Few folks saying this was not a restoration. maybe not more like a clean and paint. ...FYI There is no need to take a functioning machine like this to a mirror finish like a classic car. it was not like that when it was new. the cast iron is textured and not smooth from birth. so i clean it, make the parts necessary to re assemble in a sexy way and i USE it.. restoration? i think so .. thank you for watching.
Why is it so much fun to get old machine running again??? I agree with you Jimmy, it's not gonna be a concours car, it's a shop machine you wanna put back to work. Making it super fresh is like putting a tux on to drive a tractor to drag a disc harrow through a dusty field.
Wait?! They make paint that doesn't come in a spray can...I should try that some time. Next time, you could use some rust converter to convert the rust to primer and save yourself some work.
Magnificent! We recently had our cutter go down at the shop -this beautiful old beast would have saved the many days of turned away customers during the torment of wiring diagrams and repairs. Superb work and much respect Jimmy.
Those brass nuts are gorgeous! I love that you take these beautiful old machines and restore them back to being usable while leaving the original character.
Just..... wow! What a transformation. I see what you mean about bringing things back to life. Things that never die, they just wait for you to come wake them up again. Beautiful, Jimmy
A: There is something SO satisfying about mechanical rust removal. And 2: I’m terribly unfulfilled that Jimmy didn’t shave his armhair with the blade after the sharpening. Another great vid. I think you and hand tool rescue are my favorite content producers.
Amazing amount of work to bring this magnificent machine back to life. Bravo Jimmy Diresta. I would like to comment on "restoration" having done all sorts of restorations on furniture, metal sculptures and stained glass for 30 years. I will share my simple perspective. When I began restoring in the 70s the thinking was "make like new" meaning you would totally go other the item clean it and bring to as close to new as possible. As time went on during the 80s the thinking for restation moved to a "less is more" philosophy where you would stabilize decay with archival only materials and replace as little as possible to bring the item to a state where it can serve a purpose. In the case of old machinery that is intended for use, I will say Jimmy has the exact correct approach to bringing this machine back to life. Were it intended for museum display the only thing I would have done differently is to sandblast the metal with a fine material then use the appropriate top coat to match the original period of the item. At the end of the day "restoration" contains a broad skill set and subjective approach.
The rust was slowly eating me, it had been at me for decades, then suddenly friendly wire sent my tormentor away & I got a bright new coat to keep me safe & in no time with new bits replacing those I had lost I was whole again & then I could work & delight in the service I will give to my saviour. Thank you Jimmy!
Grew up using a cutter very similar to this. It is still in use today. Cut LOTS of parent size paper with it in my high school days. I think ours has a stamp that says it was built in 1890. My grandpa would know for sure.
Having been in the paper industry for 40 years, I've seen many of these machines. Usually bigger and electrically powered with huge fly wheels. Restoring this antique as you have is amazing. By the way, the proper name for this machine is a "guillotine cutter".
Collet holder: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m0m3QLdn3Ig.html I've seen 'em square (This Old Tony uses em from time to time), hex, prolly others that have parallel sides so they can be clamped in a vise.
You don't need to justify yourself. It's your content and it's a fine restoration. Love all your videos and it's fantastic to see new life breathed into a great old machine. Keep doing what you are doing 'cos it's very watchable indeed.
Awesome video! I used to work as a print finisher using a air-cushioned electric guillotine (the modern version of this) When you get to cutting teams for real; grab two opposing corners in a loose grip, bend them up, grip tighter, then straighten it out to fan the paper... this separates the sheets and allows them to slide on top of one another. Then use an off cut of 2x4, 8-12” in length to “knock up” the paper against your fence... you can then (as you have a manual clamp) use a weight/free hand to press the center of the stack while you spin the clamp down
I've worked on the modern, high tech, paper choppers before and I've always wanted to own one simply play with. Now I want to rehab a manual one. Love those giant Usubas style blades.
We purchased a paper cutter like this, along with 2 printing presses, in an auction of a printing company in Texas. Until I saw you attach the counter weight, I had no idea what purpose the odd weight I was given (not attached) had in the equation. Thank you for sharing your effort.
Love old machines old tools. I've restored several Record planes made before WWII and would never want to take them back to new. Keep the patina and old abuse marks but make them usable. Great work!
Very nice job! It was sad to see it in just a pile of rusted parts. Now it has a purpose again and it will be a great addition to your printing collection. As always, there is something very satisfying about bringing and old piece of equipment back to life. Thanks for bringing us along. 😎
Working with paper cutting machines on a daily basis, this video was music to my soul. Though, I'd probably end up with mangled limbs at some point because I'm used to all the safety features on current machines. Ha! Still, this was awesome to see you bring a machine back to life! Thanks Jimmy! You Rock!
