# NuTool BT130 Planer/Thicknesser



## Lee J (14 Jul 2009)

Your opinions please. I have a chance to buy a NuTool BT130 that has never been used. It's a year old. 

I am currently doing a job that requires planing/squaring up of some 4"x4" legs, possibly gonna be oak. Is this up to it? Spec claims it'll take max thickness of 130mm so it should be ok. 

anyone any experience of NuTool stuff?


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## Dibs-h (14 Jul 2009)

Like most things - buy cheap, buy twice (at least). Having said that - I suspect more people buy and upgrade over time than those who buy the final item first time round - if you follow. If you work on that assumption, then people do start at at different points.

I remember getting one of those a long time ago - it went back 2 days later. I suppose if you are willing to hand-finish the items then it could do most of the work for you. Best to try it.

However having looked a picture of it - you still need a jointer (I think that's what the 'muricans call it).


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## lurker (14 Jul 2009)

I've got one of those which someone here kindly gave me.

Its OK for rough Prep & sizing - I prefer to hand plane finish.
Bit of a screamer
Seems quite solid

They were not much more than £120 when new I believe 
If I were buying I doubt I'd pay over £45 for it.


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## Lee J (14 Jul 2009)

thanks guys, guy wants nearly £100 for it - might just pass on it and put the money towards a more substantial one.


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## lurker (14 Jul 2009)

Lee J":1d3x5fgh said:


> , guy wants nearly £100 for it -.



I wouldn't contaminate a barge pole at that price.


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## Lee J (14 Jul 2009)

I dont mind finishing by hand, I wouldn't expect it to give me a finish of high standard, I just need it to square up some stock


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## Tony Spear (14 Jul 2009)

Lee, what it won't do is square up stock. It's only a thicknesser, so you will need two adjacent faces flat and square to each other before it's of any use to you.

It really annoys me that so many sellers of these things insist on calling them Planer Thicknessers, 'cos that's a misleading description.

Rant :evil:


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## pren (14 Jul 2009)

I recently bought the MacAllister thicknesser from B&Q for £180-ish. Have to say I was very impressed with it. 

I spent a day planning up some oak and Iroko planks that I'd salvaged from pallets. The finish was very good with only a light bit of sanding required.

As has been said - a thicknesser wont give you square timber - just parallel.

hth.

Bryn


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## FogggyTown (14 Jul 2009)

pren":1cdir9gs said:


> I recently bought the MacAllister thicknesser from B&Q for £180-ish. Have to say I was very impressed with it.
> 
> I spent a day planning up some oak and Iroko planks that I'd salvaged from pallets. The finish was very good with only a light bit of sanding required.
> 
> ...



Ah! Wish I hadn't just read that! I was looking at those when I was in the market to replace my SIP 13". I just couldn't convince myself that one of B&Q's house brands was the way to go. I ended up with the Fox entry level model.


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## skinns (14 Jul 2009)

i have used a mac thicknesser for the last six months i think its great for the money would buy another one if i had to


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## Tony Spear (14 Jul 2009)

Of course if you're prepared to put in the effort, it is possible to make a sled to hold the stock in the right position to use the thing as a Planer, but for one job?

It is also possible to use a Planer to get the stock square then get the thickness by doing repetitive cuts on the same machine until you get what you want.

In my opinion, if what you want a machine for is for frequent squaring this would be the way to go and then consider the Thicknesser or a P/T as a future purchase.


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## dennyk (14 Jul 2009)

A while back 2 or 3 years ago, I bought a Nu-Tool bench top planer , it worked reasonable but very noisy, 2 years ago on ebay I bought a brand new Nu-Tool lathe with electronic speed control , I have given it a fair bit of use and cannot fault it.

IMHO some of the Nu-Tool stuff is not bad


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## Lee J (14 Jul 2009)

derrrr spot the newbie to wood working  

of course a thicknesser isn't gonna square stock up unless there is a square side to start from.  

Well i didnt bother with it anyway, I will invest in a P/T within the month but for this 1 off job I'll manange by hand. 

I have a MAC router and it's great, I too was skepticle about MAC but it's been a good router.


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## FogggyTown (15 Jul 2009)

Lee J":3ld5v1ta said:


> Your opinions please. I have a chance to buy a NuTool BT130 that has never been used. It's a year old.
> 
> I am currently doing a job that requires planing/squaring up of some 4"x4" legs, possibly gonna be oak. Is this up to it? Spec claims it'll take max thickness of 130mm so it should be ok.
> 
> anyone any experience of NuTool stuff?



There's info (well, a bit) here

http://www.reviewbuzz.co.uk/DIY-Gardeni ... views.aspx


For the sake of accuracy I think we should all agree on terms. As far as I'm concerned, this is a thicknesser

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dewalt-Dw733-Po ... B0001IWFIQ

This is a planer

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-Hi-S ... 86&sr=1-22

And this is a planer/thicknesser

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... icknessers


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## frugal (15 Jul 2009)

FogggyTown":3l56ztm4 said:


> This is a planer
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-Hi-S ... 86&sr=1-22



Ye gods! Only £126 for a planer, is it any good at that price?


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## FogggyTown (16 Jul 2009)

frugal":2io4nda6 said:


> FogggyTown":2io4nda6 said:
> 
> 
> > This is a planer
> ...



I look at it this way. There are two aspects which determine whether a tool is "good" or not: performance and durability. I can pretty well judge performance in a few days and, since it is an email purchase, I have 7 working days from the day after delivery to put it through its paces. And Amazon is good about returns. The durability question is something you can't tell about any tool until you've had it for a long while.


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## lurker (16 Jul 2009)

FogggyTown":36j76c42 said:


> I look at it this way. There are two aspects which determine whether a tool is "good" or not: performance and durability. I can pretty well judge performance in a few days and, since it is an email purchase, I have 7 working days from the day after delivery to put it through its paces. And Amazon is good about returns. The durability question is something you can't tell about any tool until you've had it for a long while.



Thats totally at odds with your final line (sig thingy)


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## matt (16 Jul 2009)

I reckon you'll be OK with that purchase, after all it does say it's "hi-spec" 

I've yet to find a use for planer/thicknesser. That said, most of my stuff is face frame on sheet so perhaps that's where I'm not left needing?


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## FogggyTown (16 Jul 2009)

lurker":1idly6k9 said:


> FogggyTown":1idly6k9 said:
> 
> 
> > I look at it this way. There are two aspects which determine whether a tool is "good" or not: performance and durability. I can pretty well judge performance in a few days and, since it is an email purchase, I have 7 working days from the day after delivery to put it through its paces. And Amazon is good about returns. The durability question is something you can't tell about any tool until you've had it for a long while.
> ...



Put me in the same slot as Groucho Marx when he said he wouldn't belong to any club that would have him as a member. Well, I wouldn't follow any advice that I gave either!


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## FogggyTown (16 Jul 2009)

matt":1zqo8yoc said:


> I reckon you'll be OK with that purchase, after all it does say it's "hi-spec"



You should see the "low spec" model. Two razor blades glued to a toilet roll centre driven by a string tied around a hamster wheel.


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## frugal (16 Jul 2009)

FogggyTown":2o64q14f said:


> matt":2o64q14f said:
> 
> 
> > I reckon you'll be OK with that purchase, after all it does say it's "hi-spec"
> ...



Have you been looking in my workshop again...


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