Planing with a thicknesser

[morfa]

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried this method for planing:

http://www.getwoodworking.com/news/arti ... nesser/776

I don't have a big shed (12x8) and the floor isn't great, so even if I could get a decent P/T inside, it'd probably collapse the floor. There's also a lack of power. So for the infrequent wood prep that I do (where possible I get it planed at the local yard) I was wondering if that method might work ok?

On a very related note, what to people think of the Jet thicknesser which Axminster sell?

 

[julianf]

I have not done it, but there is no reason for it not to work.

There is the other method too - running a router over the work, with a depth jig. I did this on an old oak beam here and it really worked surprisingly well, considering i just used some dexian angle in a vague approximation.

 

[deema]

It’s must my opinion, and you should always follow your heart in these things rather than taking advise!
If it were me, I would consider what time of wood working I’m doing. If it’s purely a hobby rather than trying to fit out a house / do up parts of house where my other half has expectations of timescales, I would avoid all the potential hassle and frustration of trying to get a machine to do something it’s nit designed for. In all probability for small / one off projects the effort and time involved in getting it to work will be longer than using hand planes to achieve the same result.

For an awful lot of stuff you only truly need two or three flat and true sides, often there is one or two sides never seen / hidden. If you look at lots of stuff build when machines were not widely available you will see that the hidden surfaces are either left raw or only minimally dressed. It’s really a modern phenomenon of having everything 4 square and true due to I believe the common place of machines.

 

[sunnybob]

looking at the article and the drawings, youre going to need a board 4 inches thick to start off with.
By the time you have one side flat, the middle thickness will be paper thin otherwise.
If a board is that far out of true then it should only be used for small pieces in my opinion.

I have a jet thicknesser. Its not a magic cure all, but it saves an enormous amount of hard work in getting a rough sawn plank to a useable state. If the board is slightly out of true its easy to just use a base board and a hot glue gun and wedges to glue it to the board as near square as you judge by eye, then after the first run through just flip the board to get the other side clean.

 

[marcros]

It wouldn't remove any more than planing would. It is simply a sled to allow the thicknesser to reference from a flat board rather than the board that is being thicknesses itself.

 

[Bodgers]

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried this method for planing:

http://www.getwoodworking.com/news/arti ... nesser/776

I don't have a big shed (12x8) and the floor isn't great, so even if I could get a decent P/T inside, it'd probably collapse the floor. There's also a lack of power. So for the infrequent wood prep that I do (where possible I get it planed at the local yard) I was wondering if that method might work ok?

On a very related note, what to people think of the Jet thicknesser which Axminster sell?

I am in a similar position, except I currently have the terrible Titan planer/thicknessner combo that I only really have in thicknessing mode.

There are all kinds of jigs to use a thicknessner as a jointer/planer, so it is definitely workable, particularly if you do it occasionally. There is an even fancier jig that supports a warped/bowed/cupped board and multiple points across its length as well that one of the US mags did (Woodsmith?)

Only thing this leaves is edge jointing, but if you have a table saw or a track saw, you could get a square edge off that, once you have the face flat I suppose...

I am looking at replacing the Titan with either..

The Jet you mentioned (can be had for cheaper than Axminster)
Triton (cheapest about £280)
Metabo (cheapest about £370)

I actually think the Jet is basically just a Chinesewe clone that looks very similar to the Erabuer screwfix sell, so that might also be worth a look. It is very cheap.

I am leaning towards the Metabo as it looks a unique design and has the locking function.

The Makita is probably the best, but is a bit pricey.

I would also be interested in opinions on the Jet.

Another thing to bear in mind is ease of blade changes, if they can be resharpened and if they are expensive. I think the Jet blades are quite cheap plus they are resharpenable.


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[sunnybob]

Grantedit can be done by hand, but would you actually invest that much time in straightening a bowed board untill the thickness is 50% or less than when you started? Thats the kind of thing you get an apprentice to do just make him learn.
And if the board has only a minor twist or warp, then a wedge and hot glue and then through the thicknesser will sort it out in a couple of minutes.

That jig is the kind of thing that jig makers make to fill up their day. Not that I have anything against any one who gets more fun out of making a jig than making something else, but its not for me.

The Jet works well for the money paid. Its easy to change blades and they can be resharpened. i get mine done for £2.50 at a saw sharpening shop.
The major complaint with the Jet is the noise, but then again they are all noisy, with the makita claiming to be the quietist.

