Advice on planer thicknesser

[softtop]

I am looking to buy a P/T. The reason I want it is that I have bought a load of (cheap) timber which is rough sawn and odd-sized, and having spoken to various timber merchants the cost of getting it sized will be quite high, plus I need it for a variety of projects (some shutters, flooring and a new kitchen) so I think I need to take the plunge and invest in a machine myself.

Ideally I'd spend as little as possible (£200?) and certainly can't stretch beyond £400 or so.

Is it worth considering something like the Woodstar PT85 (£200 new) or Axminster MB9020 (£170) or will they be no good? Do I need to go up to Axminster AWEPT106 (£450) or am I better off looking for something second hand from Ebay?

All advice gratefully received.

Many thanks,

Henry

 

[Mike Wingate]

I have a Ryobi 10 x 6". I wish it was wider, but I am very pleased with it. I have had it years. I would not buy an Axminster model. DeWalts have had good reviews.

 

[Mike Wingate]

I have a Ryobi 10 x 6". I wish it was wider, but I am very pleased with it. I have had it years. I would not buy an Axminster model. DeWalts have had good reviews.

 

[Mike.C]

Hi Henry welcome to the forum.

At a push the Woodstar or the Axminster MB9020 may do you for making small shutters, but IMHO they certainly would not be suitable for long length's of flooring.

It also depends on how often you are going to use the machine and what for. If you are going to use it regularly for things like furniture making and kitchens etc, I would lean towards the Axminster AWEPT106 which is a clone of a metabo and certainly worth the money. There are a number of clones of this P/T and as far as I know Axminster has the best price.

Mike Wingate wrote:

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I have a Ryobi 10 x 6". I wish it was wider, but I am very pleased with it. I have had it years. I would not buy an Axminster model. DeWalts have had good reviews.

Mike what is wrong with Axminster products, or do you mean those particular models? Because Axminster is one of the best woodworking stores in the UK with some great machines and tools, and I would hate to think someone new to the forum was put off shopping with them just because of a misunderstanding.

Cheers

Mike

 

[liam8223]

Personally I would go down the second hand route, ebay is your friend, and you will be buying something that was probably thousands new, for 'woodstar' money.

Based on what you want to make, I'd suggest a Startrite Inca, theres one on ebay I've seen and looks tidy.

Key points to look for are minimum 10" width, Cast iron tables and preferably a nice accurate fence locking system.

Almost all of the older machines will be cast, and you are assured of quality.

Also, not imperative for hobby/diy use, but a steel infeed roller for the thicknesser is preferential to a rubber one.

HTH

Liam.

 

[Streepips]

Get an old scheppach 260 and have done with it, will go on forever and take whatever you throw at it. Get a pre cast iron one. When scheppach went cast iron is when they just joined the herd.
The pre Ci stuff is bullet proof

 

[Streepips]

Liam? Could you qualify your advice regarding steel rollers as opposed to rubber and cast iron tables as opposed to say sintered alloy?

 

[RogerS]

Personally I would go down the second hand route, ebay is your friend, and you will be buying something that was probably thousands new, for 'woodstar' money.

Based on what you want to make, I'd suggest a Startrite Inca, theres one on ebay I've seen and looks tidy.

Key points to look for are minimum 10" width, Cast iron tables and preferably a nice accurate fence locking system.

Almost all of the older machines will be cast, and you are assured of quality.

Also, not imperative for hobby/diy use, but a steel infeed roller for the thicknesser is preferential to a rubber one.

HTH

Liam.

Liam, your points are valid but in this case I'm not convinced that the OP needs something the size, power and width of a secondhand Startrite. For the things that he's talking about making, a 6" planer is more than wide enough. Also going down the secondhand Startrite route is not for the faint-hearted or newbie. Plus physically getting them shifted can be a nightmare. And that is before we're talking about 3 phase electrics (as most of them seem to need).

Don't get me wrong - I agree with you 100% that a good secondhand Startrite or Wadkin is ideal but for a newcomer, maybe overkill?

 

[liam8223]

Liam? Could you qualify your advice regarding steel rollers as opposed to rubber and cast iron tables as opposed to say sintered alloy?

Re reading my post, it was a slight generalisation - when i said steel I should have said 'metal' really, cant see the issue with sintered alloy, my only issue with rubber is that they understandably wear quicker than metal.

Also I agree that he probably doesn't need such a large machine at the moment, but I am of the ilk, that if doing woodwork, we all tend to start small and inevitably outgrow our kit.

Obviously my opinion is not gospel, but I feel worth considering, surely better to buy once than find you need to 'upgrade' to suit your needs later?

3 phase..... what a PITA. I'm lucky enough to have three phase, but there are plenty of machines, industrial and trade rated that are 240v, albeit commanding a small premium, understandably.

I have never tried a new alloy piece of machinery, buti'm guessing that it cant be anywhere near as stable as cast iron, and I'll agree, moving cast iron isn't always easy, but in my experience worth it for the better results you get.

Having said that, the startrite I recommended has a pressed steel baseframe, with only cast tables, so shouldn't be too awful to move - not like my wadkin, now that is ball breaking.

Not trying to put down anyones kit, just putting across my points for consideration.

Liam.

 

[softtop]

Thank you all for your advice. I have an eye on a couple of things on Ebay now, though of course transporting them across the country can often be a pain.

I totally take on board your point about buying better equipment rather than having to replace things, which I have certainly done in the past, as my wife then says to me "why do you need another X, when you already have one?" and then I have to justify spending more money!

