my new toy

[sunnybob]

Got my birthday present yesterday. A Jet 12" thicknesser.

Unpacked it and was a little disappointed I had to cut the rubber feet to fit the machine. Looks like the foot pads were designed for an earlier smaller model. Not a major operation, but I shouldnt have had to do that.

Tried it out briefly on some rosewood blocks that had been glued side by side but had twisted in the clamping process. I am pleased overall with the result, but it looks like I will have to spend time adjusting everything as the surface came out slightly cupped. This could well be operator error, time will tell.

The noise, well it is loud, but not as horrendous as I had feared. Ear muffs needed though when in use.

The dust, O.M.G. The dust.
I thought I was prepared. Can you spell WRONG? This thing makes more mess than my other 4 machines together. I am going to have to overhaul my extraction system to cope with this machine. This needs a dedicated hose direct to the cyclone.
Also, why on a machine that makes this much mess would you fit a 40mm extraction hole? This should be a 63mm minimum and a 100 mm would be realistic. I had to stop and clear out the hole with my finger (yes, power off at wall) twice in only a couple of minutes use.
Another minor moan is that to fold up the side flaps after use I have to wind the cutter head all the way back to the top. Annoying when most of my thicknessing will be around the 40 - 50 mm size

Overall so far, seems good but could be better.

Oh, and a quick plug for axminster shipping. I got one quote that was FIVE times the price axminster charged me, and now I have their carriers TNT trained not to send stuff to turkey, delivery time was very reasonable too.

 

[Cordy]

Bob
Good initial review; at the time you was discussing what to buy I was in a similar situation
Paid £100 more than you and bought this beauty

Glad I did too, works straight from the box - fully assembled and no fettling required
Just clip the exhaust port on, plug in and away we go; most of the sawdust goes through 40 mm pipe and not much debris
Quieter than expected; I have neighbours too
Experimenting with sleds at the mo; it won't correct bow, cup, twist etc

No room for a separate planer [jointer] and didn't fancy having to keep switching from thicknesser to planer mode with a combined machine
Cheers
John

 

[Nelsun]

Must be something in the air... my 2012NB arrived this Thursday. I've yet to try it out besides switching it on. I did fit it with feet to mount on my Dewalt mitre stand. I figured the sliding extension arms could come in handy for supporting stock going in and out the other side (I may want to swap to the roller supports though...) as I don't have room for anything more permanent. Seems sturdy enough but I'll be extra careful going in!

 

[sunnybob]

The makita was my first choice, but axminster didnt sell it except special order, so that was full retail. then I went to the cheapest makita seller and he wanted £250 to ship it to me, on a £400 machine!
So I bought the jet for an all up difference of £200 over the makita. I've spent a lot this year, and 'er indoors wasnt happy about my continuing outlay on a very low output hobby (about 75% sawdust to 25% completed wood projects).
Time will tell if I've bought cheaper than I should, I need to do quite a bit more thicknessing and adjusting before the jury comes back in but I'm now getting used to the fact woodworking machines dont come ready for use.

 

[sunnybob]

Cordy, I used a plywood sled to hold the different pieces of wood I wanted shaved. It worked well, but dont put any wood crossways to the cut. I put softwood front and back rails to stop the bits breaking loose. the machine took off shavings of softwood that looked like bits of straw, and these significantly added to the blockage problems.

 

[Cordy]

Cheers Bob
Next week I will post photos of my sled -- used as thicknesser sled and router sled

My router M12VE Hitachi 1/2" is quieter than 2012NB, unfortunately it does not have a sawdust outlet - so shavings splattered all over my garage :roll:

 

[NazNomad]

I could be way off, having never used one, but cupping of the wood & clogging of the outlet would suggest to a complete know-nothing like myself, that you're possibly taking off too much material at a time?

Just a logical thought. :-/

 

[Cordy]

Naz
The wood is cupped bowed etc before the operation

Timber needs support - wedges, playing cads, hot glue - because of the massive pressure from top rollers which push down

I'm a novice wood-worker [retired gardener] and only had machine a few days; making progress in a Heath Robinson kind of way

All good fun

 

[sunnybob]

I could be way off, having never used one, but cupping of the wood & clogging of the outlet would suggest to a complete know-nothing like myself, that you're possibly taking off too much material at a time?

Just a logical thought. :-/

quite the opposite. I set the height wide to start with, so wide (high) that I could push the wood through with no friction with the machine turned off, then lowered the cutter a quarter handle turn at a time with the machine on.
I must have pushed the wood through 8 times before the rollers even started to catch the wood. another 4 x quarter turns got the wood feeding itself, and another 2 x quarter turns before the blade met the wood.

After that it was a quarter turn at a time each pass. I havent used it enough yet to start tinkering with anything but using a 6" engineers square across the "finished" surface showed the edges slightly raised higher than the middle.

I've just measured the pitch, and 1 turn is 1.5mm, so I was lowering the head at a rate of 0.375mm on each pass.

 

[NazNomad]

Ah, right.

As I said, just a guess. :-D

 

[Bodgers]

I could be way off, having never used one, but cupping of the wood & clogging of the outlet would suggest to a complete know-nothing like myself, that you're possibly taking off too much material at a time?

Just a logical thought. :-/

quite the opposite. I set the height wide to start with, so wide (high) that I could push the wood through with no friction with the machine turned off, then lowered the cutter a quarter handle turn at a time with the machine on.
I must have pushed the wood through 8 times before the rollers even started to catch the wood. another 4 x quarter turns got the wood feeding itself, and another 2 x quarter turns before the blade met the wood.

After that it was a quarter turn at a time each pass. I havent used it enough yet to start tinkering with anything but using a 6" engineers square across the "finished" surface showed the edges slightly raised higher than the middle.

I've just measured the pitch, and 1 turn is 1.5mm, so I was lowering the head at a rate of 0.375mm on each pass.

I thought you were getting the Makita?

 

[sunnybob]

bodgers, read post 4 above.
i was over ruled at the executive level.
Bloody bean counters.

 

[Cordy]

This is one way with a sled
He only supports it at the edges; plus the good idea sliding blocks
His wood is quite thick so will resist roller pressure better

My timber is redwood 6 by 1 inch par so only 18/20 mm at start
Hand planing is a good option; unfortunately hand planing plays havoc with my ankles so a no-no for past 18 months
Someone wrote on this forum last week that sleds are quite limited for flattening and a planer is the way to go; he might be right !

 

[custard]

Don't pronounce judgement until you've removed, sharpened, and re-set the planer knives.

That's the critical job on a planer/thicknesser, that'll determine whether it's an indispensable workhorse or just an expensive shelf for your coffee mug.

Good luck!

 

[sunnybob]

Wow thats a complicated sled. I used 12mm ply base, with a softwood runner all the way down one side to keep pressure consistant, and just glued the 8" square blocks down with hot melt.
I also cant hand plane, for my thumbs are arthritic and cant take the constant minor shocks so this tool has to be made to work.

I shall experiment more this week, but workshop time is limited now due to weather. We are in full summer and the temp today was over 36c. unpleasant to do hard work in, even if I am only wearing beach shorts and a dust mask!

 

[Cordy]

Custard
We are discussing thicknessers ; not planer thicknessers
Mine is excellent, no complaints