Axminster CT150DL Planer

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Mike.C

Established Member
Joined
14 Jun 2003
Messages
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Location
Scotland Via London
Hi All,

I have lived with the CT150DL for a number of weeks now and so i think that it is time for a review. I am also being harassed by Noely to do one so you can blame it all on him if it turns out rubbish.

First of all i have to say that the 12 page Axminster/Jet manual which came with this machine is total rubbish. It only gives you very basic information and would be of no use what so ever to someone who has never used or set up one of these machines. in fact i seem to remember that someone else on this forum had trouble setting up their 150 because of the lack of information.

With this in mind i would like to thank Noely for pointing me in the direction of the 30 page Powermatic 54A manual which can be downloaded from www.powermatic.com. For those of you who don't know this is the US version of my planer and the Jet 54A, and the only difference between them is the kidney shaped cutter guard. This manual is far superior to our one, and it gives you all the info you need to set up the planer . I cannot understand why Axminster or Jet do not supply this version, as it would take only a few alterations to make it suitable for the UK. Cheers Noely.

The machine arrived in 2 boxes. One contained the beds and the other contained the base with the motor enclosed within it.
As it weighs in at 130kg if you name is not the Hulk you would be advised to get someone else to help you mount it on the base.

All the tools you need to set it up are supplied. They even give you a pot of body colour paint just incase it gets chipped or scratched.
One of the tools included is a blade setting gauge, and although this does help you set the 3 blades it is not all that precise.

As you can see all i have done so far is moan, but that is it, the moaning that is, all the rest is great.

Cast iron is in another league and this machine is no different. The fence and the beds are totally flat and when i ran a piece of walnut over the 3 HSS blades i can honestly say that it came out perfect (i must admit that i did try a bit of pine first, just incase.
What i really like about the fence is that it always stays where i put it. I set it at 90 degrees a couple of weeks ago and it is still spot on. I never had that with my previous planer/thicknesser. It is just so very good to be able to face and edge a piece of wood and to be 100% confident that they will be square to each other every time.

One thing that really surprised me was the dust extraction. Except for a few bits of dust everything ends up in the extractor. The reason for this is the space under the cutter block is sealed and boxed in and this runs all the way down the chute, so the dust has no where to go but into the extractor. Much better then my previous planer/thicknesser.

The 1700mm beds make a lot of difference when planing longer boards, and i also like the idea of being able to adjust both the in and out feed tables.

Except for the manual and the blade setting tool everything about this planer is a class act and i would recomend it to anyone.

Sorry that the review is so short but this is the first one i have done.

Regards

Mike.C
 
Hi Mike

Excellent
It might be your first review but it definitely doesn't show.
Another nice review for the collection.
Thank you

All the best

John
 
Mike,

Good review, thanks. :D The dust extraction sounds particularly good. I think I'll just go and glare at the Maxi again for a while, in the hopes it'll fall apart from sheer embarassment... :wink:

Cheers, Alf
 
Hi Alf, John,

I glad that you like it.

Yes Alf the dust extraction really is excellent. On my previous planer/thicknesser (Elektra Beckum 260M) every single time i ran a piece of wood through the thicknesser i had to remove piles of chippings before i could put it through again. I thought that it must be the lack of power in the dust extractor itself, but after buying a new more powerful one it was just the same.

Regards

Mike.C
 
Good review Moke and agree with all you've said, moans and all.

Rgds

Noel
 
Hi Noely, Philly,

Thank you both.

Philly i have already read your review and that was one of the reasons i went ahead with the purchase. You were spot on.

Noely that was the only moans that i could find about it. I really tried to do an unbias review as i would hate to think that someone bought a machine because of what i said only to find out i had mislead them, or did not inform them of a bad point. I will keep everyone updated if any of note happens.

Silly really but i enjoyed writing it and i wonder if other members would like to read a number of review's (over a time) on machines and tools i already have. In other words not ones that i have just purchased. Obviously it would be of no use reviewing things that are not on sale anymore.

Regards

Mike.C
 
Mike.C":2ghjp40b said:
Silly really but i enjoyed writing it and i wonder if other members would like to read a number of review's (over a time) on machines and tools i already have.
Mike, is that a trick question? :wink: Go for it; the more the merrier I reckon, and long time user reviews are especially welcome as far as I'm concerned.

Cheers, Alf

P.S. Congrats on the 100 up. :D
 
Hi Mike

Please keep writing them.
The more reviews the better. Past and present makes no difference as far as I can see. Someone will always benefit from these reviews and if enough of us write about our opinions of our tools I guess we will all benefit in the end. Unfortunately I am a long way from my tools but that should end soon and then I too will be writing reviews.( may god help you all)

All the best

John
 
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