25 years in printing and still have all 10 digits though I do know several guys who are missing bits and pieces due to these machines. 3 pounds of grey matter is the best safety system on any equipment.
I was surprised at first that he didn't use the spiffy hex collect holder shown in the I MAKE BOLTS video (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m0m3QLdn3Ig.html). That's how the pros do it. I'm no pro, so I will use this shadetree indexing technique for sure. What say you Jimmy, I'm guessing you didn't have the collet holder at that location, right?
So awesome to see this come together after seeing it as a pile of parts in the truck 👍🏻 the method for cutting the brass nuts is annoyingly simple - even though I’ve never done it, it made me go “why didn’t I think of that?” 😂 and the acrylic side plate is a classy way to get the logo on there, even more that you painted it to match the machine so you can’t even tell it’s a different material at all. Not many parts but still so much work to do - you’re the man Jim!
Hours and hours, days and days of hard, dusty, dirty work....but you brought it completely back to life. Marvelous! Only suggestion - just to further showcase your hard efforts...consider gold paint on the manufacturers' numbers that show....voila!!! Outstanding work, congratulations for your accomplishment.
It's great to see the old brought back for another life jimmy ,think Ill have the kids send me back to you for rehab after my day comes for anew life .Happy trails young man
I just found out that pimple popping videos are NOT the only oddly satisfying thing to watch on youtube. Removing the rust is just as satisfying. What a great old piece, definitely deserving of all the love that you are putting in. I wonder what's older, your adjustable wrench or that paper cutter. : )
More than a restoration, this is a resurrection! Easily the dismantled parts could have been sold for scrap, but you got this paper chopper working again. Excellent work! Next project...making your own paper ;)
I've used similar models to this one. You're lucky to have found one in this good of condition. The truly "used" ones usually have cracked/repaired top or side frames.
Nice video Jimmy! Love the brass touches.. Brings back lots of memories of my younger days... this strictly a suggestion... use chip board on top and underneath the paper... on top just to the clapping edge, it will stop (or help stop) pressure marks in the paper from clamping... the bottom under the whole edge past the sacrificial wood area, it will raise up the paper making a cleaner cut (think, backing a board with wood to prevent chip out on a cut) and make the cut off the top of the wood helping to keep the blade somewhat sharper over time. Bonus, it should save you from leveling issues at cutting larger pieces of paper across the length of the blade!
Clean it up, get it in working order and use it!!! Way better then spending all the time and money to make perfect show room quality and then put it in a corner with a sign that reads "Don't Touch" Great video Bro....👍👍
Another beautiful restoration, it's like a meditation to see you work! And I love that you haven't changed your editing habits... Keeping it fast through out and then slow mo :)
Watched the whole video and was going to post that I loved that you didn't go crazy trying to make it perfect, then I read your first pinned comment, after all it's going into a shop not a museum. love your refurb projects, Good job!
Glad to see the old brought back to life ,and that sounds like zh music every thing is always awesome with you thank you it’s always a good day when you make a video
After watching you do that I am going to get to restoring my old beast. Similar style to that but the bed is in far worse shape. Thanks Jimmy for everything you do.
Watching you bring an old rusty unused machine back to life is always impressive to watch. Would have liked to see a little more of the machine at the end tho.
Thanks for sharing Mr Diresta. That was awesome to watch. I'm not a big fan of the shiny black, but it turned out real good. Give us more resto's of these old tools!
Nicely done! There is a organization called “field days of the past” near me in Richmond VA. They have a functioning paper cutter like this one and a ton of other print shop presses and tools. Plus they have working steam saw mills, also giant engines, an antique turn of the century mechanics shop, and on and on. You would love it.
Thank you so much for ending it with the device actually working, was afraid the video was going to end without the payoff, should have know since every video you have has the payoff shot at the end but you left me in suspense. Great Work as always Mr. Diresta
Awesome, Jimmy! :D I worked in a print shop in 2003 doing bindary and one of the jobs I eventually got to do was cutting paper stock down to print size (I think it was usually a nominal 17x22). I did F-up a couple times (I rotated the stock the wrong way once and used too much holding pressure on stack of 3 layer NCR paper (already printed forms, yipes!) the other time.) The paper cutter sounded like it was hydraulically actuated and needed a foot pedal and 2 buttons at arms length apart held to move the knife.
The Diresta style resto is a much different animal from a parametric-system style resto. Not a bad thing, just cool to see how all you neat conservation guys operate.
this vid made me remember when i was a kid and fancied myself a blacksmith, i found an old rusted railroad spike and wanted to restore it, hit it with a hammer and some sand paper and then to coat it i used a permanent marker. good times
