Fletcher 2100 Cutting Head

[rorsermm]

Hello all. I just bought a 48" Fletcher 2100 for a decent price, but while cleaning and adjusting, found trouble with the adjustment screws for "wobble" and "rock" that are located in the cutting head. The screw for adjusting rock appears to be broken off, and the two for wobble have the interior of the hex openings stripped out smooth. Is it possible for a machine shop to extract these screws and replace them? I'm bummed that these adjustments aren't available because the machine is otherwise in acceptable condition. Anything helps. Thanks!

 

[Framerguy1]

I just brought out of storage a 48" Fletcher 2100 that I had forgotten I still owned after "retiring" in 2008 for medical reasons. It is still in good condition and, as I cut away the protective wrap, I put on it when I stored it in 2012, I took note of the action of the cutter head, slide bar, and all of the stops and V-cut blocks that I had with the mat cutter. They were still good as the day I bought it many years ago!! I had always taken excellent care of my shop tools for obvious reasons, and I cannot imagine the adjustments on the cutter head ever needing any kind of adjustment if the tool was properly handled?? Did you get the manual with the cutter? If so, there should be an "illustrated parts breakdown" of the cutting tool for parts replacement. It should give you an idea of the safest way to remove the cutter head from the slide bar. Once you get the cutter head off of the equipment, any machinist should be able to remove the stub and then you can either order the parts from Fletcher Terry or find them in a good hardware store of your choice. Ask the machinist to save the stub for you if you plan to try to find the 3 adjusting items yourself and take them along when you go to find replacement parts. It will make your life much easier.

 

[rorsermm]

I just brought out of storage a 48" Fletcher 2100 that I had forgotten I still owned after "retiring" in 2008 for medical reasons. It is still in good condition and, as I cut away the protective wrap, I put on it when I stored it in 2012, I took note of the action of the cutter head, slide bar, and all of the stops and V-cut blocks that I had with the mat cutter. They were still good as the day I bought it many years ago!! I had always taken excellent care of my shop tools for obvious reasons, and I cannot imagine the adjustments on the cutter head ever needing any kind of adjustment if the tool was properly handled?? Did you get the manual with the cutter? If so, there should be an "illustrated parts breakdown" of the cutting tool for parts replacement. It should give you an idea of the safest way to remove the cutter head from the slide bar. Once you get the cutter head off of the equipment, any machinist should be able to remove the stub and then you can either order the parts from Fletcher Terry or find them in a good hardware store of your choice. Ask the machinist to save the stub for you if you plan to try to find the 3 adjusting items yourself and take them along when you go to find replacement parts. It will make your life much easier.

Thanks for the info. I suppose that the adjustments were engineered into the head for one reason or another, but I follow what you're saying with regard to well kept tools. The parts list that I have shows the screws but no associated part number. I will give Fletcher a shout and see if they can specify the screw. Hopefully it's something available off the shelf somewhere. Your input gives me hope that I didn't make a serious error in purchasing this machine without noticing the defects. Thanks again and if anybody else wants to pipe up with additional pointers or advice, they are certainly welcome!

 

[Nikodeumus]

It's weird that those adjustment screws are so badly damaged as to be broken.
Mine rarely needs adjusting and doesn't require any force when adjustment is required.
The tiniest bit of a turn is all that's needed.
Do you notice any scratching/scarring/damage on the horizontal shaft the cutter rides along, or on the "base" that the wheels of the cutter travel along?
Marks/gouges could indicate improper over-tightening of those adjustment screws by previous users.
Not any help to solve your problem as it is now. But maybe a clue to look for what may have caused the problem?

 

[rorsermm]

It's weird that those adjustment screws are so badly damaged as to be broken.
Mine rarely needs adjusting and doesn't require any force when adjustment is required.
The tiniest bit of a turn is all that's needed.
Do you notice any scratching/scarring/damage on the horizontal shaft the cutter rides along, or on the "base" that the wheels of the cutter travel along?
Marks/gouges could indicate improper over-tightening of those adjustment screws by previous users.
Not any help to solve your problem as it is now. But maybe a clue to look for what may have caused the problem?

Yeah, not something that I would have expected either, and hence didn't look that closely. Possibly somebody unqualified to service got their hands on it. I think the top screw isn't actually broken, but hex head stripped. The bushings look brand new, so maybe they were replacing and got frustrated with the wrong sized hex key or something . . . people are strange! Bearings have some rust and need replacing, so storage was marginal and made things sticky. Anyhow, should be fixable and still keep the price reasonable for me. I just don't want to make it worse. Thank you for responding.

 

[Framerguy1]

Thanks for the info. I suppose that the adjustments were engineered into the head for one reason or another, but I follow what you're saying with regard to well kept tools. The parts list that I have shows the screws but no associated part number. I will give Fletcher a shout and see if they can specify the screw. Hopefully it's something available off the shelf somewhere. Your input gives me hope that I didn't make a serious error in purchasing this machine without noticing the defects. Thanks again and if anybody else wants to pipe up with additional pointers or advice, they are certainly welcome!

Another quick thought, even though those screw holes may be stripped out, there still may be a possibility for either the machinest or someone else to tap the holes to the next size bigger than the OEM holes and you could find similar screws to the originals and still get the adjustment part of your restoration done and done?