Advice on Mount Cutters

[Zac]

I was hoping to pick the FF Hive Mind for advice on whether I should invest in a new mount cutter, or persist with what I've got.

I've inherited a C&H 4060A (and even managed to find the manual for it online), which is a lovely, sturdy thing, but is pretty old and a bit battered. The main issues I have with it are that all the measuring guides (apart from, weirdly, the top stop guide) are in inches, and the first inch and a half of the vertical guide, and the last couple of inches of the left hand horizontal guide (if that's what these bits are called) are missing, photo below.



What I'm wondering is whether worth persevering with this machine, maybe try and replace the guides with ones that show inches/centimeters? Or is it really dated and should be replaced? As I'm only just starting out I don't want to lay out a lot of money on a swanky new one just yet, but could afford a few hunderd quid if it's going to save hassle in the short term. Ideally I'd like a CMC but can't justify the expense just yet.

Any advice gratefully received!

[JKX]

I would try replacing the scales first, you can buy self adhesive ones.

[Zac]

Thanks John

[prospero]

I've used a C&H 48" cutter since 1987. It cost a fair chunk of cash but has done great service and still cuts
mounts as good as ever. A very well-built machine. The only niggle is the two-ended guide bar locking system
as the near clamp does tend to slip if you don't make sure its tightened correctly. A minor thing though which I've
leaned to live with. I like the design of the one-piece cutter bar which is slightly curved and holds the board firmly
if you apply a small amount of pressure to the lift bar to flatten it when you do the cut.

You have a great machine there and well worth tweaking and persevering with.

* One thing is to get it on a dead flat surface so there are no dips in the middle. Best set it up in a dedicated place.

[Zac]

Thanks Prospero, that's great advice, and very encouraging to hear

[whitbyframer]

Let me know if you want to replace the mountcutter as I've got a Rapier that I no longer need as I swapped to a CMC a couple of years ago. Happy to deal on it.

[Zac]

Thanks WhitbyFramer, I'm probably going to stick with the C&H for now, but out of interest what model is the Rapier? I've not heard of these and would be interested to see the difference, and what sort of price you'd want for it. I'd also love to know what CMC you got as ideally I'll be upgrading to one of these at some point. If it's not too much bother perhaps you could email me off of this thread on zaccety@gmail.com

Cheers!

Zac