Buying a Used Guillotine Shear: The Complete Guide

A guillotine shear is one of the hardest-working machines in any fabrication shop. It cuts all day, every day, and a good one will do it accurately for decades. Buy the wrong one, or one that has been run into the ground, and you get burred edges, out-of-square cuts and a machine that costs you in scrap and blade money you never quite see.

The good news is that a well-chosen used guillotine is an excellent buy. These are heavy, robust machines, and a quality older one from a respected maker will outwork a cheap new import for years. This is the guide to picking the right one.

Start with capacity, in the right material

The headline figures on any guillotine are the cutting length and the thickness capacity. But read that thickness carefully, because it is quoted in mild steel.

If you cut stainless or higher-tensile material, the same machine will do noticeably less, often around a third less on stainless. So a guillotine rated at 6mm mild steel is not a 6mm stainless machine. Match the machine to the thickest and widest material you actually cut, in the grade you cut it in, with a bit of headroom.

Cutting lengths on the machines that pass through a dealer like Senior typically run from around 2000mm up to 4300mm, and thickness from light 3mm sheet up to serious 13mm plate, so there is a machine for most shops. The trick is buying the right size, not the biggest.

The blade tells you most of what you need to know

On a guillotine, the blade is everything, and it is the first thing to check on any used machine.

Blades can be reground, but only so many times before they are undersized and need replacing, which is a real cost. A tired or poorly set blade shows up as burr on the cut edge, roll-over, and a cut that is not square through the thickness. Ask when the blade was last ground and how much life is left in it.

Also check the blade gap adjustment. Cutting 2mm and cutting 10mm need different clearances, and if the machine has manual adjustment, someone actually has to do it, which many shops never bother with, and that chews blades. Powered blade gap adjustment saves you from that.

Rake angle: fixed or variable

The rake angle is the slight tilt of the top blade as it cuts. More rake means less tonnage is needed, but more twist in narrow strips. Less rake gives a cleaner cut on narrow work but needs more force.

For most general fabrication, a fixed rake is perfectly fine. But if you cut a wide range, from thin narrow strip up to full-width plate, a variable rake machine, like the Accurl Master variable rake guillotines, lets you optimise the cut for the job in hand. Worth having if your work is varied.

Backgauge, squaring and the bits that go missing

A guillotine is only as accurate as its gauging. Check that:

• The backgauge repeats accurately and moves smoothly through its range
• The squaring arm and front support arms are present and straight (these often go missing on used machines)
• The hold-downs are in good order, because worn or seized ones let the sheet lift and the cut wander
• The controls do what you need, from a simple backgauge readout up to full CNC control

Makes worth knowing

Part of buying well is knowing the names that hold up. A few that regularly come through the trade, and that are worth looking out for:

• Edwards Pearson and Edwards — long-established British names, with models like the DD, VE, Truecut and Popular ranges cropping up regularly and well regarded for durability
• Morgan Rushworth — a popular, well-supported make across a wide range of capacities, such as the HSGS series
• LVD — quality machines including the MSV range, with the newer ones offering modern controls
• Durma — widely used and well thought of, with the DHGM and SBT ranges common on the used market
• RVD, Safan, Loirsafe and Accurl — all names that turn up, from older workhorses through to new variable rake machines

Buying a recognised make matters, because parts, blades and support are far easier to come by than on an obscure machine nobody can service.

New or used?

A good used guillotine from a quality maker gives you serious, accurate capability for a fraction of new money, and these machines genuinely last. A brand new machine, such as the Accurl Master, gives you the latest control, full warranty and a machine nobody else has worn in.

The right answer depends on your budget, how hard the machine will work, and how much the latest features matter to you. A good dealer will talk you through both honestly rather than push whichever carries the bigger margin.

See the current guillotines for sale

Senior Machinery carries a genuine range of guillotines for sale at any given time, used and new, from light sheet up to heavy plate, and from names like Edwards Pearson, Morgan Rushworth, LVD, Durma and more.

Browse the current guillotines in stock here.

We have been buying and selling metalworking machinery for over 20 years, and we would far rather put you on the right machine for your work than the dearest one on the floor. Not sure what capacity or spec suits what you cut? That is exactly the conversation worth having first.

Call Matt Senior on 07971 871254 Email matt@seniormachinery.co.uk

Tell us what you are cutting, how thick, how wide and in what material, and we will point you at the right guillotine, whether it is one of ours or not.

Browse the full range of guillotines for sale here.