Looking on Ebay though the resale price of most of these items (even the cheap stuff) isn't too bad, so I guess if I do need to upgrade later at least I've not wasted all my money, and it's a bit scary shelling out vast sums when it's not for your day job...

I have been browsing lots of posts in this forum and I have to say it's great how much helpful information there is here - I really appreciate the time everyone takes to make posts and answer questions.

MANY thanks,

Henry

 

[RogerS]

Thank you all for your advice. I have an eye on a couple of things on Ebay now, though of course transporting them across the country can often be a pain.

.....
Henry

Members have had good experiences using PalletForce and Shiply. If your seller can pallet it up then they can shift it. You'll need some muscle at your end, decent access and ideally (although if not, there are ways round it) a concrete or similar surface to wheel it down on the pallet truck.

 

[Mike Wingate]

To Mike C and others.I work in secondary education. We buy loads of tools from a variety of sources. Good hand tools are expensive and for examples, firms who sharpen and set saws have disappeared. The one we used is now an area of Man U's car park. Axminster have a great catalogue. We have bought 4 of their bandsaws. 7 of their pillar drills. 4 of their scrollsaws. Nothing lasts for ever, without attention. Even my Startrite 352 bandsaw needed a new contactor switch. My Hegner needs no attention, nor does my Machine mart Taiwanese drill with a British motor, Quality tools cost more and generally last longer than cheaper ones. In my experience with Chinese sourced power tools, they are not worth buying. Unfortunately, VW have cars made in China.

 

[liam8223]

Where in Lincolnshire are you?
If on the Leicestershire border, I have vans and trailers and charge modest rates to move machinery.

It really isn't that daunting moving machinery with a little experience!

Liam.

 

[Mike.C]

To Mike C and others.I work in secondary education. We buy loads of tools from a variety of sources. Good hand tools are expensive and for examples, firms who sharpen and set saws have disappeared. The one we used is now an area of Man U's car park. Axminster have a great catalogue. We have bought 4 of their bandsaws. 7 of their pillar drills. 4 of their scrollsaws. Nothing lasts for ever, without attention. Even my Startrite 352 bandsaw needed a new contactor switch. My Hegner needs no attention, nor does my Machine mart Taiwanese drill with a British motor, Quality tools cost more and generally last longer than cheaper ones. In my experience with Chinese sourced power tools, they are not worth buying. Unfortunately, VW have cars made in China.

Hi Mike, sorry to hear about your bad experience with Axminster bandsaws, https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... ht=#418317 but as you saw from your thread others have only good things to say about their models.

I must admit that 3 faulty machines from the same supplier sounds bad, but as they are being used in a school are you sure that the kids are not unintentionally responsible? Or maybe it was just a bad batch. Although if this was the case they should not have passed quality control.

I know that no company is perfect, but over the years after spending thousands of pounds with Axminster, and in all that time only receiving one dodgy Japanese hand saw, in my eyes 99% of the goods they sell are quality products. And if you ever have a problem, again 99% of the time their excellent customer service department will put it right.

The other thing that I find strange is the bandsaw's are rebadged Jet machines who IMHO are another good company. I have 3 Axminster/Jet machines and I have never had a problem with any of them.

What happened to the bandsaw's? Has Axminster sorted the problems or exchanged them? If not, chase them up because I am quite confident that they will come good in the end.

Henry I also agree with the others, in that second hand machines is another good route to take.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Mike Wingate]

We had a rep and fitter from AxPT come to school, with a set of parts, and retrifit the table on one drill, and look at the bandsaws. Only staff use the bandsaws so there should be no abuse. There is too much play on the top guide, the top wheel was retired and crowned, the guide bearings replaced, the arms on the scroll saws move laterally. I have shown this post to my cleaner (ex machinist) and he said he bought an Axminster lathe for home use. The chuck would not screw on, the thread on the drive shaft was incorrectly machined, so back it went. Recently, I have not been unlucky with a Dewalt 625ek router, 20 Trend and Titman 1/2" shank bits, Aldi tools, Microplane tools.

 

[Mike.C]

We had a rep and fitter from AxPT come to school, with a set of parts, and retrifit the table on one drill, and look at the bandsaws. Only staff use the bandsaws so there should be no abuse. There is too much play on the top guide, the top wheel was retired and crowned, the guide bearings replaced, the arms on the scroll saws move laterally. I have shown this post to my cleaner (ex machinist) and he said he bought an Axminster lathe for home use. The chuck would not screw on, the thread on the drive shaft was incorrectly machined, so back it went. Recently, I have not been unlucky with a Dewalt 625ek router, 20 Trend and Titman 1/2" shank bits, Aldi tools, Microplane tools.

Well Mike you certainly cannot dispute facts and personal experience of badly produced machines, but I must say that I am surprised. I just hope that this is not going to be the norm from Axminster. Many thanks for the heads up.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Mike Wingate]

Tools from China are not all the same. They are graded in quality, parts and finish and priced accordingly. Buyers sometimes pick up a batch of cheap products and import them trying to make a profit. I am sure that Axminster have a good quality process. Our "rogue " machines were purchased about 5 or 6 years ago. I have to put up with them daily. One of my big pikkar drills is at present out of action. Switch failure. I return home to tools of quality. I spend my own money at Axminster. I have been buying tools from them simce the 70's. It is a port of call at least once a year when I visit my friends in Shaldon Devon.The catalogue is amazing, but the items are not always available in store.. Jet tools re probably 1 grade up from the Axminster "white" label. If I had an axe to grind, I would do it on my Tormek.