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Planner/Thicknesser

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
Guys when i get my lean-to finished i will be looking for a Planner/Thicknesser ... If you have one of these could you please give me the thoughts on the make you have ... I am not bothered about a big all singing all dancing one, it will not be used for the big stuff ... :ciggrin:

Thanks ... :thumbs:
 

Pete B

Registered
Joined
Apr 22, 2013
Posts
264
Location
Almost in Northumberland
Hi,
I had a makita very similar to the dewalt and it was fine for a few years but very light use. Then one day i was doing some very wide oak and it just slowed down and the motor burned out, had to spray extinguiser into hole where carbon things on springs screw into (I know i don't know what they are called.
But, it had good accuracy and gave a very smooth finish almost as good as a hand plane. Small sizes can be planed as well if put through on a bigger piece.
Was well made and depth gauge although not super accurate, it was accurate enough.
There was never much if any tearout and it coped with knots very well.
Maybe it was just the width of the oak an hardness combined were too much. If i hadn't pushed it one day it would probably still be going.
I did buy a cheaper Jet version but never used it and might have sold it now.
Very good for really long sawn boards when i did a load a few times, noisy, heavy but did pack away quite small, amd well made.
Have a Jet one unused and i have sold it i think.
Seemed almost as good, handles were not quite the same quality, but it was never used.
But if i had the space i would buy a large non portable that i have just realised is the item you are asking about not the portable ones.

Pete
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
Thanks Pete, to be honest i am not bothered whether it is portable or not, i am after one that is reliable and will do me a good job .. :thumbs:
 

naxie

Registered
Joined
May 3, 2013
Posts
397
Location
Plymouth, Devon
I have a D.B.Keighley - SIP 01344 10" x 6" Planer/Thicknesser which I bought from a member on another forum with the wheel kit and a couple of sets of spare blades.

Its not a thing I use all the time, but I certainly wouldn't be without it. I tend to batch prepare timber with it for a couple of hours at a time. I got it to be able to prepare my own hardwoods for scrollsawing and it really does do a good job. The last time I used it was a couple of weeks ago when I made the base for my graduate and prepared some rather wobbley re-sawn oak down to a nice square and even 70mm thick.

I see what David means about the wheels. I keep it tucked in next to the RAS and drag it out when needed and even with the wheels, its a sod to move! :whistling:
 

clumsysod

GOBBY GIT
Graduate Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Posts
687
Location
Grantham
Hmmm not a thread I should comment on as I have no experience of these machines.
But I just can't help forcing my opinion on you.:ave_it:
Common comments are concerns about bulk of the item and frequency of use, therefore the two prime questions to ask your self are:
Do you have the space to spare? Don't forget its about plugging it in somewhere and the pile of timber it will attract around it like bees to a honeypot.
How often will you use it? In the first week or two all the time undoubtedly, the telegraph pole outside will be reduced to a pile of pen blanks within seconds, and it will be the best thing since sliced bread.
Then in a short time it will just become an inconvenience stuck under a bench and staying there because its either to heavy to move or there is to much stuff to move out of the way first.
In the drawer is a hand plane that is so much quicker and a short burst on the belt sander, job done instead wealding that great bulk of a pain in the arse about.

There you have now been Georged I have forced my opinion upon you, have a nice day.:ave_it::ave_it:
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
Thanks for the links and comments guys, some food for thought there ... :thumbs:

And George, your wisdom is wisely accepted, you are bang on with your comments ... :ciggrin:
 

ataylor

Registered
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Posts
1,668
Location
UK
First Name
Andy
I guess this is going to be used for segmenting. wouldn't a good sander be as good for pen making. :thinks:
 

Jimjam66

Chief Battonager
Registered
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Posts
3,775
Location
Basingstoke, Hampshire
George, I take your comments on board. In truth, I don't use mine THAT often. Like Naxie, mine gets used rarely but used hard when it does get used. The one thing which avoids it getting relegated to the 'never used' category is that it allows me to buy rough-sawn lumber at a huge discount to prepared timber. As long as I can do that the planer/thicknesser is in no danger of lack of use!
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
I have a decent sander Tony, but it does not do what the Planner/Thicknesser can do. Yes it is for segmenting, but not just for the pens. :whistling:
 

Jimjam66

Chief Battonager
Registered
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Jan 27, 2013
Posts
3,775
Location
Basingstoke, Hampshire
A thickness sander is a particular animal, Jim. It presupposes that you have one flat side to your timber, but will then thickness it brilliantly so long as you don't have to remove too much material. Great for veneers and e like. Beats a rotary blade thicknesser in one key respect: no tearout. Easy to make, there are lots of plans on the interweb.
 

wm460

Grand Master
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Posts
23,095
Location
Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia.
First Name
Mark
A thickness sander is a particular animal, Jim. It presupposes that you have one flat side to your timber, but will then thickness it brilliantly so long as you don't have to remove too much material. Great for veneers and e like. Beats a rotary blade thicknesser in one key respect: no tearout. Easy to make, there are lots of plans on the interweb.

Just what I is building at the moment. :fart:
 

Walter

Moderator
Fellow
Joined
Apr 22, 2013
Posts
2,697
Location
Amble on the sunny Northumberland coast.
First Name
Walter
I have a little Woodstar planer/thicknesser which I use for small furniture projects. I bought it because it was a) small and b) cheap but it does the job reasonably well. If I was going to replace it now I would probably go for something like this Record Power one which has cast iron beds and a 2 HP motor but is less expensive than a professional cabinet based machine.

I had a Makita2012NB thicknesser on loan for a couple of weeks when I was doing an article for Woodworking Plans and Projects mag and it was a superb machine. It works best if the timber is reasonably flat to start with but slight bowing along the length can be dealt with by fastening the work to a reference board of ply or mdf and wedging beneath the gaps. (See here for a better explanation. The guy uses a fancy jig but the principle is the same).
 

ataylor

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Nov 6, 2011
Posts
1,668
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UK
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Andy
It would be great if each town had a place where we could take a piece of wood and ask them to plane it for us, it would be a lot cheaper than buying som machine that you would only use 2 or 3 times a year. :thinks:
 

nimrod

Graduate Member
Joined
May 10, 2013
Posts
418
Location
Lancaster
First Name
Robin
I also have a woodstar planer/thicknesser which I use to take the timber to slightly above the finished size, I then finish it on a Jet drum sander which gives a very good finish and the thickness is accurate to a couple of thou. I bought the drum sander on ebay for well under half the price of a new one, I had to travel a hundred miles to get it but the results I gives made it worth the journey. the thinnest I have is about an 1/8 of an inch but it will go a lot thinner.
 
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