M A Series III Clicker Q and A
(Q) What thickness can I cut ?
(A) You can reliably cut at least 10mm thickness. ( in some foamy or soft materials you may cut 15mm thickness)
(Q) How often should I service the Machine?
(A) For most of the time a few drops of oil once a week is all the 'service' the M A Series III requires.
(Q) Why does my machine head appear to be not parallel with the base.
(A) The machine is designed to have 'toe down' as all swing head presses do .
This 'toe down' allows for the cutting of difficult to cut product which require some pressure to cut, as no matter how strong the machine is built there is always some flex.
P. S. Multi post cutting presses are parallel (or should be).
If we were to make the head parallel we would have a lot more complaints, from all the thousands of clients who use this machine for heavy and medium cutting, as the machine would not cut at the toe.
And the exact amount of 'toe down' which we have built into the M A Series III has proven to be the best balance for most cutting applications.
If for some reason you want the head to be parallel with the base (perhaps you are cutting 'very lightweight easy to cut product').
You might consider the following:-
Simply pack the base of the machine (under the cutting board) with some thin strips of thin (200gsm) cardboard progressing to perhaps 2 layers at the very back third of the base, to one layer in the middle third and none at the front.
Always remember to keep your cutting board flat and parallel.
(Q) Steel for knife Pattern \
A recomended 19mm standard die steel -- but other heights can be used some requiring a change of cutting board thickness
Maximum length of steel in pattern:-
I.E. a small coaster knife contains around 300mm of knife steel.
1200mm (outside pattern steel length) should cut medium hardness materials
Greater than 1500mm is definatel not advised ( as this will put unrealistic pressure on the machine) and in extreme cases may break something which will void any warantee.
Fringe type knives (with multiple blades) are never a good idea but may sometimes work on a large hydraulic press.
(Q) What height should I mount the machine?
First of all the machine is designed to operate on a very low bench and the handle is designed to be pushed down using shoulder weight with a relatively straight arm, ( not pulled down using arm strength).
If you mount the machine low, and simply adjust the adjustment down slightly it will cut fine, although it may slightly mark the front of the cutting board more that the back.
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Q Can the machine do pressure embossing ?
(A) To some extent yes.
Limits :-
As long as the pressure embossing size does not exceed 70mm x70mm and the information or graphic is not excessive.
In other words if you wish to pressure emboss a graphic of say a rose -- outlines of rose leaves ans stem would be fine -- if the graphic was all filled in (full rose petals -- full leaves and stem ) this could overload the machine.
Plates can me made in magnesium or brass by:-
1/ 35 Elmsfield Rd, Midvale WA 6056
Q: What size crew punches are available:-
A: 2 types are available
Q: Andy from Indonesia wrote :- Can you advice what good way to cut long parellel strips of leather using the machine?
A: Hi Andy,
Cutting long parallel strips.
'Good way' would be perhaps a bit of a stretch.
But it is certainly possible to cut long parallel strips. ( like belts)
Just have a knife made ( as long as you like to the appropriate width) then turn the cutting pad 90degrees, keep the head over the board it all times and simply step the job through ( making multiple cuts).
Smart Clicking
With the M A Series III clicker press
