Planer - Thicknesser

[Lonsdale73]

Following my recent run in with the P/T (in which I came off a poor second best), I'm thinking of leaving it permanently set up in thicknesser mode, and using a sled to achieve planing passes. Would I be right in thinking a machine such as the Elektra Beckum with new blades would work as efficiently whether it's set to planer or thicknesser mode?

 

[OscarG]

Hey, hows your finger?!

I can't help with your enquiry (sorry!), I'm curious how you would use a sled to do the planing.

My P/T takes up loads of space and the planer is rubbish, I'd love to follow your example and use it in thicknesser mode only.

 

[MattRoberts]

It's the same motor spinning at the same speed, it's just passing the wood underneath instead of on top - so yes it will be just as efficient (in terms of motor, not in terms of effort!)

Oscar, you simply place your board on a flat sled and use wedges to make it approximately level. You then run it through the thicknesser until the top surface is flat. Once done, you remove it from the sled and flip it the other way around, and you're thicknessing using your newly flattened surface. Plenty of video guides on the Tube

 

[custard]

By and large you'll get a cleaner cut from the thicknesser than from the planer, especially if your planer has rubber or non-marking feed rollers and can take very fine cuts. In effect the thicknesser is a planer but with a power feed and powerful feather boards fitted, so the workpiece passes the cutter head more smoothly and without any "flutter" or bounce.

 

[Lonsdale73]

Hey, hows your finger?!

I can't help with your enquiry (sorry!), I'm curious how you would use a sled to do the planing.

My P/T takes up loads of space and the planer is rubbish, I'd love to follow your example and use it in thicknesser mode only.

To look at it now you would think it was no more than a blister. The old tip fell off to reveal a regenerated tip beneath. It's still a bit tender. I ventured into the shop today and gave up after an hour because I seemed to keep bashing it on something or other. I'm sure it was no more than usual, like last night after washing my hands and giving them a quick shale I managed to bash the side of the sink and by Christ did I feel that. I'm sure there was nothing unusual about my hand shaking, just emphasises how tender the finger is. Thanks for asking

 

[Lonsdale73]

It's the same motor spinning at the same speed, it's just passing the wood underneath instead of on top - so yes it will be just as efficient (in terms of motor, not in terms of effort!)

That was my thinking. Seems less effort to the rollers will take care of passing the piece through the machine at a constant speed and pressure.

 

[Lonsdale73]

By and large you'll get a cleaner cut from the thicknesser than from the planer, especially if your planer has rubber or non-marking feed rollers and can take very fine cuts. In effect the thicknesser is a planer but with a power feed and powerful feather boards fitted, so the workpiece passes the cutter head more smoothly and without any "flutter" or bounce.

Sounds like a win-win situation

 

[memzey]

I thought flutter/bounce only really occurred when planing if your knives were blunt?

 

[custard]

I thought flutter/bounce only really occurred when planing if your knives were blunt?

It gets worse the blunter the knives become, and it's more apparent the thinner the workpiece; but in reality it's always present to some extent. The great majority of operators (myself included) will never pass the workpiece quite as smoothly over the planer block, nor hold it down with quite as constant a pressure, as the thicknesser itself will do when it's passing the workpiece under the cutter block.

 

[Lonsdale73]

you simply place your board on a flat sled and use wedges to make it approximately level. You then run it through the thicknesser until the top surface is flat. Once done, you remove it from the sled and flip it the other way around, and you're thicknessing using your newly flattened surface. Plenty of video guides on the Tube

One of the videos I saw (typically, can't find it now), they screwed the work piece to the sled which I'm not keen on doing. I made a sled yesterday and before the glue had even had time to dry I was testing it with the piece that claimed my finger tip. That has quite a cup to it and I tried wedging it level with some thin strips I had knocking about. I'm not convinced they'd hold it in place so I was thinking of maybe hot melt gluing everything in place before feeding it through. Thoughts?

 

[Fitzroy]

I've seen a vid of a guy securing with hot melt. Seemed to work ok.

 

[deema]

Another solution, which removes fingers from anywhere near the blades and also ensures a good bounce free finish is to fit a power feed to the planer. It doesn't need to be a very big or powerful model, and will I believe provide a better solution than trying to rig sleds through the thicknesser. The big thing I would be concerned about is kick back with using sleds, I appreciate that there are anti kick back fingers in a thicknesser.

 

[Orraloon]

you simply place your board on a flat sled and use wedges to make it approximately level. You then run it through the thicknesser until the top surface is flat. Once done, you remove it from the sled and flip it the other way around, and you're thicknessing using your newly flattened surface. Plenty of video guides on the Tube

One of the videos I saw (typically, can't find it now), they screwed the work piece to the sled which I'm not keen on doing. I made a sled yesterday and before the glue had even had time to dry I was testing it with the piece that claimed my finger tip. That has quite a cup to it and I tried wedging it level with some thin strips I had knocking about. I'm not convinced they'd hold it in place so I was thinking of maybe hot melt gluing everything in place before feeding it through. Thoughts?

Hot melt is one of the wonder helpers around the shed. It's worked for me the few times I have had to use a sled in the thicknesser. I also use it at times to mount stuff on the lathe and other temporary holding jobs.
Regards
John