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vintage machine query

sunnybob

sunnybob

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Hello again, just when you thought it was safe to come out of the shed, I'm back. :shock:

Life has been a roller coaster this last six months, but now hope to get back to making boxes very soon.
As a christmas present to me, I have bought a vintage mitre trimmer. Its all there and as soon as I get the blades sharpened plan on using it, but I am hoping some of you experts can work out the make.

Its a kind of faded hammerite green. All cast iron. No makers name anywhere, but every part is cast with a part number prefixed by a T.

I was told it was thought to be Belgian, but have no proof of that.
IMG_3359.JPG

IMG_3360.JPG

Thank you.
 
There are some on ebay but none of the listings state a maker.
There is also a very similar one in most ways but instead has a crude rack and pinion intstead.

Glad that you are OK - we did wonder when you did a foxtrot oscar that something drastic might have happened.

Bob
 
Welcome back. Roller coaster doesn’t sound like a good thing. I hope everything is OK.

Can’t help with the make of your mitre cutter, but it looks a good bit of kit. It’s dangerously close to a hand tool isn’t it?
 
NickM":28bbeyk5 said:
Welcome back. Roller coaster doesn’t sound like a good thing. I hope everything is OK.

Can’t help with the make of your mitre cutter, but it looks a good bit of kit. It’s dangerously close to a hand tool isn’t it?
Click to expand...

:lol: :eusa-clap: :eusa-clap:
But as it has moving parts it is actually a "machine", even if it is manually operated. 8-)
 
Welcome back Bob, good to see you again.

Much like modern inexpensive machinery (think Draper, Sealey, Nutool, etc...), Mitre Trimmers were commonly made by a manufacturer in bulk and then sold off to various suppliers that would apply their own branding to them which would usually be a sticker of some kind. Yours looks very alike to this one in my Parry's of London & Kent Catalogue which is from about the 1970s, "Sundial" was Parry's brand of machinery but it was all bought in from other manufacturers and their own branding applied, for example, their Sundial morticers were just re-badged Sedgwick machines.

sAkZ1nS.png
 
SamQ aka Ah! Q!":1j1sbhri said:
As a christmas present to me,
Click to expand...

Bob...mate...its barely gone March... 8-)
Click to expand...

just depends on whether I'm coming or going, I suppose. But a trip to the UK with business class luggage allowance meant I had to bring something big back with me. 8-)
 
Trevanion, Thats almost exactly it. :eusa-clap:
My machine comes in as an "0" size for bed and cutting, and even weight.

But mine does not have springs or even attachments for springs on the side wings or main arch.
Zooming in on that pic there are no number stampings as on mine. Seems weird that the part numbers should be so boldly cast on every piece without any makers identity, even if it was only a code number.

From my standpoint of complete and utter ignorance, I had thought it would be much older than 70's, but thats immaterial as its going to be used rather than admired as an antique.
 
sunnybob":sj8wu7v5 said:
Trevanion, Thats almost exactly it. :eusa-clap:
My machine comes in as an "0" size for bed and cutting, and even weight.

But mine does not have springs or even attachments for springs on the side wings or main arch.
Zooming in on that pic there are no number stampings as on mine. Seems weird that the part numbers should be so boldly cast on every piece without any makers identity, even if it was only a code number.

From my standpoint of complete and utter ignorance, I had thought it would be much older than 70's, but thats immaterial as its going to be used rather than admired as an antique.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that the image in the book is drawn rather than photographed (not quite sure to be honest) so they may have omitted the casting numbers to make it look nicer in the book, I'm not sure what use the springs would actually be anyway. Perhaps your machine is earlier, or later, I don't think we'll never really know exactly how old it is :eusa-think:

Not having an identity mark on it is fairly common with ancillary items from machine manufacturers, one thing me and a friend have an interest in are these old super heavy-duty roller stands that were sold by various machine companies like Wadkin, Robinson, etc, but they're all the same regardless of who you bought them off and they're not marked at all so they must've been brought in from another manufacturer and sold on, no idea who the original manufacturer is but there was a company who supposedly was making new ones not so long ago for £800 each if I remember correctly.

5320-roller-stand-1.jpg
 
Welcome back Sunny Bob. As it happens I have a very similar mitre cutter that I bought on a complete whim from eBay, being sold by a charity shop. My plan was to make some picture frames using pre-finished framing material. I've never actually used it for that purpose and may sell it on. I'll see if I can find a maker's stamp anywhere and post some snaps up later on if I remember.

By the look of mine, the blade tolerances are close and require accurate sharpening. From tests I did when I first got it, it is not a mitre cutting tool but a trimming tool. You need to be close to the required length and then take thin passes.

Be interested to see how you get on with it.

Adrian
 
Dan's right but you're right as well Bob, it could be older.
Exact details such as the reinforcing ribs and springs might only have been on the larger sizes but catalogues just had a single representative picture.

Here are three more appearances of very similar tools.

Richard Melhuish, 1925:

IMG_20220313_102251_DRO.jpg

Gardiner of Bristol, 1940

IMG_20220313_102330_DRO.jpg

And Gardiner again, 1959

IMG_20220313_102352_DRO.jpg

Welcome back, and happy mitreing!
 
Obviously its one of those "if it aint broke dont fix it" designs. I have now seen literally dozens of varieties with very minor differences.
But strangely they all have springs apart from mine. The adjustable wings are only secured at the front, resting in small notches in the rear framework, so the springs seem to be just a way of taking the slack out and pulling them back to the same position for every cut.
No big deal for me as my usage will be quite low (literally one offs, making frames for my wife's art works).

I found it advertised with the sliding knife section upside down, so presumably it was for sale because it wouldnt work properly in that configuration (I didnt offer that info :eusa-naughty: ).

But now my bad karma has paid me back because a friend in the UK offered to get the blades sharpened for me while I was there, and they came back much worse than when they went (quite appalling actually, even raised a burr on the back edge of one of them, doesnt say much for UK engineering nowadays) So now I have to wait a week while I send them off to my saw sharpening service here.
 
I love mine..... you can chuck your shooting board away now :lol:
If you use one for picture framing as I often do, its worth making yourself a length jig. Mitres are always a challenge but the angle is the easy bit...equal lengths a bit harder!
 
The only shooting I do is with a 12 gauge :lol: Dont even own a plane anymore. 8-)
I learnt the exact length problem the hard way (as I always seem to do).
I sent the blades off to be sharpened today, with luck they will be back by the end of the week. Then I can practice. The length jig sounds like a plan I might follow.
 
Pete Maddex":4en2mydu said:
This is mine with a 12" rule on, unfortunatly its relagated to the shed, but its a very handy tool for mitering mouldings.

DSC_0117 by pete maddex, on Flickr

Pete
Click to expand...

That looks big enough to open a coconut with!
 
Raymedullary":234omcse said:
I love mine..... you can chuck your shooting board away now :lol:
If you use one for picture framing as I often do, its worth making yourself a length jig. Mitres are always a challenge but the angle is the easy bit...equal lengths a bit harder!
Click to expand...
Never! Shooting exact pairs of sides for picture frames is easy peasy with a nicely set up shooter and a very sharp LN51 (or similar) - Rob
 
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