Aluminium Extrusion for Planer Fence

[sams93]

So I have one of the Titan Thickness Planers from screwfix. Despite a lot of the bad press it gets, after some minor adjustments to make the tables co-planar mine is actually pretty good. Im pleased with it.

The fence however it is fair to say isn't that great. I'd like to make an upgraded version. I don't intend to use it at anything other than a 90 degree angle, so i'm happy for it to be fixed rather than adjustable to make the design simple.

I am thinking of using aluminium extrusion, something like this: LINK OR this: LINK2 (The second style profile looks more ideal for use as a fence, but each piece of the extrusion face is only supported by 1 'strut' - so id be grateful if anyone has experience with the stuff and can advise how it flexes or not because I don't know how rigid it actually is.)

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what type of / where to source aluminium extrusion for the purpose. Obviously ideally the 'face' would be absent of slots, but I appreciate that this is a common feature of aluminium extrusions.

 

[gcusick]

How about a length of aluminium rectangular section tube?

 

[Terry - Somerset]

As the fence is more for guidance than taking any great stress I suspect you don't really need to be concerned. More important IMHO is that it is firmly secured to the planer (at 90 degrees) - on my (similar) planer the extrusion is fine but the mounting is too flexible.

If you are concerned about a lack of strength with each rib separate you could simply glue some ply on to the "face" to reinforce it.

 

[rogxwhit]

Looking at those extrusions, the first looks very stiff indeed, but the weak point for flex in all cases is going to be how and where it's mounted to the machine. If there's any flex in the machine where you mount it, that'll limit what you can achieve with the fence. :-(

 

[sams93]

As the fence is more for guidance than taking any great stress I suspect you don't really need to be concerned. More important IMHO is that it is firmly secured to the planer (at 90 degrees) - on my (similar) planer the extrusion is fine but the mounting is too flexible.

If you are concerned about a lack of strength with each rib separate you could simply glue some ply on to the "face" to reinforce it.

I was thinking of mounting a large piece of 3/4" ply (or 2 laminated pieces of 1/2") to the machine itself, fixed using a couple of mounting points to make it as stable as possible. Then making a bracket from this to attach the fence.

Did you make a DIY one for yours?

 

[Terry - Somerset]

I was thinking of mounting a large piece of 3/4" ply (or 2 laminated pieces of 1/2") to the machine itself, fixed using a couple of mounting points to make it as stable as possible. Then making a bracket from this to attach the fence.

Did you make a DIY one for yours?

Not yet - although as I responded to the initial question I suddenly thought "what a sensible idea"

 

[Lard]

Take a look here for exactly what you can do……

 

[fezman]

did something similar a whie back when i had the titan
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/convert-titan-p-t-to-full-time-planer.115888/

 

[BillK]

I have some of the first link, plenty strong & stiff, and decently straight; any chunk of ally beam that short will be strong enough, but not all is that straight.
Some of that profile makes up my router sled where it's stiffness matters, and another length is used as a router fixture bed, where it's straightness is key.

Also have some Bosch Rexroth (not sure if OEM or patterned after it) which is not as straight.

 

[sams93]

Take a look here for exactly what you can do……

So I have taken a look at a few of these DIY jobs that people have done, but they all end up using quite large overhangs at the back of the machine to allow a sliding piece that remains flat - I have a very small space to store the planer so I can't really get away with such an overhang, so need to come up with a thinner version. It only gets light use so I am not too fussed if it is fixed rather than sliding. The ideas in principle are very useful though!

 

[sams93]

I have some of the first link, plenty strong & stiff, and decently straight; any chunk of ally beam that short will be strong enough, but not all is that straight.
Some of that profile makes up my router sled where it's stiffness matters, and another length is used as a router fixture bed, where it's straightness is key.

Also have some Bosch Rexroth (not sure if OEM or patterned after it) which is not as straight.

I'll take some measurements when i'm back from holiday, I dont know if 80mm tall for the fence will be sufficient or not - I feel like the current fence is more like 120mm but as I say I will measure

 

[BearTricks]

I’ve essentially bolted a length of flat steel to the side of mine which I also hoped would lock it and stop the infeed table wobbling.

