The Framers Forum

if you were to buy a new underpinner, manual or pneumatic, nothing tooo fancy which would you buy

was looking at the casesse 88 and 89 etc

am i on the right track or should i look at some of the other brands?

The only difference with the 89 is the air operation for an extra £525 (at Lion's prices). All the mechanicals other than thatb are the same (as far as i am aware) so if I were choosing between the two then I would go for an 88 and spend the change on something else.

john.

Cassese make great machines. I haven't personally had experience with 88 or 89.

I guess your choice depends on how much money you are prepared to spend. The pneumatic operation will make life easier for you and I would certainly spend the extra money for it.

Spend the most you can afford to! Vee nailers and mat cutters are the most important tools a framer owns, so don't be too frugal!

The XL series, which obviously would cost more, are even better for joining, mainly because of the double acting clamping system that is unique to Cassese machines!

oh cool, i wasnt sure if the pneumatic was worth the extra

I have a 79 at mo and just find it a little limiting when joining hardwood

so something that clamps was the kinda thing i was looking for

I think you will find a CS88 or 89 a bit lightweight for hardwood also…

I have a new CS199 due into me late next week, if you want to have a look give me shout....087 2575059

oh cool dermot i may just do that

If you are going pneumatic then the 199 gives you the more sophisticated clamping system. Why not check out Dermot's machine then make your choice.

john.

I have a CS88. I don't use it on very hard woods at all. Never could get a good tight join in oak, ash etc. Nowadays i join the harder timbers with a nailer or keyed mitres.
I've always thought the issue is with the CS88 is the clamp that pushes horizontally. I've spent the last 8 years wondering if my hunch that the Minigraf 1/M is better - the clamp on the alfa machines looks like its better at the job - it travels further. I remember the pneumatic ones working very well.

I have a CS88 and find it fine. Sometimes I glue very hard woods with a strap clamp and then underpin them when the glue is dry. I had some ash the other day that was harder than any ash i'd come across before. I glued that and the next day the CS88 handled it fine.

It was Simon's Ash1 and had beautiful figuring - didn't really look like most ash. Anyway I waxed it and it looked superb. I just wish I'd had the time to take a photograph before sending it to the customer.

What glue do you use Mike? I've tried several different glues, waiting til the glue dries before underpinning and still get the joint popping some of the time.

framejunkie wrote: I've always thought the issue is with the CS88 is the clamp that pushes horizontally. I've spent the last 8 years wondering if my hunch that the Minigraf 1/M is better - the clamp on the alfa machines looks like its better at the job - it travels further. I remember the pneumatic ones working very well.

The distance that a clamp travels is not as important as the pressure it applies and the way the clamping force is applied. Having owned and used both brands my money is on Cassese every time!

STSC,
Go play with Dermot's machine and see for yourself how it works!