Sick of bent wood! Good, cheap Thicknesser advice needed

[jasonwood]

Hi all,

I'm currently making a bed (well trying to) but I am struggling to get straight planks.
I bought some PAR redwood for the posts and rails etc but it has warped after a couple of weeks in my home.

The rest of the wood I'm using is also warped (mainly cupped) and a trip to my local merchant didn't result in finding any decent straight lengths either.
But of course even if I had found some decent wood at the merchant, after bringing it home I assume it will have probably warped anyway.

So, I have decided I need to buy a thicknesser.

I have no experience with them whatsoever so I was hoping to garner some advice.

I don't want to spend too much money, ideally less than £300, so I have 4 questions:

1) Is there a good thicknesser available for my budget which will be robust and perfectly square? The last thing I want to do it spend £300 on something that won't produce square wood!

2) I see a lot of these planer/thickenesser combos. What is the advantage of having the planer on top? I'd rather just have a thicknesser unless there is something you can do with the planer and you can't with the thicknesser?

3) I've seen people on here praise the DEWALT DW733 - but it is slightly out of my budget. Is there really nothing as good as this for less money?

4) Is buying a second hand planer worth it or would I bet better off getting a new one?

Thanks for any advice
Jason

 

[The Wood Butcher]

The first point is that the general opinion is that feeding bent wood through a thicknesser will produce bent wood of a uniform thickness... which I assume is not what you are after.

The traditional route is to use the planer to create a flat reference surface on one one side, which is then passed through the thicknesser to produce flat boards of even thickness.

Someone may be along in a minute to divulge a technique whereby you can do this with just a thicknesser, but there's not a technique that I know.

I think however that you need to let the moisture content of your wood settle a bit before you start using it after you get it home.

 

[Scrums]

Hi Jason

If you're tight on space as most people are, a Planer / Thicknesser combo is the best option - in fact takes up no more space than just a thicknesser.

The surfacing operation gives you a straight, true , flat face or at least will, when you've got the hang of it. Then you cut an edge at 90 degrees to this.

Next comes the thicknessing operation - and will produce a face parallel to those faces.

Hope that helps a bit.

Chris.

....always a good idea to include a location on your details, someone local to you might be able to help out.

 

[jasonwood]

Right so that would explain why there is a planer on top.

I read some articles on a site where they guy uses a table saw first of all to get a straight edge to use as a reference.
He referred to it a 'cheating' but I didn't realise why until I read your post!

I have a table saw (albeit, not very good) but at least now I know why the top planer is there.

 

[jasonwood]

I have added my location now - Stourbridge, west mids.

 

[9fingers]

In addition to a planer/thicknesser, you need some way of cutting a board parallel to the already planed straight edge. This can be a table saw, or a hand held power saw with a guide fence or rail system.

To minimise waste, cut your timber to rough size first. Then allow it to acclimatise in the final location if possible for a week or more ideally.
Then plane/process to size taking similar amounts off each face which will minimise the effects of internal stress in the wood.

Bob

 

[kirkpoore1]

...To minimise waste, cut your timber to rough size first. Then allow it to acclimatise in the final location if possible for a week or more ideally.
Then plane/process to size taking similar amounts off each face which will minimise the effects of internal stress in the wood.

Bob

In addition to what Bob mentions, if you have time, wait a week or so after taking off most of the wood with the thicknesser before making your final passes. Any uneveness caused by relieved internal stress will get planed off then. Also, if you're cutting away waste, leave a few inches extra on the ends of the board so that you can cut off any snipe that is left.

Do they still make the DW 733? I haven't seen a new one in many years. I had a DW 734, and it was a good machine. (I sold it after building my shop since I could leave my big planer set up.) The 734 isn't too heavy, so you can store it out of the way on a shelf when you're not using it.

Kirk

 

[jasonwood]

Yes I have a table saw, a Rexon something or other:

The rip fence it awful and moves out of square with the lightest of pressure, so I normally have to clamp a piece of wood behind it to try to hold it square.
I might create another thread actually asking how to get the best out of such a table saw...

But regarding a planer/thicknesser, I have a table saw to theoretically cut a straight edge so I guess I could get away with just a thicknesser.
Looking around it seems thicknessers on their own have a larger capacity than the combined machine, but maybe I'm wrong.

Any suggestions for a thicknesser (or combined model) are welcome

The PAR timber I bough it already at the size I wanted - you live and learn!
Once I have a thicknesser I'll just buy rough sawn wood and plane my own from then on.

