Advice?

[w_kelly]

Hi all,
I am new to this forum and from what I can see everyone is very friendly and helpful. Now, I hope you can help me.
I am a photography student who has a little framing experience having worked as an assistant to a framer for a short period. Framing is something that I have been very interested in now for many years, and it is something I would like to start taking seriously.
I have decided to purchase a guillotine and have been watching ebay for the last month, in this time I have been doing research into what other equipment I would need to set up a small operation (keeping in mind that the majority of my work would be catering for photographers). The basics that I can think of is:
-Guillotine
-Underpinner
-Dry mounting press (do the vacuum press and hot plate mounting press do the same job??)
-Mount cutter

What are your thoughts on this? Am I leaving anything right or am I on the right tracks for what I would need for a set up?
Also, is there anyone out there who would be interested in selling me the equipment?
I am living in Dublin but from Derry and have transport so I could collect anywhere in Ireland North or South. For further afield I would be happy to hire a freight company to do the leg work.

All the best,
William

[Keadyart]

Hello Will,
you are correct re- main eqipment-
have a look at sales/wants section and also this thread
http://theframersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6071

Best of luck
Brian

[prospero]

Hi and Welcome Will.

Re. Presses. Hardbed and Vacuum presses do the same job. Hardbed presses are largely obselete now, but they do have some advantages over vacs. They take up less space, although they are very heavy and slightly ungainly. Also you can pick them up very cheaply nowadays. Vacs can do more in one operation. Mines 36x24 max (bit more at a push). There are bigger ones...... The only problem with vacs is the max size is the max size. On a hardbed press you can do bigger things in steps. So for say, a platten size 22x18, you could mount something about 48" wide and as long as you have room for. Long winded, but possible. Hardbed presses have less to go wrong. The pressure is applied via a big screw that you tighten down with the big steering wheel on top. Vacs use a pump which draws the air out between two rubber membranes. Can be prone to accidental punctures and expensive repairs.

All in all, if you are going to be doing a lot of mounting on a daily basis, get a vacuum press. If funds are a bit tight and you are only going to be mounting a few photos now and then, you could pick up a s/h hardbed press for maybe £200 or less. Expect to pay at least £1000 for a good s/h vac press.

You might also look at cold-mounting roller machines. Never had one so I can't really give opinions one that score.

[stcstc]

i have both a cold and vacum press

both work better at certain jobs

and actually nearly every job that goes in the vacum goes through the cold first to appy things correctly


saves kinks etc

[w_kelly]

Thanks for all the replies. Your feedback has been very helpful.
Cheers