Inmes underpinners

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J

Jon

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Joined
Feb 26, 2002
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22
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South Lake Tahoe, CA
I am going to buy my first underpinner and am considering an Inmes model. They have been on the market for a year, are manufactured in Brazil, and are sold through Framing Supplies.com. Does anyone out there have experience with one of these? I hope to buy one Monday. The price is outstanding ($500 for foot powered, $1,095 pneumatic with a free compressor). Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks- Jon
 
We bought an Inmes pneumatic underpinner from Universal Framing 7/99 for $1426.13. This included a stand and freight, no compressor. We were concerned about buying an unknown brand but gave it a 'shot' (no pun intended). It doesn't have some of the bells & whistles that other brands might have, but it gets the job done and it gets it done well. My husband is good at "tweaking" (his word) and was able to work out issues such as compression imprints in corners on certain profiles. We have it connected to a "huge" (my word) compressor that also runs the production airline and the Wizard. I guess we could come up with a new motto for our ARIZONA company, "Sheridan's has a LOT of hot air!"

OK........be nice! ;)

Jon - I don't know if it would be the same model. My only immediate words of advice, make certain you can get replacement parts in the states. If you have any specific questions, email me and I'll give them to Dan.
 
I saw this model at the Atlanta show, and I think it was about $999. It didn't seem as large or heavy as the Pistorious or some other brands, but the price was incredible and it had a lot of people around the machine asking questions.

I was EXTREMELY impressed with the low sound, price, and features of their saw system, and we're very interested in the product. I asked on here and no one seems to have the product. If anyone has tried this product, please let me know how it has been for you.
 
Price sounds great! My only concern initially on reading your post was getting v-nails, parts and support.

After reading Sherry Lee's post it sound like you can get that HERE! God the Grumble is handy! good luck with your new machine!
 
I have seen the ads and have looked over the framinsupplies.com stuff they have on these machines. I think they sound good. I would be very interested to hear from you after you purchase it to tell us how it works out. We all can agree the price sounds really nice. Compared to several others in that price bracket it looks like it might be better than the others, that is me guessing. So let us know and good luck with the new purchase.
D
 
My husband operates our Inmes and I asked him for comments. He said that our model pins in one phase......when you press the pedal, it pins! If he were to upgrade, he would get an underpinner that has two phases which would give him the opportunity to study placement before it pins.

Just an additional fyi for you to ponder!
 
Hey, if you haven't bought the Inmes yet you might want to call framingsupplies or Pam Fasteners and see when the new Inme 5p will arrive. I got my hands on one this week and am just starting to work with it. It is a lot heavier than the other Inmes machines and acts and feels more like the ITW line. I think they will start shipping in October and will be available in November or so. The price tag is still not bad for this machine but call framingsupplies and ask their opinion.
 
We ended up buying the Phaedra saw system (which has been fantastic), and ordered the AMP Mitre Mite VN-42 w/glue attachment to replace our Pistorious VNA-2 vnailer. (It should arrive today in fact). The compressor was getting tired, so we bought a silent model (and they mean it!) from AMS. It's just like the SilentAire model, but has an extra cooling fan.

Inmes was also in Atlanta and it looks like they had some new products.
 
I bought the $500 foot powered machine and to be honest, i'm not too happy with it. It would never pin a perfect joint if it weren't for the already cured glue joint. It also has a heck of a time nailing oak. Feels like the machine is gonna break under the pressure. My next machine, when I can afford it will be pneumatic.
 
Do not be impressed with a low price on any shop machine. Initial price is a small part of the eventual total cost of owning and operating it.

If a cheaper underpinner is inconvenient to use, or if it has limitations such as moulding size or profile or hardness of wood, or if extra time is need to set up, or if you have to re-do miters once in a while, the dollars saved are used up in a short time -- and the deficiencies go on costing you for as long as you have the machine. And once you buy it, you will probably learn to tolerate it; you'll be "tweaking" it, manipulating it, and finding ways to make it work until you can't stand it any longer. Then you'll buy the machine you should have bought in the first place.

My advice is to investigate all of the machines on the market, look for value and buy the machine that best fits your needs for at least the next five years. If initial cost is an issue, delay buying until you can pay the price of the most suitable machine.

Manual v-nailers are OK when time and convenience are not issues, such as for hobbyists, photographers and artists who will use it only occasionally.

For any production situation, a pneumatic machine's extra cost will be recovered in a short time with convenience and savings of time. The more sophisticated the machine, the more speed, accuracy, and convenience you will enjoy. Whether that is worth the extra money is a decision for you to make.

What is your time worth?
 
I ordered a Inmes 5p from PAM equipment at the Atlanta show. I checked out every underpinner at the show and chose the Inmes for the following reasons.

1) It is a robust machine based on the tried and true alphamachine pattern with some very clever innovations: a joystick that can be positioned right or left and a ramp system for changing nail sizes

2) It had the features I was looking for - stationary clamping with movable pin placement, two position hydraulic clamps , quick nail size changover and a configuration that allows the operator to work from the back of the machine.

I found the feature set of this machine to be extremely well thought out, a distillation of the best available approaches rather than just a simple off-shore knockoff. And, even though I agree with Jim Miller's the thrifty man pays the most in the long run approach to tool purchases, the Inmes machine was an extremely good value.

That said I also would not recommend a manual v-nailer to anyone.

Peter Bowe
Saline Picture Frame Co.
 
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