Titan jointer planer problem

[SPSlick]

Just picked this up from Screwfix and after setting it up tried a test run but noticed that the beds aren't parallel so I can't see how this would wwork properly or am I misunderstanding something?

 

[Myfordman]

Send it back. Common problem on bottom end machines.

 

[glynster]

I have a Titan P/T - just upgraded to the Axminster PT2 so will be flogging mine off on ebay eventually, but I thought mine was a decent beginner PT for the money and I got good results. There are 2 bolts behind the fence where you can adjust the infeed table if I remember right - no mention of it in the manual. The outfeed table cannot be adjusted - well it can through modifying the mechanism that holds it in place by milling out the 2 bolt holes which hold it in place on each side to turn them into slots to allow a little precision adjustment but I never tried it myself. As far as I can see (and was advised by somebody who knows machinery importing v well) almost all of these similar looking benchtop P/T are made in the same factory in China so spending £350 on a named brand instead of £150 from Screwfix wont necessarily get you a better machine as such - just a few more options and better quality fence etc. I found that with lots of fettling you can get this machine to produce good enough results and I used it for my first project (2 bedside tables from v rough sawn oak) with good success. As with all benchtop PT you always should adjust UP to your desired thickness on the planer (not down) and if need be give the side of the infeed table a swift slap (think the kind of slap required in getting a 1970s valve telly to right itself) which usually drops it into line. If you mean the infeed and outfeed are non-planar or the thicknesser beds are level then get it swopped and try again - eventually you'll get a decent one.

EDIT: forgot to mention that Screwfix exchange policy is excellent and no-quibbles so you wont have to have a debate with a grumpy clerk - they'll just swap it with minimal questions asked.

 

[John15]

Hi SPSlick,

I'm not sure about the in-feed and out-feed beds having to be parallel but at the cutter the in-feed should be slightly below the out-feed to avoid snipe.

Cheers,

John

 

[Eric The Viking]

Hi SPSlick,

I'm not sure about the in-feed and out-feed beds having to be parallel but at the cutter the in-feed should be slightly below the out-feed to avoid snipe.

Cheers,

John

Or perhaps not.

Beds: not co-planar but in parallel planes (exactly parallel).

Knives: _very_ slightly *above* the outfeed table, or level with it if you want to plane slowly. The reason was well explained by Steve Maskery in earlier threads on this: The knives cut a series of scoops in the wood as it passes them. To achieve a roughly planar surface (without snipe), the cusps left after the knives have scooped need to run on the outfield table. If the knives are below the plane of the outfield table you *will*, inevitably, get snipe (work the geometry out), as, once the end of the wood has been cut by the knives, it will start to lift on the outfeed table, and there will be an inevitable bump at that point. The planer also won't cut in a straight line, as the angle between the wood and the cutter block will change (depending on where you push down on it). You'll get a convex surface to the wood (slightly, end-to-end).

I've got a small 7" Kity. I have a really quick setup that works nicely:

1. Whip off the fence.
2. Put the knife in, with the clamp (the gib strip) loose, so the knife can move in/out against the springs easily.
3. Put two clean pieces of 80g paper on top of the outfeed table, and the fence (which is aluminium) gently down flat on top of the paper, so that its end hangs out over the knife I'm adjusting. For best results it needs to be over the centre of the knife.
4. Weight the fence down with something pretty heavy.
5. Get the cutting edge of the knife 'top-dead-centre' on the block, held down by the end of the fence on top of it.
6. Tighten up the gib strip (middle bolts first, then the outside ones).
7. Repeat for the other knife.

Check the knives are both parallel to the outfeed table and projecting identically by using a flat-bottomed thin, straight batten either end of the knife. Lie it along the outfeed, projecting over the cutter. Turn by hand in the normal rotation. The knife should pick up the stick and move it towards the infeed table and drop it down again. The amount it moves is an indication of how much the blade is projecting. If it's the same both ends of the knife, it's parallel to the outfeed table. Same amount on both ends of both knives: both are projecting the same amount and are parallel.

On my Kity the distance moved is usually about 1/8" or 3/16" I'd guess this is OK for almost all planers, but theoretically it would vary with block diameter and how fast you push the stock over the cutter block.

I have a dial gauge, but really don't need to use it - this works quite well enough and it's very quick. If you don't get the results you want, change the thickenss of the paper under the fence. Anything smooth and flat will work instead, but the fence is handy!

E.

 

[SPSlick]

The problem is that the infeed table is at such a slope the wood doesn't even go near the blades let alone the outfeed table.

 

[SPSlick]

It's now packed up and ready to go back. I'm considering selling my Fender Jazz Bass to fund a AW106PT2.

 

[Eric The Viking]

It's now packed up and ready to go back.

You're probably right to do this, but do bear in mind almost any planer will need setting up carefully after shipping, as the beds will have been bumped about. It's not fair to expect it to work out of the box, although you should complain if the setup instructions are c**p, so it's not clear how to do the setup properly.

There's a lot of stuff on YouTube about setup. Have a look at Marc Spagnuolo's video, particularly (the Wood Whisperer), although his planer is a lot easier to set up than the cheap ones are, as the adjustments on his are really easy. Us mere mortals have to resort to big rubber mallets etc. to get stuff aligned.

Also bear in mind that there are TWO alignment things if it's a planer/thickensser:

FIRST you need to check the block (NOT the knives!) is parallel to the thicknesser table underneath, and second check it's parallel to the outfeed table (and only then check the infeed is parallel to the outfeed). The order of doing this is important. If the first is wrong, you'll never get it operating satisfactorily. It's horribly easy otherwise to get the planer function working just fine, but the thicknesser working on the skew, meaning you can never properly make squared stock.

Mine is on a metal floor stand without castors, on a lumpy concrete floor. I have to pull it out into the middle of the floor to use it, and find a sweet spot where it doesn't wobble. I'm expecting that banging it about like this to be enough to upset it at some point. So far it hasn't, but having stripped it down to refurb it, I know how flimsy it really is inside.

I'm considering selling my Fender Jazz Bass to fund a AW106PT2.

This is almost certainly the wrong thing to do. DO NOT SELL YOUR GUITAR!



E.

 

[SPSlick]

I did spend quite a bit of time trying to work out how to fettle it but it wasn't viable.

Unfortunately I can't play my guitars anymore without lots of pain. That's why I'm spending more time with the wood.