CosmoRondo
Grumbler in Training
Hi,
I run an art print company and am looking to start framing the prints we sell (rather than sending them out to be framed). I hired a young junior framer to help me get started, and he talked me into purchasing a Chinese knockoff of the U-300 from eBay (and then quit with one day's notice a few weeks later). I can get it to fire v-nails successfully about 30% of the time but, after a few successful attempts, just as my confidence begins to build, the hammer starts to catch on the v-nail firing head and totally misfires. I've attempted adjusting the track, etc. to try and deal with this and have had rather limited success.
In a moment of frustration, I found on Craigslist that someone near me had posted a Fletcher Corner Pro 5600 for sale for $850. He is a liquidator so didn't have any info on the machine, but it seemed in fairly good condition and that seemed like a pretty good price (I think?). However, when we went to try it out together, we found that the pedal doesn't seem to work at all (though the rest of the underpinner, pressure gauge, etc., all seems to generally engage once the pneumatic hose is placed). This machine has sat for quite some time in a garage since the liquidator acquired it. I've given a deposit to the seller and taken the machine to try and get it working, with the agreement that he'd drop the final price by whatever it costs me to get it working again, or return it for a refund if I can't.
When I called Fletcher to see if they could help me troubleshoot or recommend some technician that I could have out to try and diagnose or fix the machine, the support person I spoke said that it had been way too long since they sold that machine and they couldn't suggest any solutions or people that might help, and asserted that they didn't sell replacement parts for it. As best as I can tell from Google, I may just need to swap out the pedal or pedal valve, or maybe the hoses just need to be cleaned out?
I'm hoping you framing experts can give me some advice on what I should do now with my two nonfunctional underpinners. Is the Fletcher machine worth fixing and, if so, should I try and hire a technician (from a pneumatic equipment repair place? somewhere else?) or just trust that its just that the pedal or valve is no good and try and find a replacement part online? Or do I return the Fletcher machine to the seller and focus on getting my knock-off U-300 working better? (And any tips on fixing my problem with the hammer catching?) Or do I just give up on both and try to buy something I can count on more reliably and, if so, any recommendations? I'm hoping to be able to frame about 80-100 frames a week, and I'd love to get my operation up and running in the next two weeks or so.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice anyone can provide! If at all helpful, I'd be glad to add any photos of either or both of the machines.
I run an art print company and am looking to start framing the prints we sell (rather than sending them out to be framed). I hired a young junior framer to help me get started, and he talked me into purchasing a Chinese knockoff of the U-300 from eBay (and then quit with one day's notice a few weeks later). I can get it to fire v-nails successfully about 30% of the time but, after a few successful attempts, just as my confidence begins to build, the hammer starts to catch on the v-nail firing head and totally misfires. I've attempted adjusting the track, etc. to try and deal with this and have had rather limited success.
In a moment of frustration, I found on Craigslist that someone near me had posted a Fletcher Corner Pro 5600 for sale for $850. He is a liquidator so didn't have any info on the machine, but it seemed in fairly good condition and that seemed like a pretty good price (I think?). However, when we went to try it out together, we found that the pedal doesn't seem to work at all (though the rest of the underpinner, pressure gauge, etc., all seems to generally engage once the pneumatic hose is placed). This machine has sat for quite some time in a garage since the liquidator acquired it. I've given a deposit to the seller and taken the machine to try and get it working, with the agreement that he'd drop the final price by whatever it costs me to get it working again, or return it for a refund if I can't.
When I called Fletcher to see if they could help me troubleshoot or recommend some technician that I could have out to try and diagnose or fix the machine, the support person I spoke said that it had been way too long since they sold that machine and they couldn't suggest any solutions or people that might help, and asserted that they didn't sell replacement parts for it. As best as I can tell from Google, I may just need to swap out the pedal or pedal valve, or maybe the hoses just need to be cleaned out?
I'm hoping you framing experts can give me some advice on what I should do now with my two nonfunctional underpinners. Is the Fletcher machine worth fixing and, if so, should I try and hire a technician (from a pneumatic equipment repair place? somewhere else?) or just trust that its just that the pedal or valve is no good and try and find a replacement part online? Or do I return the Fletcher machine to the seller and focus on getting my knock-off U-300 working better? (And any tips on fixing my problem with the hammer catching?) Or do I just give up on both and try to buy something I can count on more reliably and, if so, any recommendations? I'm hoping to be able to frame about 80-100 frames a week, and I'd love to get my operation up and running in the next two weeks or so.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice anyone can provide! If at all helpful, I'd be glad to add any photos of either or both of the machines.
