I have a planer/thicknesser of a noname brand, clone of the Record PT260, MetaboHC260, Electra Beckum, etc.
The machine works quite well, in most respects.
I've had to fix the fence (I have permanently adjusted it to 90 degrees, which took at least an hour - replaced the adjusting lever with a locking nut and put some paper shims between the fence and the fence holder to make it 90 degrees everywhere).
I've also made a replacement dust extractor hood which never clogs - unlike the original one.
With those things fixed, the machine actually works quite well. But there is one problem. When thicknessing, it doesn't feed that well. It gets worse and worse when the blades start to get dull. But they don't have to be particularly dull by the time you need to push or pull to help it feed the board through. Wide boards are really bad. You don't need to go to the gym after thicknessing for an hour.
My previous machine, a Scheppach hm0-solo was much better in this regard. There was never a problem with the feeding.
I have been troubleshooting many times, and have found that the problem is that the flat belt that drives the feed mechanism is slipping.The belt has also come off the tire a few times.
I'm now thinking that the belt might be stretched out so it does not sit as tight at it should be. So I thought I'd just buy a new one.
But here's a problem. The manual says that the dimension of the flat belt is 168 x 3.2 x 1.8. I'm not sure what that really means. I've measured the belt, and it's 18 mm wide, 3 mm thick and 625 mm long. But my belt is quite old and there are small cracks showing, so I guess it's a bit longer now, than it was originally.
I contacted Metabo and asked them about the flat belt to their machine. According to them, it's 168 mm long and 18 mm wide. It costs about £40. That's a bit expensive.
The strange thing is that both my manual and Metabo say that the belt should be 168 mm long. But it would be impossible to stretch a belt from 168 mm to over 600 mm if it isn't _really_ stretchy.
I wonder if 168 mm is actually the diameter, which would mean 168 * pi = 527.8 mm. If this is correct, the belt should be quite tight to get on the wheel.
Does anyone else have the dimensions of a fresh flat belt for these machines?
I'm also thinking about getting the Metabo conversion kit to make it possible to use re-sharpenable knives. I'm getting tired of buying disposable knives. They get dull quickly sometimes, and suddenly I don't have any sharp blades available. And now I can't get new blades locally, as the shop I bought the machine at stopped selling these.
But I'll do this only if I decide to keep the machine.
I have been thinking of getting a new machine instead. Maybe a Hammer, or a JET JPT 260. But my workshop is not that big, so my current machine actually fits quite well in the shop. It's on wheels, and with the outfeed table removed, it does not take up that much space. So I need to think about this..
I recently bought the Hammer N4400 bandsaw, and I am really happy with this machine. Which makes me think I should go with the Hammer planer as well. But it takes up more of my precious space. So I don't know.
The machine works quite well, in most respects.
I've had to fix the fence (I have permanently adjusted it to 90 degrees, which took at least an hour - replaced the adjusting lever with a locking nut and put some paper shims between the fence and the fence holder to make it 90 degrees everywhere).
I've also made a replacement dust extractor hood which never clogs - unlike the original one.
With those things fixed, the machine actually works quite well. But there is one problem. When thicknessing, it doesn't feed that well. It gets worse and worse when the blades start to get dull. But they don't have to be particularly dull by the time you need to push or pull to help it feed the board through. Wide boards are really bad. You don't need to go to the gym after thicknessing for an hour.
My previous machine, a Scheppach hm0-solo was much better in this regard. There was never a problem with the feeding.
I have been troubleshooting many times, and have found that the problem is that the flat belt that drives the feed mechanism is slipping.The belt has also come off the tire a few times.
I'm now thinking that the belt might be stretched out so it does not sit as tight at it should be. So I thought I'd just buy a new one.
But here's a problem. The manual says that the dimension of the flat belt is 168 x 3.2 x 1.8. I'm not sure what that really means. I've measured the belt, and it's 18 mm wide, 3 mm thick and 625 mm long. But my belt is quite old and there are small cracks showing, so I guess it's a bit longer now, than it was originally.
I contacted Metabo and asked them about the flat belt to their machine. According to them, it's 168 mm long and 18 mm wide. It costs about £40. That's a bit expensive.
The strange thing is that both my manual and Metabo say that the belt should be 168 mm long. But it would be impossible to stretch a belt from 168 mm to over 600 mm if it isn't _really_ stretchy.
I wonder if 168 mm is actually the diameter, which would mean 168 * pi = 527.8 mm. If this is correct, the belt should be quite tight to get on the wheel.
Does anyone else have the dimensions of a fresh flat belt for these machines?
I'm also thinking about getting the Metabo conversion kit to make it possible to use re-sharpenable knives. I'm getting tired of buying disposable knives. They get dull quickly sometimes, and suddenly I don't have any sharp blades available. And now I can't get new blades locally, as the shop I bought the machine at stopped selling these.
But I'll do this only if I decide to keep the machine.
I have been thinking of getting a new machine instead. Maybe a Hammer, or a JET JPT 260. But my workshop is not that big, so my current machine actually fits quite well in the shop. It's on wheels, and with the outfeed table removed, it does not take up that much space. So I need to think about this..
I recently bought the Hammer N4400 bandsaw, and I am really happy with this machine. Which makes me think I should go with the Hammer planer as well. But it takes up more of my precious space. So I don't know.
