New to mat cutting, found a Keeton

[Miraba]

I just got a Keeton Kutter for the low price of $0 and would like to get it in working order. Serial number 11641, which seems to be early 80s based on what I've seen from other posts here.

From what I can tell from looking at the older posts, the steps to get it back into working order are:
1. Clean it with lighter fluid, apply lubricant as needed.
2. Replace the missing parts, which I've so far identified as one large screw (can't be seen from this image) and the bars on the side. The screw is a must to keep the cutter bar from wobbling; I expect it to be pain to locate if the hardware store doesn't have a match. The guide bars seem optional but much better to have than not; will anything that's metal and goes perpendicular to the cutter bar work?
3. Buy new blades, single blade no notch #12.

Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[wpfay]

Hi Miraba, and welcome to the G.

Lighter fluid works as a cleaning agent as well as a lubricant.
The No. 12 no-notch blades are the original, but the Hendrixson blades are better (Bob Hendrixson was essential to the design of the Keeton).
If you want to try a few, send me a PM.

What you have there is a very bare machine. It is still functional, as that is about the same as the first Keetons I used early in my career. No mat guide (though the recess in the base is for that), and no squaring arm...cutting is done by sight.

I'm not following the "bars on the sides" nor the last part of point #2. Are there other bits and pieces that came with the machine that you are not showing?

Getting missing pieces should be doable, but you will need to do a little work so you know what to ask for. There are resources like McMaster/Carr that have every screw in every diameter, length, and thread pitch imaginable.

One thing to look for with Keetons is flaking of the electroplated chrome on the bar. The edge of the bar that the blade rides on needs to be pretty much flawless.

 

[Miraba]

It looks like there were other metal pieces that were attached that ran perpendicular. The bottom piece looks like it's a guide to as far down as the bevel cutter can go, plus some markings for spacing (it's present in images at https://www.globalgaragesale.net/itemlisting.aspx?item=146981 Vtg Keeton Professional Cardboard Mat & Glass Cutter NR). The other bar is present in the one at at https://www.ebay.com/itm/186371345250 Keeton Kutter # 4993 Matte Precision Cutter 44" Long 16" Wide With Blade | eBay, but it sort of looks like something else (now missing) was mounted to that bar.

I did manage to find the right screw size, I just need one short enough. 1/4" 20 dpi, 1/4" length flat head machine screw. Thanks for the suggestion of where I can get hardware from.

My plan is cut mats for my father's watercolors and prints, then throw them in the frames I've been accumulating for this purpose.

 

[wpfay]

I have never seen one with a bar like that so close to the lower end. The bar in the middle is for a mat guide. Think of it as a sliding T square with the top of the T parallel to the guide bar. It would ride on that bar.
Parts are pretty rare, but they are adaptable to the various designs of the machine.
One easy improvement you can do is to raise the handle.
Once I get to work I’ll take a couple photo of the mat guide and the handle modifications.
Edit, the two bars could be a modification to accommodate a different kind of mat guide.

 

[Miraba]

From what I'm seeing online, it does like both bars could have been used to mount a mat guide, although given that they're different styles it's possible that one was mounted on after drilling a set of holes.

 

[wpfay]

Yes, that style guide was mounted on the lower bar and was supported by the upper one. It was common to several manual mat cutters.
Keeton (Bob Hendrixson) migrated to a T bar mat guide, and eventually to the Heavy Duty Mat Guide.

Here's what the Keeton Heavy Duty Mat Guide looks like in place. I have it hanging to keep it out of the way, and so it doesn't lean up against a wall.

And these are the handle risers that make using the machine so much easier. Can be made from metal or PVC pipe. Mine are stock from Keeton.


The biggest failure in getting good openings is not cutting the mat blanks accurately, since the machine relies on the distance in from the edge of the mat to determine the opening (same if you measure and mark).
The black area to the right of the bar in the first photo is where a Squaring Arm would attach. It was used to accurately size the mat blanks.
When the Keetons first came out there were none of these attachments. The blanks were cut on a paper cutter or with the right hand blade on the Keeton, but it was all measured and marked for that.
We had a rail screwed to the bed of the mat cutter that was parallel to the cutter bar at 3", and used milled aluminum bars to space the mats from that to the desired opening size. We made pencil marks, but cutting entry and exit points were done by eye. It takes a lot of practice. Be sure to use a slip sheet under the mat (another piece of scrap mat) and adjust the blade depth so it just barely cuts through the mat into the slip sheet.

 

[Miraba]

Do you use the same blades for both sides? The beveled cutter had a blade that looks like something you'd find in an x-acto knife.

 

[wpfay]

The bevel side was originally designed to use a N0.12 "No Notch" single edge blade.

No Notch Blades No. 12 per hundred

No Notch Blades No. 12

www.unitedmfrs.com

The perpendicular cut side was designed to hold the original Stanley utility blade. I don't know if they are still made, but their heavy duty blades do fit the head, and that's what I use now.

The blade of choice now is the Hendrixson blade. They are no longer in production, but there is a cache of them available. I would be happy to send you a few to try, but can't guarantee future availability. (It is really complicated).
If all you are cutting is standard thickness matting, the NO. 12's do just fine. I used them for years before the Hendrixson blades were available.

Note C&H blades will work in some Keetons, but because the blade rides on the bevel of the bar, you don't want to use "SE" blades.