What would you go for!!!!!

[Steph]

Hiya.
All this forum milarkee is a bit new to me so bear with me if my questions are a bit rubbish......but here goes.!
I was a framer for seven years a few years ago and now have landed my dream job setting up an in house framing workshop to then working for them!!...(yeah!.gulp)
My boss wants me to source equipment and such...pretty happy with Morso series f,mountcutter,panelcutter etc (but any ideas welcome)but would anyone recommend a decent pnumatic underpinner,they have changed and been updated since i was last around!!I need something that would be great across the board,willing to spend some decent money on something that will last and be able to cope with a lot of frames,large mouldings...Also could anyone recommend some other suppliers websites that may help,looked at Lion and the norms..... Going to the Spring fair so who should i keep my eyes open for..?
Many Thanks
Steph

[Steve Goodall]

I think the question is not who you should look out for - more a question of which dealers will be looking out for you

Have fun - spend your money wisely - don't forget hidden carriage costs - installation help is good - after sales service is "EVERYTHING"!!!

[ShaggyDog]

Hi Steph, I have an older Alpha 4 underpinner, which is great, but the newer versions have added bits that would make life with a lot of frames easier, such as remembering the settings for different mouldings.

Mine was second hand, and came originally from D&J Simons - I've been told by the previous owner that the after sales service that he got was good.

Good luck

Simon

[Graysalchemy]

Hi steph

I would go for a cassese underpinner. They were designed with the American market in mind and are pretty much idiot proof. They go from the basic cs89 up to the all singing and dancing 3099, which I have, the top end is expensive but fully automatic and programabble which is good in a busy workshp, they are also incredible fast to. I wouldn't like to say what mountcutter as I have a CMC.

Well done with the job and good luck

[astraios]

We have just replaced our manual underpinner with the new one (Pilm Jumbo Series). In my opinion the main feature you should be looking for when deciding what to buy is that moulding stay fixed after the clamping so that you don't need to move it back and forward.

We also considered Casesse (199/299) but I didn't like that the vertical clamp is moving for every stroke. Also didn't find the feature which justified the premium price comparing to competition. Pay attention when you go testing that you try to join complicated mouldings (flat ones will join good on almost every machine).

Double vertical clamp is also a useful feature for bigger and more complicated mouldings (<6cm).

[stevebowen]

Definately try before you buy!

I went to the show a few years back to buy a minigraf 4 (on recommendation) but after trying them out, I ordered the minigraf 44 instead.
It works so well for me as its very quick for making lots of small frames but each make/model has its own benefits.

You wont go far wrong with any Alfa or Cassesse machine

Just try them all out and see which one you feel more comfortable using.

Cheers
Steve

[Nigel Nobody]

I've had a Euro, Minigraph 3, Minigraph 44 and finally Cassese 3099 Ultra.
The Euro was pretty darn awful, had some serious flaws.
The Minigraph three was pretty good.
The Minigraph 44 was a lot better than the 3.
The Cassese is in a league of it's own. Joins much better. Chalk and cheese, as they say.

When I was in the process of evaluating a new underpinner, I tried a couple of Pilms and found them clunky and made unsatisfactory sloppy joints, even with the easiest moulding to join.

Any of the Cassese models with the double action front clamping system would be a great choice. I think that would be from CS199 and higher.