My AO extended drawing board, which admittedly has, in recent years since the advent of AutoCAD, been used for nothing more than as a repository for assorted articles waiting for a permanent home, now has a mount-cutter, plus my glass-cutting board, on it.
Beside my desk is a Keencut Rondo. All of my glass and mount-board stock has now been transferred there too, of course.
This is all the 'clean side' of my framing equipment, which can't be accommodated in the workshop because of the dust generated by the wood-lathe and other machinery.
I am now fixed up with a 48" mount-cutter. Not the Gold that I originally wanted, but a Fletcher 2100.
It is something of a tale.
The place in Northampton, where I purchase my framing stock from, asked me to fix a Fletcher 48" for them, which they had (presumably) taken in part-ex, with the intention of selling it on. They tried to sell it to me, but there were a number of parts missing and it had not been regularly serviced. It wasn't abused, but I suspect had been owned by someone who assumed it would go on for ever, with no further expenditure.
Anyway, I restored it back to A1 condition. I spent £90 buying parts for it. I made several parts for it, on the metal lathe. And it was 'tip-top' by the time I returned it to them. They then asked me to service another piece of their equipment, which had not been attended to for some time; and said that if I was still looking for a mount-cutter I could have the Fletcher, by way of reimbursement.
So I am now the proud owner of a Fletcher 2100 48"
I spent a quarter-of-an-hour fine tuning the calibrations stops so that there are no over-cuts or under-cuts and I'm very pleased with it. I did three double mounts on it yesterday (the correct way, rather than the way I had assumed it to be done
) & it is a pleasure to use.I've also picked up a Keencut Rondo for 'peanuts' too; so can now do circles/ellipses & a combination of those &/or squares/rectangles. The Rondo does a 20" x 16" ellipse max.. And a 2" circle min..
It also cuts glass ellipses and circles.
I suspect that it won't get a lot of use, but for what I paid for it ..... it may be worth it.
And this is all because, 4 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to purchase a DSLR camera
