Startrite SD31 Planer Thicknesser and Machinery in general. HELP ME!!!!

[Wilfage]

Hi All.
Thanks in advance to everyone here. Excuse me if I rant a little as I've had just about enough!

Having worked my way through 4 or 5 PT's in the last few years I've found myself purchasing a brand new Startrite SD31 about 9 months ago and I can't for the life of me get it set up right.
I've followed the manual closely and spent hours trying to get the beds co-planer and Im still nowhere near where I want it to be. Nothing seems to get this machine the way I feel it should.

Has anyone found some magic method to get these beds flat that isn't in the manual?

The question also is, am I asking too much of my machinery ? Does everyone else here accept some degree of inaccuracy and finish everything off with hand tools? As this is what I seem to have to do. I seem to use the PT to get things close to flat / square and then dial it in with hand planes.

To many times in the past I have said to myself "oh that's close enough to square" only for it to come back and bite me in the project at some point. So now I always strive for perfection .

This isn't just technique Im sure.

I just can't trust the thing like I should be able to and it costs me serious time in the workshop, which is limited enough as it is!!

Any help would be very much appreciated

Oh and who ever thought these bloody aluminium extrusion fences were good idea ought to be bloody shot.

Regards
William

 

[deema]

I helped a friend who bought one of theses machines about 10 years ago set it up. I could set it, but after about a month the Tables would again be out of alignment. He sent it back, and had Startrite reset the tables, made no difference, they returned it after about a month and again shortly afterwards the tables were out of alignment. I acted as his expert witness and he took the company he bought it from through small claims. I did a full review of the design, and at that time, the design of the machine in my opinion was such that it was not possible for it to fulfill its intended function. He lost the case, only on a technicality, he had waited too long to request his money back. However, the magistrate awarded him damages equivalent to the cost of the machine, so, in effect he won.
Now, they may have changed / improved the design since then, but the machine images I’ve just looked up would suggest it’s identical.
If memory serves there were grub screws on one side of the outfeed table you adjust to set the outfeed table along with the latch. The main problem was that the fabricated case on which these rest bends due IMO to it not being sufficiently rigid. You need only the slighest movement for the end of the outfeed table to move a long way. The most crazy thing I found was that the adjusters were bearing down on a painted surface, not a machined surface. The paint deforms sufficiently to put the tables way out. After removing the paint, the tables still moved, highlighting the weakness.

A properly designed PT won’t move after initial setting and settle. You get repeatable results, all of which has some form of slight wave in the planed surface that requires very little additional finishing......depending on what it’s for. As an example, the original design of Sedgwick planner Thicknesser (I can’t comment on the latest iteration of some of their models, not all have changed, as I haven’t worked on one yet) are superb machines, ideal for both professional and hobby use. They are easy to setup, and will last many generations of wood worker and hold their value.