Mountcutter Advice

[Nicholas Roberts]

I'm in process of setting up a new framing workshop and, among other things, I need to get a mountboard cutter.

I have been using an old Keencut, but because the mounts we had to cut were often oversize and from extra thick extra dense card I ended up dismantling it and just using the square and beveled blade running on just the ruler, which I think I now prefer.

Does anyone know of some kind of cutting system with just a long ruler that the blade runs on? Otherwise I'll probably just buy a new Keencut and take it apart again, but it seems a shame to spend £450 on something I'm going to take apart anyway - I'd rather spend £450 on a very good quality ruler mounted blade.

Any advice? Is there a particular product anyone could recommend, or do you think this is a silly idea?

Also, has anyone ever heard of something like a steel meter ruler but that is up to 2 or 3 meters long? I've been looking for one for a while.

Thanks,

Nick

[prospero]

Hi Nick.

You should be able to calibrate any mountcutter to take account of the board thickness.

[Nigel Nobody]

Most matcutter brands have models that will cut oversize mats/mounts and be able to cut at least 8ply mats.
I really don't understand why it would be necessary to take one of these machines apart???

Logically if there are already thousands of framers around the world using Keencut, Fletcher, C& H, etc, matcutters to do what you need to do, I'm not sure that it is entirely necessary to re-invent the method or the equipment.

"Silly" - not really, but because you are new to the business, perhaps you should visit a supplier of matcutting equipment and get some guidance.

[Gesso&Bole]

I cant see that a hand cutter running along a ruler will be anything like as good as a decent Keencut or Fletcher . . . .

But what you describe is available - Logan make mountcutter blocks that run along a special ruler (available from Lion www.lionpic.co.uk )

Long straight edges - Keencut www.keencut.com Look under Products and straight edges

[TabbyAnn]

HI,

If this way of cutting is the way you want to go I would recommend using the Logan Adapt-A-Rule which you can get in 24", 40" and 60"
A Logan 2000,3000 or 4000 cutter slips onto the specially shaped lip.

Hope that helps.

[Nicholas Roberts]

Thanks for all your advice. I was using a Keencut Artist Plus, but the problem I had was that the large boards wouldn't fit on the base board. Also, with 3mm board the end of the blade wouldn't fall into the groove in the base board, and it would grate against the aluminium. Products like the Keencut Javelin and the Praktik look more like what I'm looking for, but I'm not sure if they cut bevels.

I'll have to go to the supplier and have a look at a few different models, but thanks for the pointers.

[stcstc]

you need to use a sacrifical pice of board under your mount when cutting bevels

there are mountcutters that will take the bigger boards too

the javelin etc your talking about dont cut bevels

[jon buck]

Get yourself up to Keencut on one of there free training days , not sure if you have to buy one of there units , but it will be well worth it.

Jon

[huntvambo]

Get yourself up to Keencut on one of there free training days , not sure if you have to buy one of there units , but it will be well worth it.

I spoke to Keencut some months ago and unfortunately they've stopped running their training days

but you could always try D&J Simons, 122 - 150 Hackney Road, they can't be far from you

Paul

[sim.on]

I use the simple but sturdy Frameco 860B, I don't bother with stops or anything but just cut by sight using pencil lines and the ruler which is how I like to do it. However simple you want I would still use something with a ruler that pivots down or whatever onto a baseboard to stop slipping. In fact if I wanted to go for a larger cutter I think I would probably go for the Frameco 1260B (one just sold on ebay recently for 70 pounds) rather than a professional model, it's just personal preference. Where it fails miserably is cutting tough thick mountboard but I overcame this by buying a Logan 5000 thick board hand held cutter and adapting it to run on the Frameco ruler (simply by replacing the blade clamp bolt because it sticks out too far and hits the ruler when pushing down). Another thing to consider is having a straight edge with sliding stops, when lowering the blade of the Logan head into thick tough board it creeps forward. It has an anti crawl pin that is hopeless so I use the sliding stop on the ruler against the head prior to cutting.

[sim.on]

PS You don't need a special ruler to use most handheld cutters like the Logan which are designed primarily to run in a groove or on a lip of the ruler. If you had say a 3 metre straight edge one could be used butted against it (keeping a very slight twist pressure to keep it on line).