The best planer thicknesser for the money?

[jimmm]

I am sure that this question has been asked before but I am too idle to look. It is down to my bone idleness that I am looking for the best single phase planer thicknesser that you can buy for up to £1600, one that gives the best result and is the easiest to use. I have looked at the Record pt107 but see it gets slated by some people. Can I draw upon your collected knowledge and experience please? It's just taking me too long to prepare all rough stock by hand.
TIA.
Jim

 

[jimmm]

Anyone?

 

[Ttrees]

Whilst I can't give you an answer as I don't own a planer thicknesser,
I can try and get you an answer easier, as you haven't specified if you intend for this
machine to be used in a home shop by yourself, or if you have employees working for you/sharing a place in a business that may be subject to H&S inspection.

Say it is going to be a home machine, since you said single phase.
Is weight a problem, even the smaller ones look pretty heavy,
Do you have a 16a blue plug for powering it, or 13a plug?
Would you be willing to put a little work into it?
Is it capacity you are looking for, or a brute workhorse for heavy work?


A three phase machine would probably be half the price, so you would only need to hook up a 100 quid VFD (easy as wiring a plug,) and you could use it with a 13a plug then, or 16a if you prefer either,
if you have the choice.
Most if not all new motors on woodworking tools can run on 240 volts (three phase 240V)
If you see 240v on the motor nameplate, you can rest assured there will be no headaches,
and you can get that machine if its for a bargain.
If your looking to do heavy work with it, it may be a better option to go with an inverter/vfd
like Invertec, a UK manufacturer of VFD's, cause if it sh**s the bed, you will have support.
It would cost three or four times the price of the cheaper VFD's like the Huanyang 100 quid ones though.
I have two Chinese VFD's, one on the 12" startrite tablesaw, and another on the 24" bandsaw,
working off a 13a plug.
I will without doubt get another if a machine comes my way for cheap.
Tom

 

[deema]

Secondhand blue and blue or blue and white Sedgwick would come in in budget. Preferably with a Tersa Block.

 

[Trevanion]

Can't go wrong with a used sedgwic or wadkin planer, you could pick one up from £500-£2000 depending on age, size, condition etc. Sedgwicks are more commonly single phase than wadkin machines but you do on occasion see a BAO/S in single phase.

As far as new machines go I've been told the Metabo P/T is very good for the money at around £500 but I wouldn't go for much less money than that as quality goes off a cliff once you go under £400 or so.

On the higher end of the budget you've got Itech and Startrite machines, both are very good machines. 10" Itech machine is about £1400 EX VAT but you do get a spiral block if thats where you get your kicks. I've used Itech machines before and have found the fit and finish to be incredible for the price point, beats the pants off some SCM machines to be honest. The Startrite is very similar but it is a 12" machine and is built to a similar standard and is around the same price.

 

[jimmm]

That's great, thank you for your replies, It's given me something to look at. I was just trawling through Google just scratching my head before hand.
This machine will be for home use with only me using it and I do have a 16amp supply which should give me a bit more scope. I'll look into VFD's as I've never heard of them before, there are plenty of used Wadkins on the market so that might be well worth a look. Thanks again

 

[Ttrees]

The old Wadkins look to be fixed star high voltage motors...
I don't know if you would get a recent Wadkin machine, but I think they may have gone more up
to date with dual voltage three phase motors.
If you dont want a headache, make sure it says 240v on the motor nameplate, otherwise you will have to open the motor
and dig out the windings, like memzey is doing right now on this thread in the general woodworking
topic113222.html
It looks fairly do-able, but might be a bit much for an introduction to VFD's/inverters.


Here is three links to my my ramblings from a laymans perspective

can-anyone-fit-a-3-phase-inverter-for-me-t109500.html

huanyang-2-2kw-vfd-new-model-bought-in-2017-t107063.html

startrite-275-table-saw-conversion-3-phase-single-phase-t106896-30.html

Since you seem open to the inverters and such, and aren't in a commercial setting,
Now you have many choices, and not just a few to pick from.
Let the games begin
Good luck
Tom

 

[memzey]

A word of warning if you intend to use a VFD on a three phase planer thicknesser; many of these machines come with two motors which will make your life much more complicated. When I was looking I had deduced that a phase converter would probably be required with that type of machine. As it happens though a single phase Sedgwick MB with a Tersa head came up for sale not 10 minutes from my house. I got it delivered for less than your budget a couple of years ago and it has been a brilliant machine for me in that time. I am but a cack handed amateur but I know pros that also swear by the MB. They are big and heavy though so make sure you have the room and facilities to get it in place before shelling out.

 

[Ttrees]

What requirement does the second feed motor need to have?
Guessing they are a lesser powerful induction motor, and probably have a geared system
to slow them down to a reasonable feed speed.
I would love to see an example of someone properly explaining these machines, instead of
just the use of them.

Do these machines have a potentiometer for adjusting feed rate?
Thanks

 

[memzey]

I’ve never seen a multi speed planer thicknesser with something that was obviously a potentiometer. The only ones I’ve seen have had a switch designating two feed speeds for the thickness rollers and they have all been three phase. I suppose the switches could actuate a potentiometer on the motor powering the feed rollers but I wonder if the change in speed is achieved by pole switching on some? Anyone know?

 

[Trevanion]

What requirement does the second feed motor need to have?
Guessing they are a lesser powerful induction motor, and probably have a geared system
to slow them down to a reasonable feed speed.
I would love to see an example of someone properly explaining these machines, instead of
just the use of them.

Do these machines have a potentiometer for adjusting feed rate?
Thanks

Jack over at Jack English Machines has a few good videos on his Wadkin RM Rebuilt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7axuOddeBLo

This video goes over the feed mechanism and he does explain it quite well. All the videos are worth a watch.