I think I WILL buy a P\T...

[UTMonkey]

Hi,

I have just spent an enjoyable couple of hours thicknessing three lots of oak by hand from rough sawn..

Despite the fabulous results, I just cannot see myself maintaining this type of effort if I want to start upgrading from the tiny nicknacks I am currently producing to bits of furniture.

You folks who do this kind of stuff professionally have my respect,I have aches in muscles I never knew I had!

I'll start looking at planer thicknessers......


Mark

 

[No skills]

Know what you mean, my shoulders are fairly knackered - I find the little bit of plane work I do (little bit of hobby stuff) a strangely zen experience but its just not worth the extra discomfort in the evenings.

A metabo P/T is on the list.

 

[custard]

Good decision. It's not just easier, it's also smarter.

When you hand plane to thickness you're removing most of the waste from one face, which unbalances the workpiece and can lead to distortion. When you machine plane you can remove equal amounts from both faces, which results in less stress to the workpiece.

 

[No skills]

And less stress to the worker

 

[Jelly]

I recently decided that, due to the large sectional sizes and rough finishing of the timber I've been buying; having a P/T was a neccesary evil, I got a used 10" floorstanding model for a shade under £200 (funded by a tax error in my favour).

It's not quite wide enough to do everything I get in (lots of 15" two waney edgeboards) but for most jobs its capacity is plenty.

I don't understand for the life of me people who use the PT on nearly finished parts... much better to get things dimensioned and planed before you cut to length.

 

[Scouse]

I have aches in muscles I never knew I had!

Lightweight!

Seriously, I sympathise, I bought a bandsaw this year, my first ever machine; after 20 odd years of resawing and ripping boards by hand my rotator cuff finally gave up. I have to say it's a big relief and much faster. Still planing by hand though, doesn't hurt that much! (yet...!)