morso came with Pneumatic kit fitted and a broken compressor. The compressor is now fixed and I am just getting to grips with it.
Getting some very ragged cuts along the edge next to the fence, from what I have read on FF forums it is likely to be dull blades, blades not meeting evenly along the vertical front join (now fixed ) the adjustment not allowing the cutting block to pass beyond the notch in the guide fences (about to try and adjust)

If anybody has other suggestions as to possible causes please let me know.

Now the main question is that I am surprised that the measuring scale is graduated in 1/2 cm stops. I would have thought that a precision machine like this would have had 1mm graduations on the length scale, how come? does anybody else have this system or was it the previous owners after market amendment?

Thanks

Lawrie
lawrieh
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by lawrieh »

Just to add, I am cutting deep rebate mouldings for bix frames, I dont know this exacerbates the problems. A few pictures....
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lawrieh
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by lawrieh »

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Roboframer

Re: Morso questions....

Post by Roboframer »

lawrieh wrote:I am cutting deep rebate mouldings for bix frames
That's a very apt typo because another problem could be the moulding itself being like Weetabix, yours has cut roughly at the front as well as the back.

As for the scale, it's how it is; the fixed vertical scale that measures the width of the moulding is in mm and so is the sliding scale that you transfer that measurement to. The fixed horizontal scale that represents the 'glass' size could also be in mm too I suppose but the chances of cutting something to the exact mm required each and every time is pretty remote, you need/have to add a couple of mm play, so, if your glass size was 503mm you'd (I'd) probably set the stop to 505, check what you've cut against the glass and trim as necessary, if the glass size was 505 you'd set the stop to that plus a fair stab at another 2mm, just about half way between the 5mm marks.

Many times I've thought I've erred on the side of caution only to find I've either cut it bang on or even still too short.
mho
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by mho »

You can get new stick on scales with the all the mm showing from Framers Corner, they dont have them on the web site, just give them a call and they will sort you out, if you do change them dont forget to mark where the scales fit before you remove them or your in the ****.
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prospero
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by prospero »

The ragged cut is fairly typical with some woods. Freshly sharpened blades will help a lot, but you still might get rough edges even then.

Never seen a scale like that. But it's not a big snag as you can eyeball it with the sliding scale.

One thing I would suggest is that rather than using the short transverse scale to measure the width of the back of the moulding, use digital vernier callipers. You can get a decent set for less than a tenner.
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lawrieh
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by lawrieh »

Hi,
thanks for all your words of wisdom. The moulding is "bix" as you, or I, say, its actually just some pine wood I was using for practice, I have tried cutting 3 different real mouldings with the same effect. Its just the one that I showed has the effect exaggerated.

I have got into the habit of cutting mouldings with mm accuracy using my DIY length stop and DeWalt, if it wasnt for the dust I would still use it. I was a little surprised at the scale on the Morso as I thought they were mm, I will look at replacements or possibly just a change in working practice.

I have the same cheap digital calipers I think you refer to, a great bit of kit for the money, I will give them a try.

I took a thin sheet of paper and help it tight against the fence and operated the blade and the blade cut/caught the paper so I guess the blades are cutting through narrow gap in the fences. I read the manual about making forward adjustments and it said slowly operate the blade to make sure the blades are not going to damage themselves, its not possible with the current pneumatic setup as its all or nothing. If I convert it back to foot operation I may tinker.

I think the way forward may be knife sharpening, although they feel very sharp to the touch I have read this is not a good indication of their sharpness. I dont suppose there is a another way to gauge this, like cutting a sheet of paper etc?

Prospero, its interesting you cut the glass before the frame, I have made the frame first then made everything to fit (less 2mm or 3mm), what are the advantages are doing frame last? what order do you make everything?

thanks again

Lawrie
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prospero
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by prospero »

It's just my way of working. Start with the art and work out. Mounting comes first and sometimes you have to make adjustments as you go along. So you can't always tell how big the frame needs to be until the mounting is done. To me, doing the frame first is like to putting the roof on before building the walls. Also, when I have the thing glazed and mounted and can actually see it, I sometimes change my mind about the style of frame.
My work methods are also somewhat dictated by the workshop layout. All the mounting is done in an upstairs room. So I mount the piece, cut and clean glass and sandwich it in a sealed unit with the backing on. In this form it's easy to handle and nothing can get inside. So I take it down to the frame-making dept and make the frame to go round it.
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lawrieh
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by lawrieh »

It makes perfect sense but unfortunately because I have to glue slips/spacers between glass and mounts I wouldn't be able to adopt the sandwich method, I will try working so that frames are made last, it might save me some hassles.

Now I just need to get some clean cuts on the Morso, who do you use for blade sharpening?
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prospero
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by prospero »

Mainline. They have a pickup and delivery service which saves a bit of hassle. It's a long walk to the post office. :roll:
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Roboframer

Re: Morso questions....

Post by Roboframer »

You're spoilt for choice, Wessex Centrado and Simons - maybe more. I use Centrado
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by Trinity »

Though there may be other reasons I recognise that ripped edge - in my case it's always beens the density of the wood and the open grain. I've had some where that back face of the moulding even has ridges from the grain showing. Try with a harder wood and see if you get a nice clean cut.
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prospero
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by prospero »

Here's a funny kettle of fish and no mistake...... :shock: I just chopped a bit of moulding and noticed that the fixed scale on my Morso is marked in 5mm increments. :o So ignore my previous comments. Don't go searching for a new scale. :P

Only been looking at it almost daily for the past 30 years. :Slap: :Slap: :Slap:
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by Not your average framer »

That's the normal Morso scale as fitted to the Morso model E. I know this because I went with a friend to check out a Morso E that he wanted to buy. As far as I remember, it appeared to be identical in all other respects to the Morso F, except the Morso E did not have the perspex guard around the blades in front of the cutting block, or any holes ready to take the support for the guard.

The measurement scale is not so much of a problem as you might think! The shorter scale is marked out in 2mm increments, while the longer scale is marked out in 5mm increments. For each 1mm increment, one of the 2mm increments on the shorter scale will still line up with one of the 5mm increments on the longer scale.

It doesn't take long to get used to working with the different method of measurement, in fact it's just as easy as using the Morso F.
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lawrieh
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by lawrieh »

Prospero
thats funny, I wonder how many things are under our noses daya to day that never get noticed. I remember being a passenger in a car with a mate (who was around 40yrs at the time ) on a long journey, he kept cursing when a car came up behind him with headlights on, when I worked out what his curses were about I flipped the dimmer on the rear view mirror... his face was priceless, it was as if I had just invented cheese.

Trinity
I have tried 3 different types of moulding, same on all of them, I will however look for something harder and denser grained.


Not Average Framer
Can you explain a little further, say I wanted to cut a 523mm length from a 20mm wide moulding what numbers would you line up with what numbers on the scales?

Thanks

Lawrie
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prospero
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Re: Morso questions....

Post by prospero »

:lol: The sliding scale is one of those things that is not immediately obvious. The basic premise is that a piece of moulding has two ends. The increments on the sliding bit are twice as big as they should be. So if the back of the moulding is 20mm wide you need to add 40mm to get 523mm along the rebate. So if you line up the 20 on the sliding scale with 523 on the fixed, it will cut a piece 563mm long. Which is what you want. :yes:
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