About to buy a planer / thicknesser some thoughts please

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Jmac80

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Hello all

Have about £1500 budget very max for a PT with extra blades, jockey wheels etc.

Currently stuck between the jet 260 from Axminster or the record pt300.

The record works out a small amount cheaper with accessories and after postage etc.

Can anyone offer advice on the above 2 machines or anything i need to look out for etc?

Many Thanks James
 
I had a lower budget and got the Axminster AW106PT2.

If I had my time again I would ditch the modern stuff and get an older wadkin/Sedgwick/Startrite etc. the chap I bought my drill from had a marvellous collection of very high end tools and has converted me- also IIRC the Sedgwick have a fixed table that you don't have to lift out the way- this makes keeping the tables set right a lot easier.

Just my £0.000002
 
Thanks happymadison it's a nice thought but i live at the top of Scotland so logistics and time is not in my favour to source a decent second hand older unit.
Will need a modern one delivered from shop.
Thanks
 
If you take a look at the older machines such as Wadkins, Cooklsey and Diminion you will notice that they are built of substantial cast iron with tables that don't lift up. The reason I believe is that it provides the ridgid structure necessary to maintain the two planer tables in alignment with each other when setup. If you think about how you establish if a hand plane is tuned up, one of the checks is the flatness of the sole. A few thou out and the hand plane won't perform as desired. The same is true for how accurately set the two tables have to be to each other and to the axis of the spindle. With very few exceptions, modern light weight machines don't have the rigidity or lifting mechanisms to repeatable return the tables to the exact position after they have been lifted up to convert the machine to a thicknesser.

I would recommend either a Sedgwick (which are still built and are made in Leeds) a Wadkin, Dominion or Cooksley. They are all built to last generations and will provide superb service. If possible try to avoid adding wheels, machines and castings do move as they are moved around a floor. It's not much, but can make a difference.

A Hammer or Felder machine would also be a superb investment, however they are likely to be outside your budget. These are the modern lift up table machines that can I understand achieve the level of accuracy required and hence a price to reflect the engineering involved.

For ease of setup try and get a machine with a Tersa or similar block. Secondhand machines with these fitted are rare and command good prices, but with your budget you may be lucky. A Tersa block or a Spiral block can be fitted to upgrade a machine at a later date. They are however horribly expensive to buy separately to do an upgrade.
 
I bought an Axminster 106PT2 a couple of years ago and like it a lot. There are jobs I'll still finish with a hand plane or the CNC machine but it gets the grunt work done, and a lot of stuff comes off absolutely ready to use.
 
I bought the Record PT260 and when you see the next show, anywhere, you could order it at a discount and free delivery. Not used a lot but very happy so far.

I had my Bandsaw BS400 and P/T for Paskins in Kidderminster,(http://www.rspaskin.co.uk/ ) a nice company to deal with and I also put another member (forgot the name -sorry) also in Scotland, who also ordered from them on my recommendation.
 
Thanks Alex. Yes that was me lol, need some new blades for mine now. :)
Leaning a bit towards the pt300 over the jet 260 really just due to the extra width of cut.
 
Sorry James, as I was typing, I couldn't recall your name to my old memory.

Hope the bandsaw is working well. Tuffsaw blades of course. I went through a few quite quickly when I started and it's always nice to have a new, sharp one on standby.

Lovely day here in Birmingham today and off to Malta next week for a first visit.

Cheers for now.
 
Ok
Just ordered:
RECORD POWER PT300
RECORD POWER PT300-W WHEEL KIT FOR PT300
RECORD POWER PT300A REPLACEMENT PLANER KNIVES (PACK OF 3)
RECORD POWER RPPSJ BLADE SETTING JIG WITH CASE

Got the lot for £1549 with free delivery. :)
Free delivery to up here is great as it was about £75.
 
Sounds like every piece of wood you have will be getting planed the day your order arrives :D
Have fun 8)
 
:oops: Me again! :oops:

Well after a bit more thought and a chat with a guy from Yandles i have changed my order to a........

Charnwood w590 planer thicknesser.

My reasons are:

Got the deal for the same price (3 extra blades, knife setting jig & wheel base) .
The wheel kit looks better for moving it about my garage.
It has a thicknesser micro adjuster readout already installed
It can cope with 1" extra for thicknessing
Motor is 700w beefier at 3000watts.
Machine is 35kg heavier
It has one fat central column for the thicknesser rather than 4 small ones which i read can be a bit sticky at times.
It has a lock lever for the thicknesser height adjustment.
And most of all the entire top flips up for changeover to thicknesser much like the JET machines.

:lol:

http://www.charnwood.net/shop/product/1 ... ser?cid=19
 
shuggy":1abkyp57 said:
Hi James.
I'm looking at PTs just now, and wondered how you're finding the Charnwood?

Thanks.
Hi shuggy
Still to hook up a 16a power supply for it. Probably will do over the next couple of days.
Build wise and quality of finish are top notch though.
It seems to be exactly the same as the pricier Axminster jet 310 PT. they have the exact same manual.

Will update you when the power supply is in :)
 
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