Planer thicknesser for single garage workshop

[Bacms]

I have been doing woodworking for a few years using mainly hand tools but lived close to a cabinet-making workshop that I could when I had bigger jobs.

However, I have recently moved into my first owned house which has a single garage and I am planning to make my woodworking workshop.

I want to continue using hand tools as joinery is still my favourite part of it however I would very much like to add a bandsaw and planer thicknesser in there somehow as I am finding doing anything bigger than a jewellery box takes me too long to get stock square, cut to size and ready for joinery.

I have a budget of around £1500 which seems to put me in the need of looking into second-hand vintage planners. My problem is I have very little experience with old British cast steel machines so I have no idea where to start. Could someone recommend some machines I should be looking at? So far the only one I have on the radar is the Sedgwick PT255 but I won't be ready to buy anything for probably 6 months anyway as all funds are going towards renovating the living space in the house at the moment.

And to be clear I have used a planer thicknesser before, in fact, I just helped a local Makespace buy a Hammer A3-31 with a spiral cutter head but that is way beyond my budget and the cabinet maker I used to visit also had a Felder so those are the only ones I have experience with.

 

[Spectric]

My problem is I have very little experience with old British cast steel machines so I have no idea where to start.

Right up @deema 's street

 

[eribaMotters]

The difference in footprint of a 10 x 6 machine opposed to a 12 x 8 is very little, so keep your options open and plan for a very good castor base.. The only thing that will possibly throw you is the table length. In a single then double garage space I have owned an Elu 8x5, DeWalt 10x6 that punched well above it's weight, Metabo 12x7 spoiled by an electronic/switch issue, 12x8 Sedgwick that I always wanted but could not settle with and finally a 12" Startrite that has been excellent. I also used a 10x6 Kity at work that was so NOISY and a 12" Robjek that was bombproof.
If I had the crystal ball and was buying a machine now that would be my last, then a Sedgwick PT255 as you have identified would be at the top of my list.

Colin

 

[Bacms]

Yeah, I would certainly be happier with a 12" machine but it is indeed the size of the tables that worries as well as the extra few centimetres needed behind the table, but maybe I am overestimating how much this adds in practice. There definitely seems to be more diversity in that size so I will keep that in mind.

I would also be interested in knowing how noise and dust extraction compares on these older machines so glad you reminded me about noise. I have a DeWalt thicknesser and that thing screams in comparison I can hold a conversation while the Hammer A3-31 is on. I am assuming that older machines would be more comparable to the DeWalt?

 

[deema]

I’d have a very short list unless you’re interested in a renovation project. I’d stick with finding a good Sedgwick PT. They are built to last and will see out multiple generations of wood workers. They are relatively easy to maintain / fix. Parts are available from Sedgwick for the specialist bits you would otherwise need to manufacture and the rest are easily sourced if necessary. If you look further afield avoid absolutely anything with anything substantial thats aluminium. Wadkin, Dominion made more rugged machines, with the Dominion 16” being in my opinion one of the best machines money can buy….but too big for you. SCM are excellent and their earlier machines were designed to compete head on with Wadkin and in my opinion are better built and a lot heavier in general. However the older machines from SCM are unlikely to be fully supported for spare parts. Wadkin and Dominion you have to make / take off other machines any spare parts you need other than belts, bushes and bearings.
Hammer / Felder machines in general are absolute pigs to maintain, you need to in most cases turn them upside down to get at anything…..I hate them for this reason.

 

[deema]

I’m not sure why this PT hasn’t sold here on UKW. I suspect that the table damage will simply clean up with a file and a bit a patience and make the tables edges straight again. Not sure if it has the chip collector chute. If not you can make one out of wood; alternatively there is a company that makes copies (expensive) or Sedgwick will sell you one (brace yourself expensive)

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/sedgwick-10”-planer-thicknesser-240v.137350/

 

[eribaMotters]

As regards noise, I'm sure somebody will chip in, but I believe machines with surface tables that are slotted near the cutter block are quieter.

