Equipment for new business start ups and possibly limited budgets.

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Not your average framer
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Equipment for new business start ups and possibly limited budgets.

Post by Not your average framer »

I have noticed that there is a lot of interest from those who are in the process of starting as new picture framing businesses at the moment both in asking questions and wanting equipment on the wants and sales section of the forum. It occurs to me that it might be helpful for some of the rest of us to share our thoughts and recommendations for the benefits of those who are currently in the process of starting a new framing business, or making their own plans to do so. Realising that many who are looking to start their own picture framing business are going to be interested in doing so, with financial restraints and possibly limited space to operate a business. Any suggested equipment and ways of getting started with such limitations, may well be welomed by some who are currently looking at the best way forward for them, so please be aware that the needs of these potential new framers may not necessarily be a one size fits all approach. I will get this thing started with this first bit.

Most framing business cut the frame mouldings with a Morso guillotine, the model of Morso which is most commonly mentioned is the Morso model F, but there also was the Morso model E, which predated the model F. Most people will have no idea what this is and as a result secondhand model E Morso's will not be so highly sought after, so any Morso E's about could potentially be available at a helpfully lower price. But in reality the Morso model E is mostly the same as a model F, but with aa different measurement system whch you read in a slightly different manner. The increments on the long metric measurement ruler are only in 2mm increments, but the short measurement ruler still has 1mm increments, so you can still set the measurement to axact 1mm increments it's just operating slightly differently from the measurement system on the Morso model F, but it is not anymore difficult at all.

Lots of people are looking for secondhand Cassesse underpinners, because that's the name that everybody knows, but of course there are other makes around, but some of them may be now obsolete and not a good item to but if they ever need repairing. Well the same is also true of some of the earlier Cassesse models, but some of the now obsolete machines of other brands have a reputation for hardly ever needing repairs. I'm talking about underpinner brands such as the Euro mouldings models and the Pistorius manual machines. To a large extent there is not a lot that ever goes wrong with these machines and if it ever does it is usually relatively easy find find a ways of getting them going again, such machines are no longer supported by the original suppliers and are therefore easy to buy secondhand at advatageously low prices.

Mountcutters are a little bit of a minefield to buy as second hand, but it is largely a matter of knowing which older models are easiler to repair and obtain spare parts if the need arises. It is well known that Keencut is one of the major brand names in this market, but eventually the comes a time when not all spare parts remain available for older models. In a lot of cases, it becomes no longer economic to keep getting spare parts manufactured, when the demand falls below such a level to remain economical to get the parts produced. This can be particularly true of the sliding nylon bearings on Keencut mountcutters, if these bearings are kept in the correct adjustment over time then the don't wear unevenly, but if the are neglected and develop slop in the bearing then they can develop uneven wear and require new nylon bearings. This is something to watch out for on older Keencut mountcutters.

I am not going to make any specific recommendations about other makes of mountcutters, but leave it to others who have experience of these other makes. I have have a number of different mountcutters over the years and many of these have been various different Keencut models although I have more recently changed over to a Fletcher Terry oval cutter and a Fletcher Terry replacement for my Keencut 4000 sheet material wall moulded cutter, but I am not suggestion that new would be framers rush out and buy Fletcher Terry equipment as most Fletcher Terry items will be more expensive to obtain as secondhand. I am hoping that other will be happy to contribute their own advise as well. Please remember that many looking to access advice from this post are likely to be newbies who are looking to start their own framing businesses, and may be looking to do this on a limited budget.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Mikey the 2nd
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Re: Equipment for new business start ups and possibly limited budgets.

Post by Mikey the 2nd »

Hi Mark
A little of topic but you mentioned the 'Wales' & sales section? I've never seen a Wales section.
Am I missing something?
Mike
Not your average framer
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Re: Equipment for new business start ups and possibly limited budgets.

Post by Not your average framer »

Sorry Mike,

A bit of a typo there, should be Wants and Sales. Thanks for letting me know, I'll put it right!
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Jag62
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Re: Equipment for new business start ups and possibly limited budgets.

Post by Jag62 »

I for one would have found this extremely useful. It has been a bit of a minefield trying to pull together the right equipment, find out how to use it & work out if what you've bought is up to the job or a load of crap. All the necessary info is contained within these walls but it takes time to pull it all together, work out what you need day 1 to get you started and what you need to add once you get going. Would be useful to list all hardware with best options (high£, mid£, cheap£). Also include things like quotation tools, sundries, moulding / mount chevrons, etc. There was a really helpful thread started where everyone listed their favoured backing boards, mount boards, glass, etc. Perhaps it could all be brought together under a 'sticky' thread to keep it at the top of a section.

Neil
Not your average framer
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Re: Equipment for new business start ups and possibly limited budgets.

Post by Not your average framer »

It occurs to me to mention that many of the older types and models of underpinner that are still potentially worth considering by those who are trying to buy a worthwhile and reliable underpinner on a limited budget, will be from the era before the range of underpinner wedges being extended to include 12mm and 15mm high wedges. In those days, if you needed deeper insertion of wedges, the only option was to stack 5mm, 7mm, or 10mm wedges to acheive what you wanted, which was still an easy thing to do and equally applicable in this day and age. Most of the time single 7mm, or single 10mm wedges are the most common needs even now and you cn still stack wedges as the need arises on the odd occasions when you need to! I hope that this is a useful clarification.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Not your average framer
Posts: 11013
Joined: Sat 25 Mar, 2006 8:40 pm
Location: Devon, U.K.
Organisation: The Dartmoor Gallery
Interests: Lost causes, saving and restoring old things, learning something every day
Location: Glorious Devon

Re: Equipment for new business start ups and possibly limited budgets.

Post by Not your average framer »

Replying to the comment about framing hardware and sundries items, these are stocked by all the usual framing suppliers, but prices and the availability of such items will be dfferent from different suppliers. It is a fact that not all suppliers offer exactly the same items and a lot depends up on your own individual requirements. I personally prefer a particular design and appearance of small and medium D rings from one particular supplier and these cost more, but there are other D ring available from other suppliers, which have a different design and lower prices, I suggest that you have a look at what's on offer from different suppliers and make you choice accordingly.
Mark Lacey

“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
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