Metabo 260C 10" Planer thicknesser - First impressions.

[BareBear]

Gents, what do you use for polishing the tables?

Edit. There’s plenty of info on this topic so I bought myself some Liberon Lubricating Wax.

 

[Yojevol]

Gents, what do you use for polishing the tables?

Edit. There’s plenty of info on this topic so I bought myself some Liberon Lubricating Wax.

PTFA spray

 

[BareBear]

Have any of you had problems with starting the thicknesser? I can start it in planer mode, but when I convert it into thickness mode it doesn’t do anything. Not even a click.

I looked at the micro switches and can see movement in the hood switch beside the belt. There’s a cam and a grub screw in there and I can’t really get it to move a great deal. However when I push it, it moves a lot more.

I can’t see any movement in the switch on the inside despite hearing a click when I push the lever.

I’ve done a video.

Anybody got any thoughts?

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

@BareBear Generally a safety switch will be normally open so it closes in the safe condition. Thus if the wiring to the switch is broken/open circuit the failure is into the safe condition. I'd check electrically the continuity of the switch and wiring.
Take care
Martin

 

[Yojevol]

Have you tested the microswitch contacts electrically to check they're making and breaking correctly?
Brian

Edit
Oops didn't see Martin's contribution

 

[Yojevol]

A further note
I was having trouble with the same switch in that it was difficult to get the hood to operate the lever. On investigating the switch and its mechanism I realised it is not a failsafe arrangement. I also took the view that I didn't necessarily want dust collection on all my planing operations. On such occasions I would not want the hood in place. I therefore removed the operating lever to disable the switch. The machine now works perfectly well in both modes.
Brian

 

[Chubber]

Whilst I appreciate Brian's solution suits him, it would be no great problem to put a short lead with two crocodile clips between the terminals of the suspect switch to try the operation, or even put a jumper lead between them to try it out. If the switch is defective or the play can't be adjusted then replace it or short it and continue à la Brian? Good luck!

 

[BareBear]

Thanks all. I’m of the mind to jump it and carry on without the risk of it getting upset in the future. I’d almost always go for extraction so I’m not hacking it to avoid that.

I’ll let you know the outcome.

Thanks again.

 

[BareBear]

Whilst I appreciate Brian's solution suits him, it would be no great problem to put a short lead with two crocodile clips between the terminals of the suspect switch to try the operation, or even put a jumper lead between them to try it out. If the switch is defective or the play can't be adjusted then replace it or short it and continue à la Brian? Good luck!

A further note
I was having trouble with the same switch in that it was difficult to get the hood to operate the lever. On investigating the switch and its mechanism I realised it is not a failsafe arrangement. I also took the view that I didn't necessarily want dust collection on all my planing operations. On such occasions I would not want the hood in place. I therefore removed the operating lever to disable the switch. The machine now works perfectly well in both modes.
Brian

Thanks Gents. I went with the principle of shorting the microswitch by screwing both cables into one terminal. That solved the problem and I’ve now got a working thicknesser. I’ve got asthma so I will never cut without extraction anyway.

Thanks for your help. Now to make something

 

[Chubber]

Huzzah!

 

[Diver Fred]

Can I ask if the machine can rebate timber?

I've not done Rebates on a planner for years - for every thing except the smallest runs I cut Rebates on the table saw and clean up by hand or on the router table.

 

[Mad Moose]

@Chubber - I have to ask what "SLW tokens" are. . .

I just agreed a good price an Axminster HVLP collector with a Titan Planer/Thicknesser on FB Marketplace. Picking them up tomorrow. I already have the Fox version of the P/T and getting sick of switching between modes (it also started throwing the belt that drives the thicknesser) so I can now have both functions and have chip collection that I have never had before. I have cleaned up an old scaffold board in the old fox - took some manhandling and had to move outside to get enough infeed/outfeed.

 

[Chubber]

SLW tokens.. Scottish Laughing Water tokens ie. Money.

Also RLW...Red Laughing Water, needs fewer tokens.

 

[Mad Moose]

Would never have worked that out. Thanks for filling me in. Every day is a school day. Even Sunday.

 

[stuart little]

I note that you removed the planer guard, I keep mine in place with no problem, could this be having an effect?

 

[Apps]

Having owned a Kity K5 combination for 40 years (6" PlanerThicknesser/20mm Spindle/210mm table saw) I decided to give up OO railway modelling in favour of OO9 narrow gauge and to put all I made on selling my models, stock and some custom customer baseboards (about £900) with some svings to buy some individual machines for 'garage' type use in hobby woodwork. I have worked in professional woodwork and shipwright shops.

To date I have bought an Axminster 'Workshop' bandsaw with which I am delighted, it cut square and true straight out of the box, and a Dewalt site saw which I have mounted on a wheeled dolly such that the in/out feed is the same height as my bench. My first essay into sledges/slides etc is proving very interesting!

