Morso sometimes not cutting true vertical????

Larry Peterson

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Resource Provider
Joined
Apr 8, 2003
Posts
11,547
Loc
Wilkes-Barre, PA
I'm having a problem with my Morso F today that I don't understand. I just finished 7 frames using LJ's 1" Windermere line (429293 and 429291) and had some cuts that were not cut true vertically.

In about 1/4 of the cuts, the blade did not cut straight down; there was a small deflection of less that 1/64" inch. When I would put one good cut together with one bad one, the pieces joined OK at the bottom but there was a small gap at the top. When I used a true square on a true metal surface I could see that the cut was made on a tiny angle. I trued it up with my sander but I almost never have to sand and can't figure out why I am now getting this deflection.

These cuts were in a fairly hard wood, but I have cut other hard woods recently without this problem. The blades are new and have less that 3-400 cuts on them. I don't see anything wrong with how the blades are installed and haven't noticed any problems until today.

Any suggestions???
shrug.gif
 
It sounds like your moulding may be rocking. Is it sitting flat on the bed of the chopper? Sometimes bits of finish or other matter stuck to the bottom (unfinished) edge will prevent the moulding from sitting securely flat and allow it to rock. This is especially true on profiles whose ouside edge is not truly perpendicular to the flat bottom. You have to try to keep the bottom pressed firmly flat, as opposed to holding the back against the chopper fence. This can be especially hard to do when cutting harder woods.
Check the bottom for stray bits before chopping, and try taking a number of small bites rather than one or two large ones. this should give you more control.
:cool: Rick
 
I am fairly religious about setting up to cut and to make sure that the moulding is supported properly. I always make sure that the moulding is flat, that the guide is the proper height and the movable guide is set so the moulding is secure. I clean and check the raceway for debris before each piece is inserted. I do make numereous cuts depending on the moulding. For this 1" hardwood with a perpendicular back, I make three cuts. I always try to make my last cut as small as possible. When moving the cutting head on the Morso, there are several click settings. I always try to make my next to last cut on the last clickable setting before hitting bottom/end.

As far I know, I am doing everything by the book but will take another look at this tonight.
 
This occasionally happens to me when I’m cutting oak. It sort of sounds like when you are making the cut, the piece on the left side of the blades (not the measuring side held tight by the stop) is being forced to the left during the cut i.e. the left side isn’t secured enough so it slips.

Try taking even "smaller" nibbles out of the moulding and placing an emphasis on keeping the left side secure.
 
Bill may have the right answer for you. I've had similar experience occasionally with hard woods, especially if the knives are beginning to dull. As Bill said, the moulding moves left during the first cut, but it's such a slight movement that it may not be noticed. And since the stop holds the moulding in place for the second cut, that one should be perfect.

If you have a miter sander, this problem can be diagnosed and corrected easily, with a quick spin of the disk.

300-400 cuts may be all you can expect from chopper knives before they need sharpening. I'd suggest installing your freshly-sharpened spare knives and trying again.
 
Wow! This is why I LOVE the gumble... you guys answered my question, before I even asked it! (I have been having the same problem.)

I will make sure that the frame is perfectly flat from now on.
 
Larry,

That Windermere, like you found out is very hard, but does not have the dense tight grain that would be really nice. What Bill said is where I'd go first. Blades may seem sharp, but if you can't easily shave the hair off the back of your arm, they need to be lapped, honed, or resharpened.

As they micro dull, the stop shearing and start 'chopping'. The best example is cutting a steak with a butter knife . . . forget the cutting, notice that the blade first pushed an indentation into the steak first before it cuts.
The same is happening with the wood, but when the wood rebounds, it is now slightly crushed and appears to be shrunk away from the cut line.
This is also the first thing to look for when compo and compo shells start to fracture.

baer
 
I had put off (for whatever reasons) sending my spare set of blades in for sharpening. They are off to Tech Mark today. When I get them back and install them, I will try some of the Windermere again and report back.
 
All this talk about Ruth's Chriss and steaks is making me hungry
 
Wow!!! I sent my blades to Tech Mark on Monday 6/28 and got them back today, Friday 7/2. Quite fast turnaround. I didn't expect to see them for another week. Thanks, Tech Mark.

I put these blades back into the chopper and tried them out on some Windermere. The test cuts that I made are all perfect and are perfectly vertical using my machinist square so it appears that the old blades are the problem.

The blades I just installed are genuine Morso blades. The blades that appear to be the problem are not. I don't know the brand as they have no identification. I bought them at NY Decor Expo in March. I can't really tell if they are hollow ground or not. I'm going to send them off to Tech Mark and see if the can get a good cut on them, but I'm assuming that these blades will go onto the shelf when they return for emergency use only.

I guess the lesson learned here is not to buy non-Morso blades. I will be buying another set of blades shortly and have a question on this. My supplier's catalogs (LJ, UMS, etc) don't say whether their blades are generic or genuine. The sales rep probably doesn't know. I know I can get genuine blades from Tech Mark, but can I get them from my normal suppliers?????
 
You can buy the real MORSO blades from Pistorius and they are not far from you on Long Island. They bring in Morso choppers and improve them with their modifications. They also modify one model and add pneumatics speeding up the cycle considerably.

Give them a call when they are back from their one week plant shutdown. They are closed all next week and back on Monday the 12th.

Their phone number is 631-582-6000

Alan
 
We have found that if chopper blades are not truly hollow ground (according to Morso specs), that it isn't very long before you start getting the effect you describe. If you do have some non-Morso blades, at least Tech Mark will now sharpen them for you with the right amount of hollow. They won't last as long as the Morso's, but better than a typical sharpening (even some of the so-called "framers sharpening services").
 
Back
Top