Thicknesser Advice

[SandyMat]

I've been using my Scroll Saw for about 6 months now and am thoroughly enjoying it. However I've been amazed at the cost of timber. I'm planning to get a thicknesses so that I can use secondhand timber and I've already got some ready to be prepared.

My budget for a thicknesser is fairly low, but I don't want to spend too little and really end up regretting it and having to sell the cheaper one to get one that is good enough.

I'm a hobbyist, but really enjoying this new hobby.

This has just popped up on my ebay feed: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOX-10-PORTA ... SwikJb0x30

It's a new Fox F22-561 for £200
Is this a good deal?
Is it a good machine?
Does anyone have one and would recommend it or not?

I've also been watching a Perform CC10T on ebay which is secondhand and at present is £160. This looks like an identical machine to the Fox???

Or should I look at combined planer / thicknesser?

New to all of this so any advice welcome!

 

[Ttrees]

I suggest using a hand plane for recycling timber, as it would be a pain to have to change knives and set them up again if you hit some
concrete, nails, sand, embedded grit etc
Even if you have other plans in future for a thicknesser, you would want a way of preparing wood to be properly flat in the first place to thickness to,
otherwise you will just be making evenly thicknessed warped boards.
Tom

 

[LancsRick]

As above, you want a planer thicknesser rather than just a thicknesser.

You have two options...
1) plane everything true by hand and thickness using a "lunchbox" style thicknesser. Hard work, slow, but will give you lots of practice at a core skill. If you cock up you just have a hand plane blade to sharpen (by that I mean leave a nail in the reclaimed wood for example).
2) get a planer thicknesser. Quick, comparatively easy. It will however need decent chip extraction to avoid clogging, and if you run into something hard with the blades it could be a costly issue.

I've summarised a lot of points into some overly simplistic statements there, but do some research around those points and you should have enough knowledge to decide what route you want to take.

 

[sunnybob]

If youre new to planers and thicknessers, theres something you should know right up front.
Theyre LOUD. Not just LOUD, but STUPIDLY LOUD!!!.

If youre in a room in the house or have a shed in the garden next to the fence, Your neighbours will be extremely unhappy whenever you use it (them).

We are talking big motorcycle with straight through exhausts loud.

If you are happy with that, then they are a fantastic time saver, and can give glass like finishes with some care.

 

[Bodgers]

I've been using my Scroll Saw for about 6 months now and am thoroughly enjoying it. However I've been amazed at the cost of timber. I'm planning to get a thicknesses so that I can use secondhand timber and I've already got some ready to be prepared.

My budget for a thicknesser is fairly low, but I don't want to spend too little and really end up regretting it and having to sell the cheaper one to get one that is good enough.

I'm a hobbyist, but really enjoying this new hobby.

This has just popped up on my ebay feed: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOX-10-PORTA ... SwikJb0x30

It's a new Fox F22-561 for £200
Is this a good deal?
Is it a good machine?
Does anyone have one and would recommend it or not?

I've also been watching a Perform CC10T on ebay which is secondhand and at present is £160. This looks like an identical machine to the Fox???

Or should I look at combined planer / thicknesser?

New to all of this so any advice welcome!

I don't think Fox has a good rep for quality control. I would avoid it.

I would put another £50 in and get the Triton thicknesser. It is the only one that is really rated under £300.

 

[sunnybob]

After owning a FOX bandsaw for a year, I also would not buy from them again, both on quality control and lack of aftercare.
I have a jet thicknesser, which I see is now obsolete as axminster have a new range out.
I cant comment on the new product, but I rate axminster aftercare and service as the best youre likely to get.

 

[SandyMat]

Thanks for the comments and advice. I think I'll keep looking and see if something good comes up on ebay.

Still undecided if I should get a thicknesser or a planer/thicknesser? Hmmm...

 

[sunnybob]

Theyre both LOUD. :shock:

If you have the money, and more importantly the mechanical ability to adjust and fine tune, then a planer thicknesser is more versatile.

 

[user22161]

I had a Fox drill press and wasn't impressed with accuracy so sold it fairly quickly. Chinese at its worst.

 

[MusicMan]

You could consider a lunchbox deWalt. Gives very good results if the blades are kept sharp (I use a jig on a Torvek but that is a big outlay of you don't have the Torvek. But hand made jigs or replacement blades are possible). They can be found secondhand on ebay. I bought mine secondhand about 20 years ago, still going strong.

Since you are probably using fairly small pieces, you can build a sled to hold the work for the first cut; plenty of designs online.

I'd like a good planer/thicknesser but another big disadvantage is the space they take.

 

[Wallaceandsons]

I've been offered a Record Power pt60 for £400 with a dust extractor thrown in, should I pull the trigger?

 

[MikeJhn]

record-power-planer-thicknesser-260-pt-t58271.html