Welcome to the club, Mike. Well, it all depends on where your shop is located in California. If you are outside San Diego, I would say go with the Eclipse. If you are a San Diego framer, it's hands down, Speed Mat.
OK, joking aside, what company has the most experience with CMCs? What company has been dealing with them the longest? What company is going to still be around in ten years?
Based on the above, Eclipse wins in all category's except the last one, and that is a who the heck knows situation.
I had a Wizard for several years, it is a darn good machine, but the old model I had, experienced quite a few breakdowns. Wizard took care of all of these at no cost, but I still had down time.
I opted to go with the Fletcher 6100. The machine is a solid, well built performer. In fact, I think I would call it one of the best CMCs ever built.
I decided on Fletcher because the company has been around for years. It never occurred to me that they would discontinue CMCs all together. They continue to provide support for the machine, but that will stop in a few more years.
The Fletcher 6100 has never broken down, even once. It is truly a great reliable workhorse that cuts an absolutely perfect mat, every time. You can not buy one, so forget it.
Wizard is a great company, that stands behind it's products. Eclipse, from what I understand, makes a darn good cutter, and that is all they make, CMCs. Speed mat is a well established company that has been into CMCs, only a short while. They have, however, been making mat cutters for many years.
My question is, if Speedmat does not do well financially with the CMC, will they pull a Fletcher, and discontinue it? They have other products to fall back on, just like Fletcher.
Eclipse has no other eggs in it's basket, it has to stay with CMCs, or close shop. I am not positive about that, but I think I may be right, based on their advertising.
If it was my dime, and the only choice was Eclipse or Speedmat, I would go with Eclipse.
If my Fletcher 6100 ever dies on me, I will go back to a Wizard. The reason is that I know, for a fact, that they will stand behind their product and bend over backwards to make sure I am happy.
John