End snipe is a problem that I have not completely cured, but as long as I use 3 metre boards the wastage is minimal.

 

[Bodgers]

Grantedit can be done by hand, but would you actually invest that much time in straightening a bowed board untill the thickness is 50% or less than when you started? Thats the kind of thing you get an apprentice to do just make him learn.
And if the board has only a minor twist or warp, then a wedge and hot glue and then through the thicknesser will sort it out in a couple of minutes.

That jig is the kind of thing that jig makers make to fill up their day. Not that I have anything against any one who gets more fun out of making a jig than making something else, but its not for me.

The Jet works well for the money paid. Its easy to change blades and they can be resharpened. i get mine done for £2.50 at a saw sharpening shop.
The major complaint with the Jet is the noise, but then again they are all noisy, with the makita claiming to be the quietist.

End snipe is a problem that I have not completely cured, but as long as I use 3 metre boards the wastage is minimal.

I've been in a position a couple of times where I thought I could get away with thicknessing a slightly bowed board, thinking it would be ok, only to find the thicknessner followed the profile of the bow and amplified it, ending up with some nicely planed banana boards A simple jig is probably going to be worth it IMO...

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[sunnybob]

This what I mean by wedges and hot glue. you use a base board known to be flat. you put the warped board onto it and level it as best as with thin wedges. You hot glue the wedges to the base and the plank, and shove it through the thicknesser.
turn it over and do the same on the other side if you have to.

I have great difficulty with hand tools and always look for a powered answer to any problem.

 

[ScaredyCat]

Triton (cheapest about £280)

Yandles have it at £244 (plus 6.49 delivery)

What's the problem with the Titan btw?

 

[morfa]

deema - I normally find most things in woodworking are 'solved' problems, so trying to do something vastly outside the norm isn't done for good reasons. Also I don't have loads of time

sunnybob - Yeah, I'd heard of the wedges and glue gun as a method. Sounds like it works well enough. I might give that a whirl.

The woodsmith plans are these - https://www.woodsmithplans.com/plan/dou ... aner-sled/

If the wedges and glue works ok, then I'll probably not do enough to warrant the jig.

I'd looked at the DeWalt 733, but it seems a bit expensive. That's why the Jet looked good. But I've got some other Metabo kit and it's good, so if that's an ok one, I might get that.

Not bothered about edge jointing, I can do that ok with my planes. I just don't have the time to hand thickness/plane wideish boards these days.

 

[gaz44uk]

Here's a little step by step on how to build the above Woodsmith one, might be of some help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNg9BV4IF2Q

 

[custard]

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried this method for planing

The jig you linked to is overkill verging on foolishness.

For years working in a small shed I made do with a lunch box thicknesser and a bandsaw. I still managed to make plenty of hardwood furniture that I'd be proud of today. A couple of wedges and a box of brads or a hot melt gun is all you need.

The key thing is this, the first face doesn't have to be totally flat all over, you just need it flat enough to reference from and pass through the thicknesser. Once the second face is reasonably flat you flip the workpiece with each pass and bingo, job done. It's really not that hard and it doesn't justify a NASA quality sled.

 

[morfa]

custard - so I could just get away with a bit of say mdf or plywood for the base and then like you say, glue/wedge the board on. Sounds good to me. I don't mind doing a bit of handplaning on something that's 90% there. Or taking the worst off so it can go on the board. But I suspect that not having to make a complex jig will be a lot quicker for my uses.

 

[sunnybob]

Woodworking magazines have to have projects to fill their pages. the more complicated the project, the more pages filled, the more chance of selling the magazine and making money.

i know of people who spend hundreds of hours and many hundreds of pounds making all singing all dancing router tables, work benches, etc etc. Good luck to them, each to their own, but to me tools are just tools to help me make finished stuff, and the less time I spend making tools and jigs the more time I get to make stuff i like.

regarding make of lunchbox thicknesser, they are all almost identical in performance (I did a lot of research before i bought one). but the one I SHOULD have bought is the makita. Claims to be significantly quieter than the others (did i mention it is N>O>I>S>Y>??????) and also claims the least snipe. Which can be a right pain if you are using short lengths of wood.

 

[ScaredyCat]

custard - so I could just get away with a bit of say mdf or plywood for the base and then like you say, glue/wedge the board on..

Precicely like that... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UONmuQt_98