Planer / Thicknesser HELP!

[Anonymous]

I am looking to buy a planer/thicknesser to use in my home workshop.

I want to use it to square off and size boards up prior to gluing to make timberboard for larger projects such as tables, bedroom furniture etc.

I dont want to spend a fortune (i.e. No more than £600 but pref. less than £400).

I am happy to go for a portable thicknesser / planer such as the Rexon which is available from ScrewFix or the Performance Power Pro from B&Q but I dont know if either will be good enough to do what I want. Should I spend more money and go for the Kity 439 or Record RSPT 260?

I'm not fussed about speed, as long as the finished result is good quality. The size and noise output of the thing doesn't matter, I've got plenty of space. Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

 

[sawdustalley]

Nick (Known as Norm Fan) had revied his Schppach HSM260 planer and thicknesser. You will find this under the review section of this site. He sounds very pleased.

 

[Anonymous]

You could look at the ones from Axminster too, but the Rexon looks good value. I'm also looking at the Delta 2260 from Rutlands.

I would avoid NuTools NPJ130 - I'm on the verge of scrapping mine - see another thread for details

 

[DaveL]

Hi,

I have bought the Axminster Perform CCNPT Planer Thicknesser, I am very pleased with it.
I will write a review for the site when I get time, but here are a few comments on why I bought that one and my views on it.

I looked at the Record Power RSPT260, from looking at the pictures on the web, in a number of catalogues and magazines the two machines look to be made in the same factory with a different blades and a different colour paint job. :?

The thing that changed my mind was the documentation, there are comments on the Record Power forums about being sent manuals that where unreadable copies of copies, on the Axminster site you can down load the manual as a PDF file. In fact the manual that comes with the machine is pants. The Axminster guy I spoke to on the phone said that the company thought the manual supplied by the factory was so bad they had paid for a new one to be written and that was the PDF I had down loaded. :lol:

You need a dust/chip collector if you have one of this type of machine, it is not usable without one in my opinion. The guarding that is required to meet the safety regs stops the machine from being self clearing. I have a Nutool 1hp dust collector that works OK, but the hose will block if you take big cuts on wide timber. Its the sheer volume of long shavings that catch in the guard (to stop bits of 2*1 hitting the impeller) that are the problem. When the dust collection fails the shavings tend to go round again in the cutter block and impact on the timber, they go through the outfeed roller and are crushed into the timber, this leave a busied look. :evil: My long-term solution is a cyclone dust collector, (half built). :roll:

The other thing is space. I am lucky, I have a large workshop, but I still need to move things about to allow room for different tasks. The machine is 70Kg, you need the wheels if you need to move it.

The smaller portable thicknessers can work fine, but I think one thing to look at is the number of screws that are used to wind the cutter head up and down. Go to elvch01's site and look at his pictures of his Nutool, it looks to me that there are only two screws, on each side. I think this is why he is having problems with the size of the timber varying and snipe. If you look at the Dewalt DW733 it has four screws, the cutter head is held better and they claim to have a headlock as well :!:

I looked at buying two tools, a planner and a thicknesser so I could go back and forth between them but the cost and extra space needed put me off. The conversion between planing and thicknessing mode on the Perform is only two minutes, not a big problem.

I have used the machine on 5" pine and 4" mahogany, both gave excellent results, in fact the edge on the mahogany was sharp enough to cut my hand while ripping it on the table saw!

I did not mean to write war and peace, sorry.

Regards,

DaveL

 

[Anonymous]

Hi DaveL,

When I dismantled the NPJ130, I found that even though it only had two screws, the metal sides made it very sturdy - the big problem was the outfeed roller was unbalanced. Its not somthing that can be adjusted so I'm in the market for a new thicknesser. I've written about it on another thread

 

[Anonymous]

Delta 22560 ordered from Rutlands - might arrive by the weekend, if not, early next week - I'll post a review to my web site as soon as I can

Yes - I have changed my handle from elvch01 to Weasel)

 

[Anonymous]

OK thanks Guys, the Axminster Perform CCNPT is looking top draw at the mo.

All I need to do now is sneak the funds out of the account without the wife noticing!

 

[Anonymous]

and harder still - sneak the new toy into the workshop without her noticing :lol:

 

[kityuser]

harder even still......... refraining from buying anything else at the same time *dame those special offer pages *

 

[Anonymous]

I know you say you dont want to spend anymore than £600 which is fair enough but I would seriously recommend you to take a look at the Sheppach HMS260, ive been using it for a while now & I really cant fault it.

I love the 0.1mm adjustments that can be made, I take a little bit off of the wood at a time so as not to knacker out the blades & it gives a sheen to the wood & thats on softwood, on hardwood its fantastic! it can take off 3mm in one pass but its always best to do seperate passes as the blades & motor have an easier life.

Out of all the items I have purchased so far my Sheppach equipment is by far the best & everytime I use it I get a good feeling unlike some other cheap makes where you get that sinking feeling when you realise why it was cheaper than the rest.

Anyway thats my 2 pennies worth

Nick