advice on thicknesser / planer

[Prizen]

Hi Guys,

just want to get your advice on buying a thicknesser / planer.
I am over in Ireland, and am not in the trade - purely woodwork for my own projects at evenings and weekends.

I do however take it quite seriously, and plan to add more furniture to my house such as coffee table, bookcase, chairs, etc.

So, as I can get lumber cheaper in rough condition, I understand that I then would need a planer / thicknesser?

Would something like the below be fine for my use?

http://www.caulfieldindustrial.com/...-portable-planer-thicknesser-/p-226546pd.html

or

http://www.toolstop.co.uk/makita-20...tween the above dewalt unit, and the below? http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/tools/4695488 [/url]

Thanks!

 

[carlb40]

Both the makita and Dewalt are just thicknessers.
While they will both take rough sawn timber to smooth timber. What you put in is what you will get out, only planed smooth.

Ie if you put a warped/cupped/twisted board through. You will get a smooth warp/cupped/twisted board out the other side.

To do the job properly you either need
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod370404/
and what you linked to


Or this or similar
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ho ... rod886337/

That way you surface the timber first to get 2 straight and square edges, then put it through the thicknesser

 

[Prizen]

Thanks Carl,

1. How would the axmister unit -
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-hobby-series-awept106-planer-thicknesser-prod886337/

compare against a second hand dewalt unit of equal price such as

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/tools/4695488

2. When they say "Hobby" series, what does this really mean? Can it only handle smaller lumber? Is it not as accurate?

edit - 3. So, can I buy a planer alone, without a thicknesser? And just run the board over the planer additional times to get the desired thickness?

Thanks!

 

[marcros]

edit - 3. So, can I buy a planer alone, without a thicknesser? And just run the board over the planer additional times to get the desired thickness?

Thanks!

technically you could but you wouldn't get boards of consistent thickness- instead a wedge of some degree or other.

the first dewalt that you linked to- described as a planer thicknesser but only a thicknesser is a pretty handy unit- I have the axminster version.

 

[carlb40]

Seems like there are a few users of that dewalt or the previous version on here

dewalt-planer-thicknesser-dw1150-t55423.html

As to the hobby rating, i couldn't find the details on the axminster site. However it basically means it is rated for a man in a shed, not to be used by mutiple people and not to exceed X amount of hours per year of usage. There is a thread from this year that states the differences of the axminster ratings. I will see if i can find it

 

[marcros]

it is strange but it doesn't appear to be on their website.

it is in the printed catalogue, and is predominantly about whether it is required for continuous running, as in a professional shop, or for jobs here and there. Some of the hobby stuff was previously in the light trade category. As a hobbiest, a couple of hours planing and thicknessing timber a week is more than you are likely to do in reality.

 

[Prizen]

edit - 3. So, can I buy a planer alone, without a thicknesser? And just run the board over the planer additional times to get the desired thickness?

Thanks!

technically you could but you wouldn't get boards of consistent thickness- instead a wedge of some degree or other.

the first dewalt that you linked to- described as a planer thicknesser but only a thicknesser is a pretty handy unit- I have the axminster version.

Thanks, how about buying just a thicknesser?could i put my rough board through a tablesaw to square first edge, then flip it over and square the other side. Then run it through a thicknesser and then flip it over and run the other face through it and job done?

 

[marcros]

no, the thicknesser would tend to follow any twists and bows. That said, I have achieved some success doing that when the board was reasoanably flat by taking very light passes.

One option would be to plane one side flat by hand, and then put it through the thicknesser.

 

[RogerM]

Hi Guys,

just want to get your advice on buying a thicknesser / planer.
I am over in Ireland, and am not in the trade - purely woodwork for my own projects at evenings and weekends.

I do however take it quite seriously, and plan to add more furniture to my house such as coffee table, bookcase, chairs, etc.

So, as I can get lumber cheaper in rough condition, I understand that I then would need a planer / thicknesser?

Would something like the below be fine for my use?

http://www.caulfieldindustrial.com/...-portable-planer-thicknesser-/p-226546pd.html


http://www.toolstop.co.uk/makita-20...tween the above dewalt unit, and the below? http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/tools/4695488 [/url]

Thanks!

At around the £500 mark i would go for a decent second hand machine. Something like a Scheppach 2600ci. They are pretty robust and there are some good buys around. There is this one for instance. Or maybe something from the SIP range which you can pick up for around £300 on your favourite auction site, or through the for sale boards on the usual forums.