 

[andersonec]

Jason, when you get your wood home and stack it indoors, make sure you stack it with sticks (about 10mm x 10mm) between each piece approx 1m apart (to let air between) and one above the other so that the weight is transferred straight down through the sticks then pile as much weight as possible on top, not just the odd brick or two but some serious weight, the wood is surprisingly strong, leave for at least a fortnight to settle before using.
You will still need one straight edge to be able to rip a piece straight.

 

[Chems]

In addition to a planer/thicknesser, you need some way of cutting a board parallel to the already planed straight edge. This can be a table saw, or a hand held power saw with a guide fence or rail system.

I know this is one way of doing it, a way that I do myself. But its not a required step is it? Because you plane one edge flat, then reference that edge to do the next face, use that last face for your thicknesser run and then you can flip it back to that first face and run that through the thicknesser. I probably do this about 7/10 when P/T'ing and always end up with square boards.


@Jasonwood, a great video to watch to get you started here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ZZ0dhbJYY

 

[9fingers]

In addition to a planer/thicknesser, you need some way of cutting a board parallel to the already planed straight edge. This can be a table saw, or a hand held power saw with a guide fence or rail system.

I know this is one way of doing it, a way that I do myself. But its not a required step is it? Because you plane one edge flat, then reference that edge to do the next face, use that last face for your thicknesser run and then you can flip it back to that first face and run that through the thicknesser. I probably do this about 7/10 when P/T'ing and always end up with square boards.

Depends on the aspect ratio of the boards I don't like to pass wide boards through a thicknesser on edge. I'm assuming the OP does not want to hand plane? - That is another option

Bob

 

[OwenRS]

The JET thicknesser is fit for purpose as a bench top planer.
But don't expect to ever straighten timber on such small machines. In production mills with large 4-8 headed machines they still have to have the optional extra infeed tables to guarantee straight planing. These are infeed table of anything up to 5m in length so any bowing or cupping can be aligned against. A straight steel fence before milling it off in one hit.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I wouldn't even attempt to get a straight first edge from a table saw when your only taking off max 3mm. The only way you will get a straight first edge from a table saw if your ripping off say the blade width is by using a fence that is as long as the piece your ripping from the front of the blade. As the piece of timber will only touch the fence at the front and back of the timber once the lending edge loses contact with the fence there is nothing on the other side of the riving knife to keep it a straight cut so the lending edge will naturally follow the shape of curve on the end of the fence. This method only works if your technically resawing planks and you should never use a fence longer then then the first touch of the blade for ripping.

However if you have a table saw all you need is a planer. You plane one side flat then using the flat edge to fence of the table saw you straighten the opposite end then clean that cut up with the planer. Using a now flat side you push this upto the planers square fence and plane till this is 90deg to the previously flatten end and then back to the table saw. But there is another way using just the planer as I think someone explained above. Flat one side, Use flat side tight to planers fence to make two sides 90deg to each other, using the new flat side against the fence you do the next side and so on until all 4 sides are 90deg and square.

Advice of a planer on your budget would be one thats table is adjustable so if off it can be adjusted to square. second hand market on the older machines is fine, newer machines I would by from new unless you know the owner knows how to look after them and keep them sqaure but saying that you can always adjust to square yourself (if adjustable). This advice probably rules out bench planers. Do they need to be absolutely square? Perfection doesn't exists and if its 1-2deg out will anyone but you even notice? As long as the opposite sides are parallel to each other there shouldn't be to much trouble, You can tweak the tenon butts to suit.

 

[Erasmus]

The correct machine for removing minor twists and bows from sawn timber is a surface planer. Or if it's really bad, a straight line edging saw on a power feed followed by surface planing. The process of creating adjacent surfaces at 90 degrees to each other is known in the trade as face edge planing. The correct machine for gauging or sizing stock which has been face edged is a thicknesser unless you have access to a 4 cutter. In any event you always face edge timber before guaging. Using a saw for anything other than rough guaging during this process will not produce a satisfactory enough result for my purposes. Whether you use a combination planer thicknesser or two separate machines doesn't matter. It's the required process and the skill with which you execute it that's important.

 

[rannndy]

I have a macallister thicknesser from B&Q cheap and good. but i agree with the others this is only what it says it is a thicknesser
john

 

[p111dom]

You can straighten and adjust board thickness with just a thicknesser, using a disposable sled. That would become expensive quite quickly but if its for a one off project, it might be an option.

 

[Pond]

Jason,

You won't go far wrong with this one:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod801599/

For the money it is very good. Someone on here has a long term test thread running in the buying advice section on it. it's worth a look.

The extraction from the planer (on mine at least) is poor; not a problem just makes a bit of a mess! it also has a brush motor so is very noisy, other than that it is fine.

You will NEED an extractor with it (or any PT)!!

I bought mine to plane solid oak. It handles this very well, albeit you have to be gentle with it.

HTH

Andy