Chandler & Price Cutter

I’m looking at pickup up this Chandler and Price Cutter this weekend from a gentleman on Craigslist. He says it’s in good, working order - May only need a sharpening.

The only information he has on it is that it is a C & P. I was curious if anybody can give me a little more information on this based on the poor pic below. Thanks!

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There’s not much to say really except that it should be repainted immediately: Blech!

Without more and better photos it’s hard to say anything but it is a C&P and made sometime after 1912 or so. That’s based on the presence of adjusting bolts to take up wear on the knife carrier. It looks like a 26” based on the size of the jointer next to it but the photo is distorted.

If the paper gauge is there on the back and the counterweight is present on the end of the lower shaft, it ought to be OK. But look for cracks in the top casting especially. They can be repaired as the ones in mine were but their presence should drop the price to “free for hauling it out.”

A 26” cutter weighs about 800 pounds. They can be disassembled if necessary as mine was to move it. Unless you’re a little nuts like me have some help getting the table off and on; it’s heavy.

Rich

Front Room Press
Milford, NJ
http://frontroompress.blogspot.com
http://thebittenline.blogspot.com

Thanks for the info Rich!

Quick Update: I went ahead and purchased the cutter. It seems to be in great condition - and the blue is not as vibrant in person as it is in the original picture. (I kind of like it) Best part - picked it up for $100!

After cleaning the cutter and inspecting it carefully, it looks like this blue may have been its original color. Either that, or whoever painted it stripped it completely down bare to paint.

Here she sits in my garage, cleaned up and ready to use.

image: C&P Cutter

C&P Cutter

These are great cutters, always make sure your clamp doesn’t come up further than the blade, with the blade exposed you could be cut very badly, good luck Dick G.

Rich,
I am moving a 26” cutter this weekend. How did you take it apart? When taken apart was it manageable for 2 only kinda strong people?

Nancy

Very good deal. With a serial number, you can determine the year it was made here:

http://www.press817.com/C&P%20serials.pdf

Nancy, my recommendation would be to not take apart your cutter unless you absolutely have to (in order to fit through a tight space, etc.). Even apart, some of the pieces (like the bed) are still rather large and heavy! Instead, if you can beg, borrow, or rent a pallet jack, it will easily lift the cutter and you can simply wheel it out (although you may have to wiggle it through doorways), much quicker and easier than disassembly, hauling pieces, and then reassembly. If you’re going to use a truck with a liftgate, or better yet, a hydraulic drop trailer, you can just roll the pallet jack & cutter on and off.

Good luck, and whatever you do, be careful.

Dave

I agree with Dave. You may wish to remove the handle. If you have to hammer against the back side to get it to move, hammer against a piece of wood. Cast iron does not like direct blows.
Please also remember that it is top heavy. Plan all of your steps in advance.

The problem lies more with getting the cutter in a truck. My boyfriend doesn’t want to drive a cutter on a car trailer for 3 hrs back home so I reserved a uhaul. There may be a forklift available but if not we will have to somehow get this massive thing in the truck. Any other suggestions other than lifting it which may be impossible or taking it apart? Should I rent a different truck?

Also does someone know how heavy and the exact dimensions of this cutter?

I’m not generally a big fan of trailers, either, but I’m even less a fan of having to lift big, heavy, (fragile) cast iron stuff up onto a truck! I don’t know availability in your area, but this is what I wrote about a month ago regarding moving a 10x15 NS C&P:

Since you’re going to be renting, see if you can find a small hydraulic drop trailer. If you can find one about the size of the 5x9 U-Haul trailer, get it, even though it will cost a bit more than a regular trailer. [It will cost less than a truck.] These trailers drop until the trailer bed is on the ground at the loading end and only a few inches off the ground at the other end, making a fairly gentle slope to roll the press [paper cutter] up (whether the press is on a pallet jack or on pipe rollers). Once loaded, the trailer hydraulically lifts up higher, and level, for on the road.

Although I’d always used pipe rollers under the press skids before, a few months ago we moved a 10X15 NS C&P that was already on a pallet. Putting the pallet jack under the press and pushing it into my drop trailer took far less time than the tying it down did; very quick and easy. At the destination we rolled it gently out of the trailer into the garage, as smooth and quick a move as I’ve ever done.

Dave

Thanks Dave!

A while ago i moved a ludlow in my pickup truck by myself, i got one of those rigs you pull engines from cars with, extended the thing out all the way, secured the ludlow then jacked it up till my pickup went under it, then lowered it into the bed, throw the rig on the truck, it went rather well. Dick G.

Nancy,

My friend and I just used his F150 and loaded it up in the back. We did take it apart, which wasn’t too hard at all. There are some obviously placed bolts that hold the thing together. It’s also nice to have it apart to clean it up if you need to.

You will need to get three decently sized men and you could save the rental of a truck or any other equipment. I’ve moved old presses before and this is simple compared to those. The pieces are heavy, but not as awkward as a press.

With this said, safety is number one. Do what you feel is best. I just thought I’d offer some encouragement.

Evan

It’s moved! Thanks for all of the advice. We got it through the door without taking it apart very much.

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Hello - I have a C&P cutter like this, with a hydraulic motor. I just moved it this summer to a new space and now that I have power to it I’m having trouble getting it to run again. I checked the hydraulic fluid level and added more, but the blade mechanism won’t engage now. Do any of you have information on a hydraulic motor for these cutters? Or any other advice on where to look? Thanks in advance!

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