Not impressed Axminster

[Hudson Carpentry]

Using there AW16 P/T when all of a sudden BANG, the timber I was putting through shot back out and hit me in the chest. I was taking 1.5mm off some pine and after inspecting the piece that hit me it already had cut half its length, no knot, no sign of kick. Seems there anti eject device didn't do its job :? .

Im ok though, no mark that I can see when I had a look an hour later.

 

[Chems]

That's not good at all, but a good bruise shaped reminder you shouldn't be standing in the line of fire!

Worth checking if those fingers are faulty, on my old Axy P/T they were very solid.

 

[RogerBoyle]

definitely something wrong there think I'd get it checked out
It should not be able to fire anything back at you except for the bits that break off like loose knots or splinters..
Possible damage to the feed rollers, Cutter block, Fingers etc etc

 

[matthewwh]

Power tools are not really my field but 1.5mm sounds like an awful lot to be taking off in one pass. Also worth checking whether the board faces were parallel to begin with. Axminster have some very knowledgeable staff who may have experienced this before and be able to point you in the right direction. I would approach it from an 'whatever the cause I want to make sure this never happens again' perspective rather than an 'it must be faulty I'm a victim' perspective. If there is an issue with the machine, believe me a retailer like Axminster will be all over it like a rash.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Yes chems I had a quick look but saw nothing. Been nothing but solid up to now. I wasn't standing, if I was it would have hit the mummy daddy button :S Ill be having a better luck before its used again.

Matt the model spec says max it will thickness is 3mm in one pass. I quite often do 2mm.

 

[tomatwark]

Were putting more than one piece through at once?

I might be teaching you to suck eggs here so don't take it personally but you are only supposed to put one piece through at once unless your machine has a segmented in feed roller.

The other reason I have had piece come back at me in the past was a piece of knot had got stuck in the machine and jammed the kickback fingers stopping them from working, it may be that happened and when it threw the wood out it dislodged the piece that was jammed.

It may also be a bit of rubbish under the in feed roller springs stopping it from gripping the wood fully.

Tom

 

[the_g_ster]

Hmmmmm, I wouldn't say you can blame the machine, as noted above, you need to check the fingers are all free moving. If you are taking out passes at 1.5mm withour proper dust extraction and chip clearance you are going to be at risk of things getting clogged and wearing.

As a trader you should know not to be standing by anyway, keep safe.

You'lll get a nicer finish doing more passes, can stress the wood less too if has any wind potential.

 

[Chems]

I wouldn't say 1.5mm is at all a heavy cut for a decent machine at all, just the norm.

 

[Bradshaw Joinery]

+1 1.5mm is a slim cut imo.

honestly say ive never seen a piece of wood come back out of a thicknesser. something isnt right.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

No knot loose, it wasn't knotty pieces nor did I see one missing when assembling the doors the pieces was for. The extraction was on and is always very good. I was how ever pushing through 2 pieces at a time, these was on there 3rd pass by this time so identical in height and as its there 3rd pass rules out a knot from the time it was used before (non knotty English Ash), I suppose this could be why but with segmented anti eject fingers, identical height of pieces, any debris blown away and the two pieces being way apart from each other I thought I was safe. I wasn't in line with the machine. I do tent to stand to one side but crossed its path to reach the next two pieces when it hit me.

1.5mm isn't a heavy cut for a machine of this spec, any less than 1mm and you see the feed roller marks. Plus its a very soft wood so 1.5mm is just a snack for a machine of this size.

Il be having a look tomorrow.

 

[tomatwark]

It maybe that the spring on one side of the feed roller is not tensioned the same as the other, or has rubbish in it and caused it not to grip the wood as well.

Tom

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

It maybe that the spring on one side of the feed roller is not tensioned the same as the other, or has rubbish in it and caused it not to grip the wood as well.

Tom

Ahh see what you mean now. Ill look there tomorrow. Cheers.

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

+1, I normally go for about 2mm cut then finish off with a 1mm or less on final pass. I'd let Axminster know either way, they may even send you something to compensate you for your troubles/ down-time .

 

[RogerBoyle]

1.5 mm Not deep cuts at all
I also send more than one piece down the thicknesser when I am thicknessing timber
Always have No reason not to
I Still say that there is a problem with the machine because the fingers are designed to stop the main bits of timber from coming back out and have to meet certain H & S criteria as well as Industry standards
In this case they have failed
I wouldnt be surprised if Axminster wanted to replace the machine while they investigate something that should not happen

Roger

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Rang there technical department today to find out how to get a roll pin out. Told him it shot wood at me, he said thats not a common issue and advised on how to remove the pin. Didn't work though its a stubborn one so I had to drill it out.

Anyhow I think it was the fingers. When I rotated them, some stayed up. so I taken the lot off, cleaned, lubed and refitted which seems to have stopped them from staying up. Checked everything I could, all seemed well. Did a maintenance while I was in the machine and changed the knifes.

Not tested the machine yet.