Colin

 

[Bacms]

I’d have a very short list unless you’re interested in a renovation project. I’d stick with finding a good Sedgwick PT. They are built to last and will see out multiple generations of wood workers. They are relatively easy to maintain / fix. Parts are available from Sedgwick for the specialist bits you would otherwise need to manufacture and the rest are easily sourced if necessary. If you look further afield avoid absolutely anything with anything substantial thats aluminium. Wadkin, Dominion made more rugged machines, with the Dominion 16” being in my opinion one of the best machines money can buy….but too big for you. SCM are excellent and their earlier machines were designed to compete head on with Wadkin and in my opinion are better built and a lot heavier in general. However the older machines from SCM are unlikely to be fully supported for spare parts. Wadkin and Dominion you have to make / take off other machines any spare parts you need other than belts, bushes and bearings.
Hammer / Felder machines in general are absolute pigs to maintain, you need to in most cases turn them upside down to get at anything…..I hate them for this reason.

That is an absolute gold mine of information. From Sedgwick, I assume the PT255 and the MB are the ones I would be looking at?

 

[Bacms]

I’m not sure why this PT hasn’t sold here on UKW. I suspect that the table damage will simply clean up with a file and a bit a patience and make the tables edges straight again. Not sure if it has the chip collector chute. If not you can make one out of wood; alternatively there is a company that makes copies (expensive) or Sedgwick will sell you one (brace yourself expensive)

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/sedgwick-10”-planer-thicknesser-240v.137350/

I did see that but if I were to buy something at the moment I have a feeling I would be homeless and unfortunately, the planner isn't big enough for me to live under it. I was also offered a Sedgwick MB for £1500 but is the same issue

 

[deema]

Any from the Sedgwick stable are excellent machines, they have hardly changed each time they have refreshed the range. That for me is testament that they got it right first time.
@Sideways and I did a thread in an MB we refurbished. We’ve done a few, including the PT 10” version. Of the two, the MB is more industrial. However, after all the machines we’ve restored, Sideways has a PT255 in his workshop as his machine of choice. I have the CP (16”)

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/sedgwick-mb-planer-thicknesser-full-refurbishment.136008/

 

[yetloh]

I'm sure you are headed in the right direction with excellent advice here. Can't speak for Felder PT's but don't be put off their bandsaws which are actually Italian made machines and near identical to equivalent Startrites. The cabinets of the Felder badged machines are a lot more rigid than the Hammer equivalents (also not made by Felder) - there is a reason why Hammer machines are a lot cheaper.

As a side issue I have noticed that a number of professional 'shops I have visited have gone for Altendorf saws and SCM thicknessers but I have yet to find Felders.

Jim

 

[eribaMotters]

For a single garage I think the MB would be to big. It was one of these that I could never settle with. It was also heavy [thick end of 400kg I think] and difficult to move about. I had mine on a base with 4 x 200kg castors, but the weight was so great it used to break the paint of the concrete floor. Ideally you need to have space for a permanent location set up.

Colin

 

[Bacms]

For a single garage I think the MB would be to big. It was one of these that I could never settle with. It was also heavy [thick end of 400kg I think] and difficult to move about. I had mine on a base with 4 x 200kg castors, but the weight was so great it used to break the paint of the concrete floor. Ideally you need to have space for a permanent location set up.

Colin

Thank you for sharing your experience, that is the sort of thing I find invaluable. I may actually have a permanent location for it to be honest, it will be near a door and I can open said door to allow for longer outfeed lengths but I am still to determine where anything goes for sure

In case it is helpful this is the garage floorplan, the current thinking is to place it near the bifold doors at the back of the garage. The front garage door will likely stay shut 90% of the time so I can also place things in front of it as long as they are on castors. I also need to think about where I could place the chip extractor

 

[Jameshow]

Would 260 machine from record or metabo not be adequate??

Just a thought?

 

[Bacms]

Would 260 machine from record or metabo not be adequate??

Just a thought?

I don't have experience with these machines but they seem to require frequent re-adjustments and their build quality isn't great. But if anyone has experience with one, especially if they have been using it for years I would certainly be interested in hearing it.

