Cassese Wedges, Schoolboy error?

[lampie512]

Can someone give me some advice regarding Cassese wedges please.
Very much a newbie to the world of framing so apologies in advance if I'm doing something stupid.

I have recently purchased an ex demo Cassese CS79 and am finally producing frames.
The machine came with one cartridge of genuine Cassese wedges. This cartridge is yellow, which I was suprised to find isn't one of the colour options listed but I'm thinking that it just signifies a factory supplied cartidge or something similar.

I ordered a pack of Cassese 7mm wedges,(pink cartridge) which arrived today.

When I've loaded these into the underpinner and gone to join a frame together I thought it a bit strange that I didn't "feel" the wedge going into the moulding.( The indicator light came on). When I looked at the moulding there was just the imprint of a wedge. No wedge stuck in the machine or anything else looking out of the ordinary.
I refitted the yellow cartridge and that all works fine, so I finished the frame I was working on with those wedges.

Going back to the pink cartridge and trying it again on an offcut of moulding, still no wedges being released.

On close inspection theres no groove on the top ( Cassese logo facing upwards) for the wedges to exit the cartridge.

I checked the manual, and the box they came in, but couldn't see any reference to having to do anything other than just pop in a cartridge and start joining frames.

Should the first wedge in the cartridge break through the edge and form the groove when a new cartridge is started, do I have to make a nick in the plastic myself on a new cartridge, or am I missing something completely obvious to anyone other than myself?

Sorry if its a really stupid question but its one I have to ask.

Nige

[CanvasChris]

Have you tried another stick of wedges? I had 3 out of a box that didn't work once.

[easypopsgcf]

The mark on the back of your frame will be the firing pin missing the wedges, i'd say your wedges aren't getting pushed forward enough in the chute.............If the wedge was getting pressed by the firing pin it would burst through the plastic no problem, as said already probably a faulty chute? I never liked the plastic chutes, i've always used the metal refillable ones

[David McCormack]

The yellow cartridge indicates that it contains 7mm STAINLESS STEEL wedges.

[Jonny2morsos]

I have had the same thing with a few of the 10mm cartridges. Just nicking the plastic with a blade seems to solve the problem.

[Graysalchemy]

I use to have this problem with CS88 and it was due to the coil spring being worn, also the sometimes the the spring can get caught on the sides thus not putting enough pressure on the cartridge. Make sure the cartridge is in and make sure there is plenty of tension on the spring, pill it back and release it a few times to make sure the wedges are right up against the hammer.

[lampie512]

Thankyou for the replies and pointers everyone.
It's always reassuring to discover that other people have had the same problem and it isn't just me

I tried 2 of the 6 cartridges and they were the same, but it was at the end of the day and I haven't checked all of them yet.

With the underpinner being essentially a new one I'm not inclined to think its a wear issue but I'll keep a close eye on that side of things.It has a 12 month warranty.

As suggested, I'll work the spring back and forth a few times and if that doesn't work I'll nick the end of the cartridge to give the little guys a helping hand.

Yellow = Stainless Steel. Thankyou for that info. Is there a specific type of moulding I should save them for?

Heading off to the workshop now and I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks again for the advice, it is very much appreciated.

Nige

[Graysalchemy]

Yellow = Stainless Steel. Thankyou for that info. Is there a specific type of moulding I should save them for?

I have used them on frames that were going out of doors in plastic mouldings, they don't rust

[lampie512]

Thanks Graysalchemy,
Duly noted.

Back up and running almost straight away this morning.
The problem was caused by the plastic cartridge itself not locating quite far enough down the channel.
Once that had been pushed down a little further everything started behaving itself again and working as it should.

Thanks again,

Nige