Planer without thicknesser

[cgarry]

Reading through the forum I have seen the advice given quite often that separate planer and thicknesser machines are a better choice than a combined machine. However, while there seem to be many planer/thicknesser machines available there seem to be very few dedicated planer machines available. Also these dedicated planers mostly seem to be limited to 6" wide boards, quite limiting compared to their planer/thicknesser counterparts.

So my questions:
* Can anybody point to a list of dedicated planers that exist and are available?
* If you have a 6" planer is there any point in owning a wider thicknesser?

I am just trying to understand the situation and figure out if it is worth buying a DW733 thicknesser and then looking for a separate planer or if I should continue the search for a combined machine.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[RogerP]

I went down this route a few years ago, or at least began to, but couldn't find 10 inch planer apart from some huge old cast iron ones that were far to big for my small workshop. Not only that but the thicknesser I'd bought was brush-motored and extremely noisy.

I ended up with a 10/6 induction-motor PT. Not too big for the workshop and reasonable quiet. There are many different clones of the PT I bought most have PT260 in the name and cost £500-£700. Record, Metabo, SIP, etc. All much the same Chinawese sourced machine with slightly different specifications and prices.

As the name implies they can cope with timber up to 10 inches wide and 6 inches thick.

 

[cgarry]

Thanks Roger, that backs up what I was thinking. The type of PT you ended up with does seem to be the way to go, especially since I am limited on space too.

 

[marcros]

i have a 6" planer, and the axminster 12" brush motored thicknesser. Both have served me well, but I have found the 6" planer to be slightly limiting. I have now got a 10" inca planer thicknesser, but for now am going to keep the standalone thicknesser (with the idea of putting a helix cutter head on it).

I wouldnt say that either option is better than the other, it is very much about the other considerations. Standalone units have their advantage, with limitless space, and I do prefer the idea of them. the space requirements and cost is the downside. Beofre going for the planer thicknesser, i looked at options for a wider planer- there are not a lot about but you may want to look at the used multico ones.

If you have a 6" planer, you can always plane 5 1/2" boards, join 2 together and then put through the thicknesser.

 

[cgarry]

Thanks marcros, it is good to have some feedback from somebody who took the separate planer/thicknesser approach. In the end I think my limited space will push me towards a combined machine.

 

[marcros]

Another option is to buy the planer thicknesser, and if you still want separates further down the line leave it set to the planer function and compliment it with a thicknesser.

 

[cgarry]

I had not thought of the possibility of using a combined machine as just a planer, good point. It would get round the issues that seem to occur when switching modes and allow boards over 6" wide to be planed.

 

[Tetsuaiga]

I actually have a cheap woodstar planer thicknesser.

Works for me quite well, 20cm width is very nice and handles hard maple pretty well. It's very noisy though.

I sometimes get quite a bit of ripple from it but follow up with a hand plane. I'd love to get an induction one with spiral cutter.

 

[cgarry]

I have decided that I need a P/T with an induction motor rather a brushed motor just to keep the noise down a bit for the neighbours. I doubt they are very impressed by the noise my DW745 table saw makes as it is...

 

[Tetsuaiga]

I use mine from home too and get worried about the sound.

Though I only use it for short burst and hand plane where the effort won't be too huge.

 

[heimlaga]

In a hobby shop space is usually a more severe limitation than the few minutes spent on changeover. Before I went part-time professional a couple of years ago I had a 10 inch Ejca planer/thicknesser/mortiser. It was made in the 1950-ies so it wasn't exactly new but I found it to be perfect for hobby use. It was entirely built from cast iron. If I had gotten separates they would have had to be lightweight sheet steel and aluminium machines to make them portable so I could move either of them out of the way. I doubt such machines would have worked as well as the old cast iron Ejca.

Just my experience.......

 

[Dangermouse.]

This would be an ideal machine, nothing to do with me by the way.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/wadkin-planer ... 3393011703

 

[RobinBHM]

The wadkin baos as above would make an excellent combined pl/ th. I once had an electra beckam 260 planer thicknesser, it was fine as a first machine but removing the beds for thicknessing became a pain. A combined machine that doesnt need any changes from surfacing to thicknessing is probably the best option -where space is limited(although extraction will always need moving).

One disadvantage of combined machines tends to be the rather short surfacing beds.

 

[cgarry]

This would be an ideal machine, nothing to do with me by the way.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/wadkin-planer ... 3393011703

That does look like a quality lump of iron! Though the 3 phase requirement puts me off.