What actually happened was the left hand side of the infeed started moving towards the cutters 1mm or so by itself while the fence kept the right hand side in place so it was putting a warp in my boards without me realising. I then had to bolt it to the chassis from the other side.

Now my problem is the left outside corner of the infeed drops about 1mm or so as that is the only part that isn’t supported. I can’t figure out how to lock this part in place.

I was getting really good cuts with this thing originally but I am using big heavy pieces and it seems to have knocked it out of whack so I’m constantly trying to fettle it to be “good enough” to build my bench. At which point I’ll probably be using smaller, lighter pieces and I might be able to remove the infeed/outfeed completely and replace with something sturdy.

The bones of the machine are good but there’s a few little QA things that can make it unusable.

 

[sams93]

I’ve essentially bolted a length of flat steel to the side of mine which I also hoped would lock it and stop the infeed table wobbling.

What actually happened was the left hand side of the infeed started moving towards the cutters 1mm or so by itself while the fence kept the right hand side in place so it was putting a warp in my boards without me realising. I then had to bolt it to the chassis from the other side.

Now my problem is the left outside corner of the infeed drops about 1mm or so as that is the only part that isn’t supported. I can’t figure out how to lock this part in place.

I was getting really good cuts with this thing originally but I am using big heavy pieces and it seems to have knocked it out of whack so I’m constantly trying to fettle it to be “good enough” to build my bench. At which point I’ll probably be using smaller, lighter pieces and I might be able to remove the infeed/outfeed completely and replace with something sturdy.

The bones of the machine are good but there’s a few little QA things that can make it unusable.

That is interesting to know, thankyou! I plan to attach a mounting piece to the housing of the machine and then reference the fence off of that.

It is a great shame with these machines really that they are remarkably well priced, but seem to often have these QA niggles, which for maybe an extra £50 on the price could be addressed during manufacture and would make them excellent entry level models.

 

[Sachakins]

So I have taken a look at a few of these DIY jobs that people have done, but they all end up using quite large overhangs at the back of the machine to allow a sliding piece that remains flat - I have a very small space to store the planer so I can't really get away with such an overhang, so need to come up with a thinner version. It only gets light use so I am not too fussed if it is fixed rather than sliding. The ideas in principle are very useful though!

Problem with being fixed is you end dulling the blade quickly as always using the same spot, sliding gives better use of blades at different points, so longer between sharpening/replacing!

 

[Bob Chapman]

The guy in the video seemed to go to some trouble to ensure that his fence remained at right angles to the blade when it was moved across the bed. Is this actually necessary? Would it alter the function if the fence was at an angle across the blade? Obviously it should remain at 90 degrees to the table in the vertical sense.

 

[sams93]

The guy in the video seemed to go to some trouble to ensure that his fence remained at right angles to the blade when it was moved across the bed. Is this actually necessary? Would it alter the function if the fence was at an angle across the blade? Obviously it should remain at 90 degrees to the table in the vertical sense.

I dont know, but I can see what you are saying - as long as the beds are flat and the fence is at 90 degrees in the vertical plane I can't see how it would make a difference.

I'm not a very experienced user of these machines though so I'm sure someone with more experience and knowledge might give a better answer.

 

[TheTiddles]

The guy in the video seemed to go to some trouble to ensure that his fence remained at right angles to the blade when it was moved across the bed. Is this actually necessary? Would it alter the function if the fence was at an angle across the blade? Obviously it should remain at 90 degrees to the table in the vertical sense.

Nope

 

[baldkev]

You need 2080 extrusion. Thetes loads of fittings available to modify and make tracks etc to create a sliding system. Aint cheap tho

 

[bspokespaces]

You need 2080 extrusion. Thetes loads of fittings available to modify and make tracks etc to create a sliding system. Aint cheap tho

I've been trying to source some 2080 extrusion T-Track for my table saw sled build. It's been a nightmare! I bought one on Amazon.co.uk and after three weeks wait and no response from the seller Amazon thankfully reimbursed me. Looking at other sellers of the same profile extrusion, which has an L shape lip (ideal to stick a measuring strip) they all appear to be in China.
Ideally I would like a 650mm length. Do you know of a UK supplier?

 

[baldkev]

Ive used cnc planet on ebay. They delivered within a few days and it was well protected