 

[eribaMotters]

A curve ball for you. I'm thinking back to a chance meeting some 10/15 years ago on a French campsite. We met somebody from Ireland who owned and ran a tool shop. As the owner he had his choice of what machinery he would sell. When I asked him he said there was only one, Scheppach. He believed it met the needs of anybody unless they were running a professional shop for quality, reliability and price. I must admit I have never owned any of there machinery and I don't know if they sell the planer thicknessers in the UK.

Colin

 

[Noel]

A curve ball for you. I'm thinking back to a chance meeting some 10/15 years ago on a French campsite. We met somebody from Ireland who owned and ran a tool shop. As the owner he had his choice of what machinery he would sell. When I asked him he said there was only one, Scheppach. He believed it met the needs of anybody unless they were running a professional shop for quality, reliability and price. I must admit I have never owned any of there machinery and I don't know if they sell the planer thicknessers in the UK.

Colin

That was the Scheppach of 15 yrs ago…..
A different Scheppach.
May still suit some so perhaps worth looking at.

 

[Spectric]

Yes like a lot of German products that were made in Germany and quality was high we now see the far east versions with the badge and lower quality, be it wood working machinery like Scheppach or German cars like Vw / Audi the quality has fallen.

 

[donturner]

I have almost identical requirements to the OP (single garage workshop, looking to invest in 2nd hand P/T for furniture making, specifically looking at a Sedgwick PT255) so I hope you don't mind me jumping on this thread.

I’m not sure why this PT hasn’t sold here on UKW. I suspect that the table damage will simply clean up with a file and a bit a patience and make the tables edges straight again. Not sure if it has the chip collector chute. If not you can make one out of wood; alternatively there is a company that makes copies (expensive) or Sedgwick will sell you one (brace yourself expensive)

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/sedgwick-10”-planer-thicknesser-240v.137350/

I'm interested in this PT but am a bit concerned about the table damage.

I have no problem cleaning it up with a file but (probably a silly question) would the increased gap between the cutters and the infeed table edge increase the likelihood of snipe (or other problems) due to the edge of the workpiece not being as well supported? I mean, we're only talking a few mm but still.

One other question. In this thread you said

Verify that the infeed table edge closest to the spindle is actually parallel to the spindle on either side (not the blades the actually body of the spindle) you will need an accurate clock and stand. If it isn’t walk away, chancers are the infeed table sliders are worn.

Sorry for my ignorance but what do you mean by "accurate clock and stand" - is that a dial gauge mounted on a stand? I'm unclear on the measurement procedure here.

 

[deema]

So, this is just my opinion and without actually seeing it in real life. If it were me and I didn’t have a milling machine I would file the damage out. Scoring a line and filing to it with a very course file. There is a a reasonable bit of shallow table near the damaged edge so it shouldn’t take long…..I’d confirm the the table isn’t damaged beyond this into the thicker bit.
The damage doesn’t look too deep, so it might not need any adjustment in the table heights to close the gap, but if it does the outfeed can be raised slightly (method depending on how it’s attached, there are a couple of systems that were used from having to shim it to just adjusting bolts. The infeed will usually wind up a little higher to close the gap.
Snipe is not caused by the gap, IMO the inherent concern with a gap is that something thin or short gets pulled down into the cutter / table gap running your day. For me, I wouldn’t worry about it as thin or short stuff should not be going over any machine it’s just asking for an exciting day.

The old machines in many cases had a steel strip machined into the leading edges of both tables. This was designed to be replaced so resolve both wear and also the occasional chatter caused by the apprentice learning the value of securing the blades properly…..usually only did it once. If the damage is very bad this is still a good method of resolving the problem. I’d use gauge plate for the infill. If you haven’t a mill a local machine shop can do it. The other alternative is to contact Sedgwick and find out how much a new table is, that’s probably the worst case scenario. I just mention these scenarios so you know that no matter what the problem it can be resolved.

To answer your other question, you need a machinist clock stand and clock, or what I use a ONEWAY.

https://hopewoodturning.co.uk/tools-handles/specialized-tools-and-callipers/298/multi-gauge