Fletcher 8448 glass cutter ???

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Studio2bn

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Jan 11, 2003
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Pensacola Florida
Does anyone out there have any experience/knowledge of a Fletcher 8448 wall mount glass cutter....Some guy about 4 hrs from me has one, no pics of it, and knows less than I do about it...Just wanted to find out more about it before I make the long drive....Recommended ??? Whatcha think it's worth ??? He said it was about 8 yrs old (???)....Any and all guidance would be appreciated ......
Thanks......
J. Michael
 
J. Michael,

The 84 series of wall mounted cutters was replaced by the F-3000 and F-3100. About a year ago Fletcher-Terry stopped carrying the replacement bits and pieces. That would be key information in your determination to purchase this used F-8448. You should therefore consider....</font>
  • Overall condition.....do any parts need replacing? A few are common with the F-3000 and some distributors might have parts, but.....</font>
  • 48 inch cutting capacity. Will you need to cut oversized material, and would a 60 inch F-3000 be a better choice?</font>
  • The F-3000 has an improved material rest than the F-8400, flat solid stock rather than rounded hollow stock.</font>
  • The F-3000 has a much improved clamp to secure matboard & foam centered boards while cutting.</font>
  • The F-8400 DOES cut glass equally as well as the newer F-3000, so if this your primary use, then that would be a positive.</font>
  • The first key thing to wear on the F-8400 would be the rocker arm. Examine the play (left to right) within the handle. If too sloppy, your cuts will not be straight, and the entire handle unit has to be replaced.</font>
Price for a used F-8400? Depending upon condition, I'd say up to $400 would be my top end. Just speculative, but I've seen used F-3000's go for $600-800.

An eight hour return trip is a fair amount of time to sacrifice for a potential purchase that may or may not be in good enough condition.

Regards,

John
 
Thanks John....
He said he would take $350.00 for it...but, as you stated, would I be able to get parts for it ???...I "Had" planned to only use it for cutting glass......and now knowing the facts about this unit figure that it most likely is not really worth what he is asking....He said that he had not used it very much.....but I would hate to drive all that way and found out that it is junk.....
Thanks again for the guidance....
J.Michael
 
J Michael,

If you're going to use this for cutting glass then this might be a good machine, and as you already know the price is right.

Some spare parts still available for the F-8400 are listed on this page on the Fletcher-Terry web site.

John
 
The 8400 series of cuttters was last sold by Fletcher in 1987 so that puts the cutter at SEVENTEEN years old minimum not 8 years.

The price to a distirbutor in 1987 from my 1987 distributor price book from Fletcher was $644 US$ putting a shop price of about $895 dollars in those days.

Due to the total lack of available parts the machine is worth a maximum of about $250 if it is in good condition and is not missing parts. Be sure to check how badly worn the left hand horizontal bar that the glass sits on is.
 
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