The Framers Forum

I've just made a frame 1150 x 710 using a 76 mm reverse moulding. 3 corners are perfect, last corner has a slight opening on the inside. I've spent a lot of time trying to set up my Morso to achieve perfect results, ( hindered by the fact that the measuring scale is not on pins so I have no fixed point of reference), but this seems at present about as good as it gets. Should I persevere with trying to set up the Morso, or am I expecting too much of the machine/my handling of it?

I don't understand this ..

Nearlygotitright wrote:hindered by the fact that the measuring scale is not on pins so I have no fixed point of reference)

Perfectly calibrated and properly operated, especially on a large frame, you should get perfect mitres with the Morso.

Make a small frame - say 150x150mm (glass size) out of the widest flat moulding you have/can get, even a batten, but if a frame moulding, cut it face down, to take the rebate supports out of the eqation. If not perfect then break it up, adjust the left fence and re-mitre each side of each length and make ever-decreasing frames until it is perfect.


Get a tiny frame in a wide moulding bang on and you can't go far wrong, notwithstanding dulled blades, different blades, incorrect rebate support height, dodgy mouldings, dodgy procedures and un-calibrated underpinner fences - more too probably!

Robot is spot on, I have had a problem in the past with badly sharpened blades which have forced the molding away as the blades go through.I have also seen a problem with corners when there has been a crack in the casing of the morso .

The procedures Robo has outlined we go through with every blade change which is about once every other week for us, it can be hard to see the mitre when done right

As said, the left-hand fence tweak is the usual cure for this prob. Ideally, when you have joined three corners the final faces should be a tiny distance apart. If they want to overlap, the angles are off. Too far apart and you get a gap at the back of the join.

Wood being what it is has a natural 'spring'. Even if the blades are set to an exact 45deg it does necessarily mean they will cut the wood at that angle. Tweaking the fence is just a way to compensate.

The adjustments need to be very fine. Remember, 4 corners so each tweak is x4 on the frame. One way to judge it is to lay a stick of moulding along the fence and note where the far end is. Slacken the fence knob and move the fence so that the end of the stick displaces an inch toward you.
If you have to adjust it much more than this then your blades probably need sharpening.

Thank you for these replies - I've been steadily trimming a length of 95 mm batten, making minute adjustments as I went along, and have a much improved result. To answer Robo's query about "fixed point of reference", my right hand extension does not have locating pins for the rule - it is just bolted on with allen bolts and there is a good deal of play around them so that although I can bolt it down firmly there is no automatic location for it. I have set this up as well as I can with a 45 degree measure but, as I see when adjusting the left hand fence, even a tiny inaccuracy shows clearly on what you cut.

For the last couple of hours I've been giving my Morso a mini service - new springs (40 quid from Simons), clean up, grease etc - Prospero provided some very sound advice, repeated mostly above - for me on a different thread and a different mitre cutter which enabled me to set up that saw (a Brevetti) so that it's cutting very nicely.

Couple of things I'd add:

remember to remove the v pins before slicing more off your experimental frame!

ensure the blade doesn't snatch the wood as it travels back up, back the blades off at least on your final cut to prevent this happening;

make sure the piece of moulding you're using isn't twisted, bent or otherwise deformed; and

if you're me: if your logic says make an adjustment one way, adjust it the other!

It sounds like your measuring arm is potentially a cause for concern. As far as I can tell, that does need to be precisely at 45°to the blade before you start making adjustments on the other side, or you'll just compound the problem.

There should be (there is on mine), a scribed line on the fence that corresponds to the curved angle scale on the bed. Set the right hand fence to 45deg on this scale and then use a straight edge to line the measuring arm up with the fence. Tighten the fence and never move it again. The only reason to ever move the right fence again is to make multi-angle frames and they're a PITA so don't do it.
Calibrate the scale at the same time by cutting a rail with mitred ends - measure how long it is - push the blades down and lock them down - put the rail back in and push it tight to the blades - set the measuring stop so that 0 corresponds to how long the rail was.

Tighten everything down and then do the left fence shuffle.

I think perhaps only the "deluxe" versions had the engraved scale. My right hand arm has nothing engraved on it. I believe that my machine may originally have been imperial and the metric scale that is now fitted to it would not line up with the original dowels, hence their removal.

Correction - Prospero I've just re-read your message and realised that my last post was incorrect. I do have the markings you describe on the front part of the machine - I'll check it out. Typical example of should read twice write once.

Actually..... After standing in front of the Morso practically every day for 27 years I had to go look at it to see if there was a scale on the front.

I had it in my mind that there was one, but it seems that it had slowly disappeared under lots of miscellaneous gunk. I gave it a good buffing up with steel wool and WD-40 and lo and behold, it is there.

I think we should have a competition for the Most Manky Morso.