The Framers Forum

Hello all. I am considering upgrading to a computerised mountcutter in the near future and I am just looking for advice as I know very little about them. I have heard good things about Gunnar and ideally would go for one if I can find one on the used market. Was wondering what people think about Valiani and Wizard also. I am based in Northern Ireland and have heard Gunnar offer the best support over here. My budget is probably going to be around £6000. I currently have a 62 inch manual mountcutter so would probably want something that can take jumbo boards but this is not set in stone. I won't be using it to cut thousands of mounts a week, more light to medium use.

Any advice is much appreciated.....

I've had a Gunnar for many years, never regretted it and wouldn't consider anything else. Service and back up are the best and I found the software easy to use, can depend on what you want to with it though. For the money you are talking about you should look for an F1 model preferably the hybrid which cuts bevelled and straight cuts, they come in two sizes for standard and jumbo board. Best thing would be to get in touch with Sarah at Gunnar for machines that may be available. I don't know much about the other machines but they all seem to do a good job when it comes to cutting so the major selling points for me come down to the after sales service, maintenance, ease of use and how you get on with using the software.

We have a Valiani Mount Cutter with a Vacuum bed and it is great will cut Jumbo with cut shapes etc, but it about how much you use if for these things, there are different heads etc, cutting boxes, scoring card and all sorts you can do. TGS sometime have used models and are worth asking.

I upgraded to a CMC from a 62” ultimat gold and thought it silly to downgrade on size; no point in being unable to cut things on a fancy CMC that I could always cut manually!

Wizard CNCs all do jumbo boards but I think all they have in UK is an agent of some sort.

I had a valiani new from Simon’s in 2009. There was zero follow up and not one software upgrade. Luckily any issues I had were sorted either here or a couple of chat groups I was in, there’s a couple of valiani Facebook groups too. Anyway, it was a great machine! If you get one make sure it has the latest software “V studio” or is compatible to it.

Gunnar are the only uk dedicated CMC supplier and if you find a used one and are prepared to pay for installation and support, possibly an upgrade too, you won’t go wrong.

You just missed a free one on here!

Last time I asked, Sarah said a second hand gunnar was going to be at least 10 grand, excluding vat.

To clarify the price of £10K + vat would be for a hybrid head machine fully refurbished and updated by GUNNAR. The price would include delivery to door, installation, full training and 2year warranty.

Sarah/Gunnar

Would still love to get one some day, Sarah!

Or buy secondhand for £5k, rent a Luton van collect and install yourself, go to Birmingham for free training from Sarah and "save" the extra £5k for if/when the thingamajig breaks down and needs to be upgraded.

Many thanks for all your replies. Very useful advice and very much appreciated! Cheers!