What to look for when buying a second hand Morso

Young Aussie

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Jun 21, 2006
Posts
13
Loc
Tasmania, Australia
Dear All

Just after some advice in terms of what to look for when buying a second hand Morso F Guillotine.

Rust is one thing I have already asked and there is none, there is some "Congealed grease is just a stain on the green hammer finish" what ever that means ? Has a couple of sets of blades, one is fairly well used though ?

Are these machines pretty indestructable ? So buying a secondhand one is not a bad thing ? This will be my first realy guillotine, presently I am just a mitre trimmer that is not the greatest.

Many thanks in advance guys

Young Aussie
 
They are pretty much indestructible. There are many 20-30 year and older machines in daily use.

I just bought a used one this spring. It needed a bit of cleaning up. There was some congealed grease on the rabbet supports which made them sticky. It took less than an hour to disassemble them, clean them with solvent and put them back together.

If you don't get a manual, you can email Morso in Denmark and they will send you one.
 
I think "pretty indestructable" just about sums it up. Even superficial rust is no real issue.
You can get the serial number and check the age with the manufacturer. Most all of the wearing surfaces are repairable/replaceable.
I have a Jyden (pretty much the same thing as a Morso, only Morso is still in business) that we got used in 1973 and was under daily use until a couple of years ago. Needs some adjustment, but still cuts a true 45.
 
I have a Jyden as well. These days it's only used for fillets and other selected items but I'll never get rid of it ... as Wally says, it's pretty much indestructible ... just buy several sets of new blades and get them sharpened regularly.
 
Yes, they are virtually indestructible. The weight alone will soon convince you of that.

We’ve been using ours for over twenty years, and, with the exception of having to have the blades sharpened routinely, there have been absolutely no maintenance problems.

I cannot get a feel of where the congealed grease is, though. It shouldn’t be a problem if it is not near the blades or the fence.

I would suggest that you take it for a test drive i.e. make sure that the foot action (I’m assuming model F is not pneumatic) is smooth and doesn’t bind. Have the current owner show you how to use it if you can.

Make sure both right and left rabbet supports are intact and smoothly adjustable, and that the adjustable stop on the right side (scale measuring side) is also intact. And, make sure that the wrench sleeve is included. You’ll need it to both change the blades and to adjust the height of the foot pedal on occasion.

The only other potential problem is the set of blades that is “used”. Morso recommends that their blades be “hollow ground”. Many of our local knife/saw blade sharpening outfits haven’t a clue how to do it. We have to send ours out of state to get them sharpened. Have them sharpened at the very first sign of their getting dull (you’ll know). Frequent sharpening is probably the most neglected aspect of using a chopper.
 
Mine was purchased by my Dad in 1955 and is still going strong. Keep a couple of sets of sharpened blades handy and every few years you might need a fresh pair of springs for the foot pedal return, otherwise just look after it. Whatever your age it will see you out. Good luck with your framing
 
Ours has been in use since 1977. Parts can wear depending on the operator, but there are hardly any parts. We had a guy who would move the lever with his knee and that wore down the little notch so that the lever had to be replaced a few times, but it's not expensive. When the notch wears down the movement of the blades gets a little sloppy. We also replaced the metal part with the grooves that the notch slides into. Nothing major. Still, it's maybe something to look for.
 
make sure you get one with the factory/builtin measuring scales(like the phadera frame scale, etc). They actually router a place for them to fit INTO the beds....the cheapest ones come without this feature and they are indespensible! the thing they DO furnish is something akin to a slide rule(remember them???) and calls for ALOT of Kentucky windage when youre trying to figure the lengths(from the moulding widths)---it's pretty primative and is the worst thing about the machine--beats nothing but not by much...it gets you in the neighborhood but that's it. Just get one with the scales(they are NOT retrofitable) and these problems are nonexistant!
 
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