Fletcher 5500 underpinner

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Jody

Jody

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Joined
Apr 5, 2005
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Northern Baltimore County - horse country
I have been looking to buy and considering my options with different manual underpinners. United has an incredible sale going on and I am about to take advantage of it.... but, before I commit, I thought I would check one last time and seek your thoughts / comments / suggestions etc on the Fletcher 5500.
Thank you in advance.
Jody
 
I was looking at a manual underpinner, and because of trade show discounts (that my distributor gave me even though I didn't go to the show btw) a pnuematic was only a couple $200 more than the manual.

Ask United, and your distributor. Getting it on my dists truck also saved shipping!
 
Is the Fletcher 5500 the New version?? Or an old one??

Just ask a couple of questions of Fletcher - is it still under warranty, has it been discontinued (thought they were partnering with another company for these), do they still service them, etc.

I have the Fletcher 5100 that was discontinued shortly after I purchased it.

Ask a few questions - the vnailer I have was not one of their best products, but I have everything else, and the quality, etc. is great!

my 2 cents

Elaine
 
Hi Jody. We've had their 5700 for about 6 months and love it. We replaced an ITW/AMP. Fletcher tech support isn't....they just don't know about their machine since they don't build it. They have to contact PILM for answers and get back to you which is a bit frustrating. I'm talking about small piddly stuff. No major issues so far. Especially like the clamping features. I'd buy another one if I was looking. Good luck.
 
The model 5500 is one of three underpinners Fletcher is marketing. It is not a new product; it is made in Italy by Pilm.

The 5500 is their entry-level machine, very compact, quiet, economical. Fletcher's 5600 is similar to the ITW/AMP/Alphammachine model VN2+1. Fletcher's 5700 is something like ITW's VN42, but with lots of added features. I've had one for about 15 months now, and wouldn't trade it for any other underpinner. I especially appreciate the double vertical clamp, which cures a lot of ills when V-nailing mouldings that are wide or have difficult profiles.
 
I totally agree with Jim on the benefits of the double clamp. I'm not sure if others offer it, but it's the way to go. You can use one or both with different shaped clamping pads and locate them exactly where needed. This machine is also alot quieter than our ITW was.
 
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