keencut oval6 oval cutter

[Flintstone]

Does anyone have any experience on Keencut's Oval6 oval cutter. I saw it at the show in Philadelphia and it looked really slick. I think that will be my next purchase.

Or if anyone has an oval cutter they would recommend, please post.

Thanks

[ 11-19-2003, 12:11 PM: Message edited by: What? ]

 

[Dermot]

The Keencut is a very good machine….very popular in this part of the world…..well it is made in the UK….the son of the guy who was one of the first people many years ago, in this part of the world to manufacture mount/mat cutting equipment now works for Keencut in some sort of technical role…….good pedigree….

I cannot recall (damaged brain cells) what it was but John Ranes gave me a very compelling reason why the Fletcher oval cutter is the better machine.

Rgs

Dermot

[ 11-19-2003, 12:42 PM: Message edited by: Dermot ]

 

[John Ranes II CPF GCF]

Originally posted by Dermot:
......I cannot recall (damaged brain cells) what it was but John Ranes gave me a very compelling reason why the Fletcher oval cutter is the better machine......

Hey Dermot...with that kind of lead, how could I ever be accused of "advertising"?

Dermot is correct, in that the Keencut Oval 6 is a very good piece of equipment. It's compact and easy to operate.

What makes the Fletcher F-1100 unique is that it utilizes a tracking system. This literally steers the blade, keeping it constantly tangent to the center of the oval. (Remember now, Dermot?) In any event, most other oval machines use a trailing blade design, which can contribute to "leaning ovals".

So before Ron throws this in the FOR SALE forum.....I'll quit with that answer and hope it helps.

What?.....Before you make any purchase, go to one of the major trade shows, so that you can put YOUR hands on every machine and try them out.

Regards,

John

 

[JRB]

How much does one of these things cost? I would be willing to bet around $1000.00 or more. If your going to lay out that kind of money, why not use it as a down payment on a good CMC?

All CMCs cut a pretty darn good oval as well as every other kind of mat.

Sooner or later, if you want to remain competitive, you are going to have to get a CMC anyway, so why not now?

I have an old Baker Carlson oval mat cutter that is just collecting dust. I paid over $1000.00 for it when I purchased it, now it's a conversation piece.

My advise would be to put a call into Wizard or Eclipse or both, check em out.

John

 

[printmaker]

Originally posted by JRB:
All CMCs cut a pretty darn good oval as well as every other kind of mat.

Well... from where I stand, yes and no. I'm not impressed with the ovals and circles cut on CMC's; they're simply not as good as those cut on a good manual oval cutter.

Having said that, I absolutely agree with JRB in that I'd seriously look at investing the $'s into a CMC before I put them into an oval cutter.

We have both a CMC and an oval cutter, and use both. If push came to shove and we had to give one up, 'twould be a no brainer! You'll never regret investing in the former; for most custom framers, the latter tends to be a not-so-stellar purchase.

Best of luck!

p.s. We have a old(er) C + H Oval Master Sr. No regrets whatsoever - it has served us well over the years. On the other hand, we are in the minority, in that we have and continue to cut a lot of circles.