Chopper

[DS]

I'm interested in purchasing a manual chopper for cutting frames. United Manuf. and Southern Moulding are selling the Pistorius for approx. $2900 to $3100. I operate my business out of my home and these prices are quite high for the volume I do. I noticed that Framingsupplies.com has their own chopper for $1495. Does anyone have information on or own one of these choppers? I'm currently using a miter saw and a miter sander and want to upgrade.
Thanks for any info,
Dan

[Bob Roy]

Why don't you look for a used Morso or Pistorius chopper on eBay. They usuallly go for considerably less than $1000.

[DMF]

Check out ebay. There are several used Morso machines in the $600 - $700 range and even with shipping you'd spend much less than buying a new one. I bought mine from one of my moulding distributors a number of years ago and it has always worked great. Good Luck. Danny

[DMF]

Bob Roy beat me to it I geuss. One other important issue is getting your blades sharpened by Tech Mark. I went for several years using a local blade sharpening service but found out later on, on this forum, the importance of having your blades hollow ground rather than flat ground. It has made a huge difference in how long my blades stay sharp and in turn how tight my joins are.
Danny

[Frankidadio]

I too bought a used chopper. I asked my DonMar sales rep if he knew of anyone selling one and he put us in touch with each other... $500.

[Patrick Leeland]

Ask your reps if you have any in your area. They can point you in the right direction. They usually know when people are upgrading or closing.

Good Luck\

PL

[Framer Jim]

Looks like a Pistorius miter chopper. Wonder if they make it for them.

http://www.framingsupplies.com/Pft/GuillotineChopper.htm

[JbNormandog]

I am selling my chopper from Framingsupplies.com.

It is 2 years old and works great.

I am selling it because I want a saw that can handle wood and metal.

If anyone is interested email me.

[T Bird]

I bought one the the coppers sold by M&M -can't remember the make and I'm not at the shop. It is well made but only cuts about half of my moulding. It tends to chew up the back side of the moulding. I know that choppers in general don't seem to do well with mouldings that have a reverse scoop on the back side but this chopper seems at have more limitation

[Bob Doyle]

TBird that issue was addressed in an earlier thread. Someone suggested filling the gap with silicone. Let the goop set up then chop through it! Haven't done this myself, but seems like a great idea. Fills in the gap so that the moulding gets a cleaner cut.

Be sure the blades are sharp, and sharpened properly! We have proponents of both hollow ground and flat sharpening as well as some that support honing others that don't!

But small bites, proper force and keep them blades sharp!

[Bill Henry-]

Bob,

Just to give credit when credit is due, the suggestion for silicone originally came from David Waldmann of Vermont Hardwoods.

I ran a bead of silicone into the slot the last time I changed blades on my Morsø, and it works like a charm. I did it on a Saturday afternoon and let it cure over the weekend. When I got in to work Tuesday, I trimmed off the excess with a razor blade and now I get clean, crisp, smooth trailing edges on all of my chops.

It’s one the the best suggestions on the Grumble I have ever adopted. Thanks, David!

[David N Waldmann]

Just to give credit when credit is due, the suggestion for silicone originally came from David Waldmann of Vermont Hardwoods.
To give credit when credit is due, it wasn't me, but Steve Kerr of Wizard...

On the original thread (http://www.thegrumble.com/showthread.php?t=3540) where it was suggested I touted my preferred method as well, but I think it's not quite so easy and I never had anyone say they tried and/or liked it:
I prefer to adjust the cutting head so that there is a .001-.002" gap between it and the edge of the fence(s). I've never tried the silicone method but can imagine it works a lot better than nothing, especially on softwoods.

[Bill Henry-]

I stand corrected.

Thanks, Steve.

… and thanks, David, too. What the heck; why not?