RSPT260 Planer Thicknesser, anyone got, used or seen one?

[DaveL]

Hi,

I am thinking about saving for a planer and or thicknesser and on looking around the Record Power RSPT260 looks like it would meet both requirements.
Here is the unit:
http://www.recordpower.co.uk/DisplayPro ... sp?p=01466
So has anyone got one? What's it like to use.
I'll be honest I have never used a thicknesser, but the idea of producing matched thickness boards when making draws etc sounds very nice . The last time I used a planer was over 30 years ago, I worked weekends in a small timber and builders yard. The machines we used would not meet heath and safety now :!:. (I can still remember using 12' bits of 2x1 to retrieve the belts out of a tree after hitting a nail :shock: on our big (diesel powered) table saw!)

The best price I have seen is here:
http://www.woodworkingcentre.co.uk/ente ... lang=en-gb

So should I save for one or keep looking for a different machine?

DaveL
(Who would like to be in the workshop now!)

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Dave.
I have had the Record for a while now, and I am very pleased with it. I did have a few problems to start with, with the outfeed roller marking the timber. This was remedied with some emery paper to take the sharp points off the roller( don't tell Record though). The machine works well now, with very few marks on softwoods, and no visible ones on hardwood. A rubber outfeed roller would have been the best route, but these were a lot dearer at the time. Another couple of accessories to consider are a good 4" extractor, as you would not believe the volume of shavings you make, and later, a wet stone grinder to put the edge back on the knives. Dull knives not only give a poor finish, but can dramatically shorten the life of the motor. Hope I have helped a little. I have tweeked one or two bits so if you have any queries, just ask. Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Dave,

I had one of those Record P/T and I could not do a thing with it, it just would not plane the wood the same thickness from one side to the other and I spend hours setting it all up and making sure that the thicknessing table was true to the cutter block, which is was not. But it still would not thickness correctly, so I got rid of thing and it was only 11 months old. Record were not interested is sorting it out for me, when I contacted them, they said they would come back to me, but never did. So its up to you, as they say you pays your moeny and....... but if you can spead a bit more, is my advise, I did and now I have a P/T that does the job. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear Sawblade has a bad experience with his Record. The problems I mentioned were along the same lines. I would like to know how far out his shaft was, as I managed to solve the problem almost entirely. I don't know if I am being too fussy, but my thicknesser was thicker on one side by 0.4mm. I used a dial guage and stand to first check how true the thicknessing bed was to the surfacing bed, and then the cutter shaft. All were within about 0.15mm. I then set the adjustable surfacing infeed side to take about 0.3mm cut. This table was then locked so that it could not be adjusted, therefore it would not vary. I now set the knives with a dial guage as well, it doesn't take any longer, and the results are much more acurate. Over the 10 inch width I now get about 0.2mm variance, good by engineering standards, let alone timber. Having said all of this if I had had deeper pockets at the time of purchase I probably would have looked at a more up market machine, but would I have got better results for the extra?

 

[Anonymous]

Dave,

I've got the Elektra Beckum HC260M, which you can get for a similar price. I've been pretty pleased with it, and having just put new blades into it I'm getting around 0.1mm difference across a 7" width, which is plenty good enough for me.

I've not had any problems with it, except for a similar issue to PaulB with some marking from the outfeed rollers. This is pretty minor and gets cleaned up during the hand-planing or sanding phase of the project prior to finishing anyway. I shall have to have a look and see if I can knock off the sharp edges from the outfeed roller as Paul did.

I've heard good things about the Scheppach p/t (HS260?) - it has rubber outfeed tables and a loyal following for all who've got it - not heard any complaints about its performance, just that it seems a little lightweight in build.

Cheers,

AG

 

[DaveL]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies, I am still saving and considering which machine to buy.
I have seen a Scheppach for sale second hand, but the details are not in the ad, I have had no responce back from email, so I am not sure its still for sale.
I have also looked at the Axminster site, they have one that looks very similar to the Record, any comment on this?

I am making a flight case for our new mixing desk and all of the wood I have (from sheds ) is cupped so I am determined to get a planer thicknesser, hopefully by the summer

Regards,
DaveL

 

[Anonymous]

Hi DaveL,

I note from you last posting, that you will be using the P/T to get rid of the cupping in the planks, if you put it striaght through the thicknesser, it will come out still cupped. First run the boards over the surface planer to get a flat suface, then put it through the thicknesser, I had some cupped boards and thats what I did and it worked. Put the cupped board on the surface planer with the cup side down, ie. so that the hollow side in on the table.