Axminster AW106PT Planer Thicknesser

[andrewm]

Has anyone ever seen or used one of these? There is a two-page spread about it in the latest Axminster Review. When it was first announced there was a speculation on these forums that it could be quite good but I have yet to find anyone who has seen one. I looked at the Scheppech at the Stoneleigh show and was impressed and the Axminster sounds as if it would give it a run for its money. But as we all know specs aren?t everything. In particular it does seem to be quite underpowered with only an 1100W motor especially with an 8m/min feed rate. Having said that it does have 3 blades and a cast iron table. Judging by the family resemblance I suspect that it may be made by Rojek in the Czech Republic but this is just speculation.

So does anyone have any concrete views on whether this is really worth investigating as an alternative to the HMS260? Especially as Axminster are currently offering a deal with ADE1200 extractor. Or is it worth spending the extra and getting the Scheppech that everyone seems to rate so highly?

Thanks in advance

Andrew

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Andrew

Why don't you have a look at the DeWalt DW733S Planer Thicknesser. It is 599 from MTS in Northampton.

I had a demonstration at Stoneleigh and it was excellent. Interestingly, Andy King, has the same one for his personal use.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Alf]

Is that the one that's being reviewed in Good Woodworking next month? In which case sweet-talking Andy King may be beneficial... :wink: (C'mon Andy, what have you got to lose? You know everyone'll be buying it anyway for the exclusive interview with you-know-who) Hmm, interesting thought about it being a Rojek in disguise; I've got to the stage of assuming all APTC's stuff must be Chiwanese, but you may have a point.

And what's this I hear about an Axminster Review? I see no Axminster missive flopping onto my doormat. Sheesh, not only do no roads lead to Tools2003 from a south-westerly direction (apparently), but now this?! Humph, blooming Devonians. They don't know how to eat clotted cream proper either... :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

Well if were talking sweets, I am rather fond of jelly babies...
As for the planer, yep, it's sitting in the workshop as I type.
My first impressions were Tommy Cooper before moving on to a rather poor Bruce Forsyth, but I digress.
I thought it may be from Czech myself as the cheaper cast iron machines seem to be emanating from there, and there are no badges on the machine to indicate either, but a bit of a giveaway was a piece of paper in the packaging crate bearing a few words about the chinese factory, so it's a fair assumption it's from there unless the czechs are shipping them over to china to send them here...
I can't give too much away or you won't all rush out and buy the mag, even if we do have the bearded wonder in it, but as a quick rundown, the castings are good, the three knife block is a big bonus, and it has a central ram for the thickness table, usually a higher spec feature. The handles are very basic and could do with upgrading. The fence locks pretty well, but ours is very slightly cupped. For about £600 I could live with most of it and adapt to others.

 

[andrewm]

Thanks Andy,

That's just the sort of hands on comment that I was looking for. From someone who has actually seen one. There, you've just persuaded me to go and buy a copy. Will this review be published before the Axminster show? I guess the final arbiter will be 'is it better than the Scheppech?'

I was basing my comment about Rojek on the similarity with their MSP315 12" planer thicknesser but obviously your experience suggests otherwise. This does explain why Rojek didn't have a10" P/T on their site though.

Thanks again,

Andrew

 

[Michael Macconnell]

A couple of weeks ago I went to Axminster, I did a round trip of 400 miles just to see this machine and it was worth it. I took a lengh of Kiln dried oak which I surfaced and then ran through the thicknesser. The finish was as good as I have ever seen. My existing machine is a 25 year old Scheppach HM1. The only bad bits on the AW106PT are the silly little plastic knobs.
Are Rutlands selling the same machine under the name of Fox for £30 less?
Best wishes
Mike.

 

[Alf]

Hey Mike, does that mean you've set foot in the holy ground that is Axminster's new shop? Any chance of a quick review? Sounds like you can get to play with stuff anyway, which is a big improvement.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Michael Macconnell]

Hi alf,
Yes I did go to the new shop, 425 mile round trip and yes I did give myself a demo (by appointment)
The shop is big and as you would expect full of machinery. There is a school mainly for woodturning this room was also where I used the AW106PT Planer/Thicknesser. The finish on this machine was as good as I have seen.

Best wishes
Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I found this site a few days back, and am glad I did !

I have been reading the posts and have learnt a lot of interesting things.

I was wondering what the Andy King (GWW) review verdict was for this machine, or whether anyone has had any experience with it?

Looking at the specs it seems a good buy.

On the Axminster version it states: Thicknessing Capacity: 154mm

In the Rutlands catalogue it states: Max thicknessing: 250 x 190mm

Does anyone know whose right ?

Thanks for any help

 

[Alf]

Welcome to the forum, Spud.

Well I'd encourage you to get the back issue (#143 January 2004) 'cos it's rather a good'un, but a quick sum up of Andy's review: 4.5 outta 5 for value, 4 for performance. A bit of backlash in the thicknessing bed, the fence was cupped on the review model (any news on whether this was a one off or not, Andy?) and the knobs are a bit flimsy. On the plus side, cast iron :!: , three knife cutter block for an excellent finish and the price.
Capacity given as 250x154mm. The fence seems the biggest potential problem to me, but Andy was so enamoured of it he'd "happily fit a timber facing to overcome the problem". Hope that helps a bit.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forum, Spud.

