The Framers Forum

Hi all,

Anyone looking to move on a bench end guillotine? Needs to be able to cut backing board up to MDF (2.5/3mm)

As I'm starting out, I can't afford a Keencut 4000 etc, so a bench end sounds like a good idea at this stage.

Also, if people have one but are not selling, could anyone advise me on which one to get please?

ta

You might be better off with one of these gizmos...

https://www.cadservices.co.uk/papers-fi ... 10030.html

I used one for years. The good thing is that you can mount them vertically on a sheet of 20mm chipboard. They are easier to operate like this.

I bought mine from a local auctions, it's a bit like the old fashioned school type guillotine, only bigger they come along from time to time and being old fashioned the steel for the blade is about 10mm thick made from Sheffield steel. Usually, won't cost you a lot from a local auctions, as most people think that they are only for cutting paper and thin card, but they cut MDF no problem.

My guillotine is 30 inches long, but you can cut a bit and feed the MDF through at just keep going for longer lengths. It's probably worth checking out a few general house clearance type autions to see if one comes up. They already have the necessary screw holes to screw the guillotine to the end of your bench. I hope this helps.

Why don't you consider an alternative backing to MDF for your frames? Something less damaging than MDF that is easier to cut and the money saved could go towards buying a more professional wall mounted cutter at a later stage in your framing career. A you know a Keencut would cut all the modern materials required in custom framing.

If there is one consistent advice on this fantastic FF it is to buy the best equipment you can and bare in mind any future requirements you may have.

The last thing I wish to do is to start a discussion on the rights and wrongs of using MDF. But IMHHO there are better materials out there.

Peter.

The link that prospero is good, it's what I used on my 1st week of training
Yes I can remember that far back

Thanks all; great stuff to chew over, as always.

Maybe I was a bit impetuous in asking whether anyone had one. I need to decide what I am going to use for backing....and how I’m going to cut it. (Just wanted to sniff around and see if there was one going.)

Pete, I don’t want to pick at the MDF scab either. Funnily enough, when I first saw Artbak (I know it’s not the only type) in a finished frame (years ago!), I thought “Cowboys....they’ve backed our picture with corrugated packing board ”

Then, when I did a few days’ ‘work experience’ with a framer who only used MDF, I thought that wasn’t how I’d do it....as I’d learned about Artbak and its ilk.

But I now realise that sometimes something beefier may need to be used, do to pure physics, among other things. Reading on here, I see some are worried about MDF’s hydroscopic propensity, and also health & safety concerns. It’s something I’m researching and mulling over constantly.

Anyone reading this, PLEASE don’t chip in with MDF pros & cons....despite my last 3 paragraphs (hypocrite )!! You will find a fair few threads where wiser people than me have debated its benefits/downsides. I really don’t want to stir that pot.

I’ve got a C & H Deluxe Mount cutter, and – as you will probably know – it cuts card materials, as well as bevels. So I can start with Artbak-type backing on that, and take a judgment on the 'other stuff' later.

Loads of Guillotines to choose from on Facebook marketplace.
Personally, I use Corricor for backing. Mdf is useful when you need a tray base in a tray frame. Very occasionally I'll use it for backing, but if it needs strengthening I'm more likely to attach a subframe.

Another advantage of using Corricore is when placing the "framing package" in the FF frame that has a skimpy rebate take your bone folder and squish the edges of the package down making enough room to insert the framer's points Job done.

All the machines mentioned are good and all have pro's and con's, if I had room, I would also have a Bench end Guillotine as well as my wall cutter

I think the same as Steve and have both. The bench end guillotine is particularly useful when cutting standard sized strut backs to fit non-standard sized frames.

I haven't posted on here for a few years now....

I bought mine donkeys years ago from Ashworth & Thompson. Fits on the edge of a four foot square bench.
Brilliant at cutting boards and has never needed sharpening. Health and Safety would have a coronary. I always took great care to respect it 100% and never took chances. Still have all fingers after forty years of framing. I guess they have safety guards nowadays.