Charnwood W583 planer thicknesser - what do people think?

[jamesmerrix]

As per the title, what do people think of the Chanwood w583? It is a 10" x7" PT with cast iron tables and thicknessing bed,
all of the specs look good, but of course that might not be the whole story!
Does any one here have one, or know someone that does?
http://www.charnwood.net/shop/product/charnwood-10-planer-thicknesser-1?cid=19
The link above is to the manufacturers site; from the pictures it looks similar to the Axminster AW106PT2 which is a well liked machine i believe. Do you think this is another 'clone' style machine?

Any thoughts, good and bad, welcomed!

Thanks

James

 

[Rusty999]

Come on guys--Someone mush have bought one of these. I am also tempted but would appreciate some info on how they perform
many Thanks
Rusty

 

[John15]

I have the Axminster model which performs very well, and seems to be more popular than Charnwood's machine.

Regards,

John

 

[Rusty999]

I have the Axminster model which performs very well, and seems to be more popular than Charnwood's machine.

Regards,

John

Thanks for that John, Would it be fair to say that most of them are the same or similar and are simply re-badged for the different sellers ie Charnwood, Axminster, Record , etc etc
I notice that most of them are the exact same weight and size. I have no problem with that as long as i know that maybe one is not better than another and then end up with the one that is not as well made.
I was actually looking at Axminster catalogue last night and it too looks like a nice machine, albeit a bit more expensive

Rusty

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

They are all Chaiwanese clones with different paint jobs therefore given the hardware is identical, the basis of decision should (IMO) shift to the supplier. Factors like price, locations, warranty length and after sales service are far more important. Of all the suppliers doing this stuff out there I would be inclined towards Axy for the machine you state. Reason being they have a long track record for me of excellent service and they also now do a 3 year warranty which is not to be sniffed at.

Having said that, I would not buy this particular machine. I originally went down the path of a less expensive P/T and wound up upgrading to a Startrite in the end. Buy cheap buy twice is quite an accurate adage in machine tools.

 

[Rusty999]

This is the Axminster version but the difference is the cast iron fence compared to the others. http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-tr ... hicknesser

Just wondering what your reason would be Bob ? in my price range theres not much else unless I go for the more expensive startrite--a good bit more expensive though.
Thanks Bob
Regards
Rusty

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Hi Rusty

I made the classic mistake on the 3 big machines when setting up my original workshop. I bought mid range (because of price) table saw, bandsaw and P/T. I then spent many years regretting those decisions as I ran out of grunt, capacity, accuracy, finish etc and had time to lament not splashing out further to get the entry level professional range.

My advice with hindsight would be if you cant afford the new upper end machines (which is understandable cos they're not cheap) then buy 2nd hand. That's another lesson I've learned. Good quality cast iron doesn't go badly wrong! Witness all the old Wadkin et al restorations. These things are of such superior quality they will last literally several lifetimes. So keep a close eye on the bay for 2nd hand machines as they do come up quite frequently.

My reasons for upgrading were, capacity, finish (I wanted a 3 cutter block) and convenience of shift from planer to thicknesser. I also really wanted a cast iron fence which the Startrite SD300 was the only one apart from the Jet.

 

[Woodmonkey]

I can't help with that particular machine but I have a charnwood table saw and extractor and I'm happy with how they perform (at a hobby level), and with their customer service when I had to contact them about an missing part. Saying that, I'm in complete agreement with Bob, you will get a lot more bang for your buck buying quality second hand.

 

[John15]

James and Rusty,

At the time of buying a P/T, about this time last year, I had wittled the choice down to either the Charnwood or the Axminster machines. I wanted new because I'm no good at judging used mechanical things. In the end I chose the Axi one, mainly because of the cast fence and a visit to their store at High Wycombe, just down the road from Oxford, where I was given an excellent demonstration and some really good service for other items I was buying at the time. Charnwood's service may have been just as good of cause.

Cheers,

John

 

[Mikec123]

I owned one of these for a couple of years. Machine isn't bad but accurately adjusting the tables is almost impossible as one of the 4 adjustment bolts is totally inaccessible. This means snipe is very difficult to eliminate. After a couple of years a £5 pin in the blade assembly mounting sheared and totally destroyed the machine, ruining the blades, blade drum, blade guard rail and cracking the main cast iron casing. Charnwood technical were fairly helpful but only option was to buy a new machine which I was reluctant to do. This is a Chinese built machine and build quality is ok but nothing special. The main drive wheel was more than 6mm out of alignment and destroyed one of the drive belts on third use. I had also bought a Charnwood saw table at the same time. Again the machine is ok but not very accurately set from the factory. Also dust extraction is totally useless.