Planner/thicknesser - combined or separate?

[AndyC Longwood]

Hello there everyone,

I guess this topic has been well discussed before, but some advice would really be appreciated.

I am in the market for a good quality planner/thicknesser (a budget of max £1k) and was wondering whether to opt for a single machine or whether separate machines are better?
Also recommendations for the type of machines would be great, I have been looking at the Axminister range.

Thanks in advance for any info or assistance offered.

Regards,
Andy

 

[Steve Maskery]

HI Andy
Well it depends what you mean by better, really!

The advantage of a P/T is that it takes up less space. The advantage of separates is that you don't have to spend half your life winding tables up and down.

I've had a P/T for the last 19 years. The output from it, now that it is nicely fettles, is excellent. It's a Kity 367, no longer made.

But when I move I intend to sell it rather than put it into store. My hope is, that when I finally have a workshop again, it will be big enough to accommodate separates.

Cheers
Steve

 

[AndyC Longwood]

Hello Steve, thank you for your reply.

So would you say it is space requirements and ease of use which dictate separates or combined, rather than quality of finished timber? I dont have a lot of space, but wouldnt want that to stop me chosing the right machines/setup.

Any thoughts on which machines you would recommend?

Thanks again for you reply,

Andy

 

[Steve Maskery]

So would you say it is space requirements and ease of use which dictate separates or combined, rather than quality of finished timber?

Yes, and the quality of the individual machines rather than whether they are dual function or not.

I don't really know what's about these days, so I can't help there. But if you can get to W10 at the NEC in the next couple of days, I would expect you to be able to see a few examples there.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Carlow52]

If I had the space I would go with separates for the reasons that Steve states unless the machine allows both without any 'orsing around'.

I currently have a sheppach and switching from P to T, after removing the dust collection unit for the P bit, requires the front table to be removed, as well as the fence and the blade guard and then fold up a piece that covers the cutter block and acts as a connection piece for dust collection.

Its a drag and then if the front table is not seated back exactly....

I had a Wadkin 12" by 7" and you could P and T separately: class machine.

My father had a planer which allowed rebating, something I have not seen on a P/T

 

[Shane]

I've got this one, hell I even wrote a review on their site :lol:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod810327/

Floor space and machine capacity for the price made me choose this one. I have given it a thorough drashing and so far it has been spot on. If I had a bigger workshop and a higher budget I'd go for separates cos it is a bit of a PITA swapping between the two functions. IMO it is still a great machine though. It has Kity and Rojek clone equivalents

 

[BigMac]

My thoughts as someone who has only just broken their P/T cherry (and with the £170 Axi bench top at that), so take them with a pinch of salt.

At the prices you're talking you're only going to get a 6 inch planer. So if you want to plane up to 8 inches then within your budget I think a combined machine is the only option.

Thicknessing long pieces is probably best done with a separate thicknesser (although my little bench top did 1900mmm without too much snipe, although I think the failure to support the piece on the way out may be why my first one broke...). On a combined machine the thicknessing table moves up rather than the cutters moving down so it strikes me it'll be harder (although I think not impossible) to give extra support other than with your hands (as the level the support is needed at keeps changing. With a fixed bottom bed it should be pretty easy to provide longer intake and outtake for the thicknesser if needed (although thats probably less of an issue anyway on a full sized machine).

 

[loftyhermes]

My father had a planer which allowed rebating, something I have not seen on a P/T

I once worked in a workshop in the late 90's that had a Sedgwick p/t that would thickness without lifting the tables and could also do rebates.

 

[woodbloke]

I'd go for the Jet 260 - Rob

 

[RogerS]

My father had a planer which allowed rebating, something I have not seen on a P/T

I once worked in a workshop in the late 90's that had a Sedgwick p/t that would thickness without lifting the tables and could also do rebates.

They still do.

 

[mtt.tr]

.

My father had a planer which allowed rebating, something I have not seen on a P/T

The wadkin im my college allows you to do that

 

[OPJ]

You can still find surface planers (mostly old cast iron ones) that'll allow you to do a bit of rebating as well. There don't appear to be many new machines available that'll allow you to do this, unless you're prepared to start spending over £1,000. What is important, though, is that you have the correct shaw or tunnel guarding in place - it should keep your hands safe and hold the timber tight to the bed and fence. Some old machines will allow you to cut 15mm deep in a single pass! :shock:

 

[Shane]

Some old machines will allow you to cut 15mm deep in a single pass! :shock:

My old multico can do 21mm rebates and tenons! :shock: :lol: