Planers from screwfix

[mbrogden]

Hi all

I am looking for a relatively cheap planer, for my occasional DIY hobby.

I have seen these 2 at screwfix, and in terms of board width these 2 are fine.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb05 ... 230v/81126

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb579p ... 230v/15774

Does anybody have any experience with these 2 planers. Just wondering which one would be best.

 

[dynax]

i have a woodstar version which is pretty much identical to the titan one, i've had it a few years now and still on the original blades, i've used it with pine, walnut and maple, once it is set up properly which can take some time, and apart from the noise it performs reasonably well, after market blades will make a difference but the stock blade will give a fair finish,

 

[monkeybiter]

These are a common model rebranded and with differing plastic trim and possibly fences, they range quite dramatically in price dependent on brand/supplier, and I think that price range may reflect the level of quality control at the factory.
For Christmas I got the Erbauer after testing and/or checking three [IIRC] Titans. I seem to remember both are Screwfix own brands. They thickness OK but the planer tables can't be adjusted for co-planarity, and this is a particular area of unreliability and consistency of the design/manufacture.
I allowed SWMBO to buy mine based mostly on price versus likely usage, but I sort of wish I hadn't. I would be much happier if the tables could be adjusted to be parallel and should have thought of this, but I reckon the price jump would possibly be significant.

 

[sunnybob]

If you are new to these kind of machines, and plan to use them at home for hobby work, be aware they are EXTREMELY noisy! I'm talking loud motorcycle with straight through pipes noisy, and theres nothing you can do about it. your neighbours will want to lynch you if you use it on a sunday.

 

[monkeybiter]

I use mine Monday morning, about 03:30, in the garden. Serves 'em right for their psychotic constantly barking at buggerall pair of looney Jack Russels.
Oh I forgot, I have a megaphone strapped to the extraction port.

 

[dynax]

If you are new to these kind of machines, and plan to use them at home for hobby work, be aware they are EXTREMELY noisy! I'm talking loud motorcycle with straight through pipes noisy, and theres nothing you can do about it. your neighbours will want to lynch you if you use it on a sunday.

yes they are, i cleared some space in my shed which is brick built, and i asked my closet neighbour if the noise was ok when the door was closed and she said it was like a vacuum cleaner humming so was acceptable for her, but i do try and only use it when she's out anyway,

 

[OscarG]

I have the Titan planer thicknesser (also bought it from Screwfix).

The good points:

It's cheap.

In thicknesser mode it works well, seems to have plenty of power and fairly easy to use.

Bad points:

To go from thicknesser to planer mode and vice versa (for safety reasons) you have to unscrew and move the dust extractor contraption, which is a huge fiddly pain in the a**.

In planer mode, sorry it's garbage. Fence is flimsy, on mine the tables aren't square with each other, find it impossible to actually plane anything to a degree of accuracy, it's a total waste of time.

I leave mine in thicknesser mode now, for the money it's ok but I couldn't in all honesty recommend it to someone. Wish I had saved up money and bought something better. Triton do nice planer thicknessers for about £100 more.

 

[transatlantic]

I did a bit of research into this myself. It seems that the bench top planers are a no go, unless you're doing very rough work. The next step up is then a Record or Metabo floor standing model which jump up to the ~£600 mark. It's a shame there is nothing inbetween.

Of course there is always second hand, which seems like the better option. There is often an Electrum Beckum planer on ebay for around the ~£300 mark.

 

[g7g7g7g7]

I treat my titan like a big electric jack/scrub plane for rough dimensioning, I also have the opposite problem to most people, the jointer is great (with a home made fence) and the thicknesser is a nonsense banana machine.

 

[sploo]

I have the Titan. As noted, it's incredibly loud. I removed the front cover and cleaned up the belt and that seemed to help a bit, but ear defenders are a must.

I only use it as a planer, as I have a separate (wider) thicknesser. For planing material flat it's really not that bad; albeit the table isn't that long.

The fence is an absolute joke - mine is so bent across its height that if you tried to plane stock that was thinner than the height of the fence it wouldn't pass over the table surface at 90 degrees. However, with a DIY fix it will happily give you straight and square material up to about 1.5m in length. Beyond that and the short table length becomes a problem.

 

[MikeJhn]

This may be a better bet, as long as it is only the motor that's gone caput: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Planer-Thickn ... Sw575Ze362

Mike

 

[monkeybiter]

If you do get one of the Titan/Erbauer/Clarke/Fox et al type, try to take a one metre straight edge with you and check the tables are parallel. I did this in Screwfix [more than once] and they were VERY good about it, very accommodating.

 

[user22161]

I had the misfortune to buy an Erbaur off ebay. Tables were mile out and not adjustable and Screwfix had no interest in advising solutions and said no replacement parts were available anyway. Once out of warranty they don't want to know. Replaced with a Record which is accurate, better build quality and 5 year warranty. I won't ever buy Screwfix own brand again.

 

[monkeybiter]

FWIW Record after sales care is/was excellent, I bought a Record dust extractor from a member on here and was unsure about the fixing method of the lid to the main body.
I registered online with Record so that I could ask the relevant question on the website and they phoned me back the same day to explain! And I'd bought second hand. Amazing.

 

[user 26792]

IMHO you'd be likely better off buying an electric hand planer for rough timber and then switching to a jack plane and smoothing plane to finish it especially if you are doing this as an occasional DIY hobby. Agreed a machine is quicker, it is also more expensive in the long run because of the hit that it will have on your electric bill. I had considered buying the same machines and after doing some research realised it still takes a little bit of effort to actually get things flat and square because the jointers don't give a perfectly flat surface as they are out slightly and when putting it through the thicknesser it makes the side parallel to the opposite side which means any variation, twist, cup or bow will the show up on the otherside.

Realistically, I can get a better outcome using an electric hand planer on rough timber then switching over to the jack and smoothing planes. It does take more time and would be much quicker if I had a proper workbench with a basic vice as opposed to a £3 wobbly workmate bench from the car boot sale.

Personally, I was leaning towards the Erbauer when I was looking as it seemed to have slightly better features and looked a little better.

K

 

[user22161]

...............when putting it through the thicknesser it makes the side parallel to the opposite side which means any variation, twist, cup or bow will the show up on the otherside.
K

Not if a sled and wedges are used.

 

[sunnybob]

I have a benchtop (lunchbox) thicknesser (JET 12"), like every machine nowadays, its not perfect, but it can be made to be very good with not much skill required.
But for me its worth its weight in gold as it saves enormous amounts of time and effort. I have no skills with planes (and no intentions of learning them), so I can now buy a rough sawn board and get an almost perfect finish on it within minutes.
I buy slightly oversized boards, run them through the thicknesser to get both sides smooth, then use the router table with an offset fence to make the sides smooth and at 90 degrees.

Works for me.

 

[dzj]

A very inexpensive item from ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Luna-L38-Plan ... SwjC9Zga7Q
The planer might even work, who knows. Worth the risk as you still get a pretty good thicknesser.

 

[MikeJhn]

A very inexpensive item from ebay:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Luna-L38-Plan ... SwjC9Zga7Q
The planer might even work, who knows. Worth the risk as you still get a pretty good thicknesser.

Put it on my watch list to see what it goes for, looks a bargain at £100.00, but don't think it will stay there for long.

Mike

 

[mbrogden]

I opted for the Titan one (mainly because it was cheaper)
The jointer face is square, and the fence is also square to the face. Have done a quick test and the results are really good.
Haven't used the thicknesser yet.
As for noise levels, its similar to my table saw and router table, so no issues with that.