Calibrating a Challenge MC-305 hydraulic cutter.

Hi all,

I recently purchased a Challenge MC-305 hydraulic paper cutter, that tacky yellow color they loved so much in the 70's, serial number 6942.

I've never used this sort of cutter before - my old one was a Chandler & Price from 1909 with a huge lever. This new cutter has a weird magnifying glass where you set the measurement for the backstop and there are two lines that (I'm assuming) need to be lined up with the line on the measuring tape in order to make the cut.

Does anyone know if that tape measure can be calibrated? It seems to not be cutting very accurately. It could also be that the blade is not very sharp - does anyone know how to change and calibrate the blade correctly?

And finally, if anyone knows of a knife sharpener (or anything print industry related) in the New York City area, please let me know. I just relocated from the west coast and was spoiled to have everything I needed in the neighborhood. Everything here seems to be mail order, unfortunately.

- Lantz

 

Come on, y'all. 52 views over a week with no response. This thing doesn't cut straight, but I know it can. The manual I found says nothing about calibrating the backstop or using that silly measure tape. Anyone have any idea?

 

where the ruler connects to the post there is a adjustment. The ruler is slotted. So move the backgauge to a exact cut then adjust the ruler to match.

 

Thanks, seagull. I did eventually figure that out and it helped. It's just weird using that magnifying glass. Kind of a bad design, but I guess you can't ask for much from a cutter made in the 70s.

 

Alright, folks, I'm back with an issue on this Challenge 305MC cutter. Shortly after this whole thread took place, I realized the source of my problem: the backstop was not square. I used an L-shaped square to set it how it should be, and once I got the blades sharpened and set correctly (so that it wasn't cutting too deep into the stick and dulling very quickly), it was working fine.

After cutting some promotional postcards for myself (thank goodness they weren't for a client), I realized that my cuts had all been crooked. The backstop had just barely gone out of square again. The thing is that I can literally skew the backstop by hand and cannot, for the life of me, find a bolt that is loose or anything that would cause that. Does anyone have any ideas? The manual says nothing about which bolts do what, or how to do any adjustments. I've tightened every bolt that I can - although I think there is one missing on the right side. Any ideas?

Thanks,
- Lantz

 

I know this is a old post but if you need any help with your Challenge feel free to contact me .. mike@larryandassociates.com

 

Challenge Champion 305 MC cutter won't cut through a 1 ream of letter size paper. it only cut about 450 pages and leave the rest with a loud noise at the end.
also my foot clamp will not come down when i step on the pedal?

any help would be grateful