 

[verney]

How about getting a thicknesser and building one of these:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop ... umber.aspx

 

[RogerM]

How about getting a thicknesser and building one of these:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop ... umber.aspx

Ingenious! I can see that working well for large boards, for table tops for example, but for everyday surfacing and squaring pieces of timber there is nothing to beat a combined planer/thicknesser imho. That does of course assume that there is neither the budget nor the space for separates.

 

[machone]

Has anybody here used an HBM unit(no permission for url)?

hbm-machines

I'm Holland based but looking for my first planer thicknesser to prepare some rough boards. Any experiences of these machines appreciated.

Thanks

 

[machone]

I just went out and bought an HBM floorstanding 230V Type A Planer Thicknesser. I'll report back when I've used it a bit.

 

[marcros]

How about getting a thicknesser and building one of these:
http://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop ... umber.aspx

I had a look at this video last night. It links to issue 175 of FWW, so I looked up the article in the archive which shows the construction etc. It strikes me as being a really useful fixture to me, not least because it uses the kit that I already have, and will surface boards over 6", which currently is a problem.

Has anybody actually made the sled, or something comparable?

 

[RogerM]

Not made this one. The main drawback so far as I can see is that you are still limited to the width of your thicknesser, which in many cases is the same or not much wider than a planer/jointer. FWW did an article a little while back on a jig that uses a router running on bearers with a surfacing bit that could be adjusted/adapted to surface any width of timber. Granted, it would be a slower process than the jig shown here, but my guess is that most people, outside of the trade, only have very occasional need to surface something wider than the ubiquitous 10ins/260mm so the time taken wouldn't be an issue for a one off table top for example. .

 

[marcros]

Probably true. I have a 12" thicknesser, like many and cant really see myself needing to go above this often. I only have a 6" planer though, so the jig offers to double up on the capacity of that, or nearly.

I have been thinking about whether to upgrade the planer, or to get a planer thicknesser etc. It is probably a purchase for next year because I have bought a bandsaw this year and want to get a tracksaw. I could really use that bit more planing capacity than 6", but would rather not have to wind tables up and down and lose settingsetc. I know that the jig doesnt really address that issue, but it doesnt require clearing the bench to use it like a router setup would. The router jig, however is worth looking into as a comparison, which obviously has the advantage of larger width if ever needed, and the fact that large boards are inevitably heavy and the router jig offers the same advantage as ripping on a track saw- the light machinery moves rather than the heavy timber.

The time taken, as you say probably isnt a huge issue because it is an uncommon task.

Thanks for your thoughts Roger.

 

[carlb40]

Not made this one. The main drawback so far as I can see is that you are still limited to the width of your thicknesser, which in many cases is the same or not much wider than a planer/jointer. FWW did an article a little while back on a jig that uses a router running on bearers with a surfacing bit that could be adjusted/adapted to surface any width of timber. Granted, it would be a slower process than the jig shown here, but my guess is that most people, outside of the trade, only have very occasional need to surface something wider than the ubiquitous 10ins/260mm so the time taken wouldn't be an issue for a one off table top for example. .

There is also a video on how to make one of these on the woodwhisperer site, marc made one to flatten his workbench

 

[RogerM]

Not made this one. The main drawback so far as I can see is that you are still limited to the width of your thicknesser, which in many cases is the same or not much wider than a planer/jointer. FWW did an article a little while back on a jig that uses a router running on bearers with a surfacing bit that could be adjusted/adapted to surface any width of timber. Granted, it would be a slower process than the jig shown here, but my guess is that most people, outside of the trade, only have very occasional need to surface something wider than the ubiquitous 10ins/260mm so the time taken wouldn't be an issue for a one off table top for example. .

There is also a video on how to make one of these on the woodwhisperer site, marc made one to flatten his workbench

Thanks for that Carl. Link here. the video lasts about 20 mins so it's worth sitting thru the advertising that runs before the video.

 

[fluffflinger]

Planer sleds are excellent and I use one with my DW733 for anything that won't fit on my 6in planer. As an interim measure or just as a backup when you need to deal with wide boards it's a very good solution, although if you are going to run really long boards through some roller stands well adjusted are essential.

I would also say the apart from the noisy brush motor (all lunchbox planers are the same) the De-Walt is a very good and reliable bit of kit. I obtained mine from a joiner and it had worked hard and is still going very strong after a number of years.