Cheers bird !

Christ ! He seems quite taken by it then?

I will try and get the back issue off of the GWW website, there is a number to ring to get them.

I have also heard good reviews for the 'Fox' 5/8" Morticer. I bought a Fox Belt/Disc sander off of Rutlands to see what this Fox stuff was like. Sort of an experiment. Anyway the thing was pretty beefy and of reasonable build quality, but it would not start ! So I sent it back. Took me just over four weeks to organise Rutlands too pick it up, and another month for them to reimburse my loot !

Funny thing was, this Fox sander was packaged in a box with the words 'Fox machinery, Delta of France' written on it !?

I'm new too all this woodworking and have never used a P/T so I wouldn't even know what too expect from them really, or what would be reasonable to expect from them. Nevertheless I know good build quality when I see it. I am just getting sick of buying waney old crap from the sawmills and am hoping a P/T can tidy it up.

It's just looking at the models on offer, the Fox and Axminter models seemed to be pretty high spec for the money. But I know, until you have seen them or used them, you can never tell what they are like in reality.
But Andy must have taken a fair few P/T's for a spin in his time, so he would know a good one from a bad one, and he seems to like this one and think it is very reasonable.

 

[johnjin]

Hi Spud
Welcome to the forum
If you carry on like that Andy will be sending you one for free.

All the best

John

 

[Anonymous]

If you carry on like that Andy will be sending you one for free.

The magazine or the Planer ?

 

[johnjin]

I think you would have to butter him up a bit more than that to get the planer.

All the best

John

 

[ProShop]

Hi' Spud,
Andy told me he rated the Fox. it is the same as the axminster. I decide against the Axminster as they could not give me a definite delivery date when I wanted to order.
The Axminster p/t was approx £600 + the Axminster £30 delivery charge.
Rutland want £570 + £15 delivery, but are awaiting shipment from China, (apparently they are on a ship somewhere. Docking next week). I have one on order from Fox at £525 inc delivery. I spoke to Mike who has used one of these against a s/hand Felder, and the Fox finish was superior, although he felt the Felder was due for sharpening. But he was well impressed with the machine. He too has one on order.
I can tell you that Rutlands sold all their allocation on the last delivery before they arrived, and I suspect the same will happen this time.

There are other firms starting to sell these machines, but none of them have any in stock, mainly due to the steel shortage in China, and demand in other countries.

You mentioned the Fox you bought was marked Delta France, this is one & the same outfit as I understand, the last Fox item I bought came with a French manual marked Delta France.
Regards
John

 

[Anonymous]

I have one on order from Fox at £525 inc delivery.

How did you contact them directly and who are they?

I thought their site was taken down.

See here:

http://www.professionalpowertools.co.uk/

 

[Anonymous]

Has anyone actually tried one of these elusive machines yet? FOX 10" x 7" PLANER THICKNESSER

And could they clarify this for me?

Question:

Can you also clarify whether this Fox version

FOX 10" x 7" PLANER THICKNESSERS Stock No: F22565 Model: F22-565

http://www.msctool.com/web_store.cgi?pr ... 88959_3409

has 190mm capacity, because the Axminster version only has 154mm.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=AW106PT


Thankyou

Reply:

Yes we can confirm the specification is correct, the F22-565 maximum thicknessing capacity is 250mm x 190mm.
Regards
[email protected]

 

[Adam]

Has anyone ever seen or used one of these? Andrew

Yes, loads of them at the weekend, in their "clearance auction" - mostly customer returns. The original listing had 6 of these P/T (Axminster AW106PT) but the updated listing when I got there must have had over 20 of them, often sold in pairs so you could construct something useable out of them. Some of them looked in really really bad shape. Based on what I saw, I'd be very careful about laying out the kind of money they want without having a proper check in person to make sure you are happy.

Adam

 

[ProShop]

I have the Fox version of this machine, and what a cracker it is too.
The thing I like about is that every conceivable axis can be adjusted so you can set it up very accurately indeed. The finish is on par with the Scheppach HMS 260, and the Electra Beckum model of the same size.

There is some work in setting this machine up, I suspect this why Axminster have so many returns. (but to be fair returns have to be balanced against how many have been sold) Axminster may have sold truck loads or just a few. Maybe the customers who bought them have ltd setup skills and maybe expected it to work straight out of the box, so to speak. Also if my memory serves me correct Axminster have a no quibble returns policy, if you don't like you can return it, (within a week or two I think)which can open the door for a "try before you commit so to speak"
I have experience in machine setup from a former life so setting machines up properly is not a problem to me, I quite enjoy it (sometimes ).

 

[Adam]

if you don't like you can return it, (within a week or two I think)which can open the door for a "try before you commit so to speak"

Hmm, some of the ones I saw (actually loads of them) looked like they'd been dragged home on a tow rope behind the delivery truck :shock: .

They were in a right state, rusty, mangled, bashed and bruised. They looked like what I'd expect from people sending them back after 6 months hard labour in a fencing company, probably working outside with a sheet of tarpaulin over when it's raining.

I honestly have no idea what people were using them for to let them get in the state they were. Like you say, returns is all relative to sales, and the three things without doubt they had the most of was A) their 1/2 £99 router, B)their £109 compound mitre saw and C) the P/T mentioned here.
I can't help thinking they are probably their 3 biggest sellers?

Adam