I initially bought 'Lumberjack' planer thicknesser and quickly found out why it was so comparatively cheap, in/out feed tables out of parallel and not adjustable et cetera and it went back. Ebay and the company concerned had no qualms, sent a courier to collect it, so only time and effort wasted, full refund.

Then came to deciding with what to replace it, with a budget of £700 and having spoken to Metabo and visiting the recent Exeter tool show I decided a HC260C would do at a show price of £649. Maybe a 10" model is a bit greedy for my intended use, but the idea of getting a near scaffold plank sized board through a machine was attractive. Question like 'What happens if its damaged in transit..?' Reply 'It won't be, it'll be delivered by our own preferred couriers on a pallet...' and What if I can't set it up properly for first use..?' Reply 'We'll send someone to do it for you...' 'And if it breaks down..?' Reply 'We'll fix it for free...?' and a long phone conversation with their service manager ( Nick ) on adjustments clinched it.

There are plenty of 'YouTube' videos on setting it up but with a few negatives included...

First, it is heavy. Over 75kg. The courier wheeled the cardboard box into my garage on a pallet truck and helped me lift it off onto my dolly. I opened the box, took out the seperate boxes within, then had no choice but to cut down the big box with a Stanley knife and slide out the body onto a piece of carpet, tip it on one side and start the assembly with the legs. The stand legs are very sturdy, be aware the short bolts and long bolts need to be used appropriately so that two long bolts don't clash. Initially I used the wheels and handles supplied but quickly realised they needed a lot of space to use, eventually I chose 8mm stem castors.


Changing between Planing and thicknessing needs removal/replacement of the outfeed table, secured by levers. This worried me. Levers? Clamps? Microswitches? When I got it out of the box, the first time I offered the outfeed table up to the body I was very impressed with the accuracy of the fit in the rebates, and the positive way the lever clamps operated. No play, no wobble, no fiddling. The infeed table fitted equally well, the rigidity enhanced by 4 C pins hammered in once installed. Oh.. once you have lifted off the outfeed table (with attached cutter guard) you need somewhere close and clear to put it down...

Installing the shaft for the infeed table cut depth was described as difficult .. 2 or 3 grub screw collars and several washers all needing to be installed in an exact order were shown.. Nothing could have been simpler...one grub screw collar, one spring washer and a smidgin of grease on the thread and it was done. Clearly things had changed.

The fence arrangements are also now supplied pre-assembled, but note the 90 and 45 degree stops needed adjustment and the two spanners supplied needed grinding down thinner to adjust the setting bolts.

Safety microswitches (how did I manage on my Kity?) are described in some videos are problematic, but I found no problems. In surfacing mode the chip collector is now positively located with a fitting on the lower front edge which obviates any faffing about.

Oh, chip collecting, my TEMU cyclone/shop vac arrangement copes well with my other tools, but on 6" plus softwood boards it doesn't clear chips quickly enough to prevent denting when thicknessing. Hhm...might need some high volume suction, at the cost of more SLW tokens and space. It copes with hardwoods.

All-in-all it gives the impression of capability and robustness, the fence has stayed true through several days of use, and it has coped with some manky elm, 3" oak fence post, pallet softwood and some sapele (?).

The next step up would be cast iron traditional P/Ts at £1000-plus, but in my 70s this will do nicely, touch wood.

I hope this has helped at least one someone else.

As the proctocologist said "Onwards and upwards!"

Chubber,

I am interested in buying one of these and found your write up very helpful. I wondered, how you are finding it after 6 months of use? does the thicknesser produce any snipe?

Thanks in advance

 

[Chubber]

So little and too shallow to be worried about, and the few wide boards (6" plus) I have done were luckily 2" over length.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

Chubber,

I am interested in buying one of these and found your write up very helpful. I wondered, how you are finding it after 6 months of use? does the thicknesser produce any snipe?

Thanks in advance

My elderly Metabo HC260 does produce snipe if I don't concentrate. It all depends upon how you feed your wood into and extract it from the thicknesser. If you hold the wood co-planer with the thicknesser bed then it doesn't cause a problem or at most very little. Hold it too low/high or let drop as it exits then yes snipe is created.
Hope this helps.
Martin

 

[Chubber]

My elderly Metabo HC260 does produce snipe if I don't concentrate. It all depends upon how you feed your wood into and extract it from the thicknesser. If you hold the wood co-planer with the thicknesser bed then it doesn't cause a problem or at most very little. Hold it too low/high or let drop as it exits then yes snipe is created.
Hope this helps.
Martin

I have wondered if somehow adding an out-feed support roller would cure it completely As you say, remembering to support the outgoing wood is key.
All the professional machines I have used have had such a feature.
Another consideration is the nature of the out-feed drive rollers as in my old Kity, polished smooth steel as compared with rubberised components.