I have to say
So it's this simple.
I don't have the budget or space for a P/T and a chip extractor so I've decided to just totally forget the whole idea and stick to my hand planes and brush and shovel.
Thanks for all your advice.
I really agree with what Terry has just said.
I think that you have been given a lot of excellent advice in this thread, but the advice is all 'idealist'.
I run a small planer thicknesser using a shop vac as the extractor, via a 50mm hose. It isn't perfect, but it's perfectly adequate for my purposes. I am a hobbyist/DIYer so it doesn't matter to me if it only collects 90% of the chips and I have to do a bit of hoovering afterwards. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make my setup 'a little bit better on a budget', but that is the nature of being a hobbyist and not a professional. If I was a professional of course I would be only willing to accept a proper fit for purpose set up.
You can get a small planer/thicknesser used for very cheap if you are willing to look on facebook marketplace. I started off with the Titan screwfix one (£199 now in screwfix) which isn't great but does work. I have had it for a little over a year. It takes a bit of setting up and does need the fence modified, but plenty of examples on youtube of how to modify it (I just replaced the fence with some birch ply). Will it stand up to day in day out use on heavy timber and being bashed around - no it wont, will it require occasional adjustments to keep it all square etc - yes it will. Is that perfectly fine for a hobbyist who doesn't use it every day - yes. I knew it wouldn't be perfect when I bought it as there are enough reviews on the internet. However screwfix will take it back happily within the 2 year garuntee period if I decide it doesn't do its job ok, so I couldn't see a problem with buying it and giving it a try.
That is WELL within your budget and is a no-risk option, if it's crab and you dont like it just return it to screwfix within 30 days no questions (after that they will want to repair/replace but if they cant give you one that works properly then they will refund still).
As it happens I then decided this winter that I would try and sort a better/bigger model, so got a Kity 636 (like the one I linked you earlier on facebook). These go on facebook for between £250 - £400 second hand), picked one in a non-working condition up for £60 and made repairing/restoring it my winter project. If you are a bit patient you will find one of those in working condition for £200 or so (or there are plenty of similar second hand models like the scheppach and Elektra etc that have been mentioned). These machines have a much better build quality than the titan screwfix one, but no warranty of course and will possibly require a bit of effort to get working and dialled in. You might be lucky and have one which needs no adjustment, but obviously they are used so the onus would be on you to sort out and whether you feel like you have adequate experience or knowhow to do that is down to you. I would say I learned a lot from my titan one which has helped me understand how to sort out my kity better (although i have asked for plenty of advice on here which has been forthcoming). Will this one stand up to day in day out heavy use - no it isnt an industrial one. Will it stand up better than the titan and be perfectly adequate for hobbyist/DIY use - yes (I hope so once I get some more experience myself!)
Then it comes to dust extraction. I run mine using a shop vac and again it isnt perfect but it is perfectly adequate for DIY/Hobbyist use. I have a 6X8 shed as my workshop so I won't hear any excuses from peiple that their shop is too small! I might one day try to get a compact chip extractor that i can stor under my bench and get out when I need it, but until then I do fine with my dust extractor (it is attached to a cyclone to make emptying and cleaning easier, but it certainly isn't neccersary.
Overall what I am saying is - just becasue what you get wont be PERFECT doesn't mean you shouldn't try and get something. We all spend ages looking at these fancy setups that professional shops have or people who have collected tools/machines and built their set up over 60 years of woodworking. That isn't how anyone starts, you have to start small and then work out what will improve your own set up slowly as you use it.
Also - and I really think this next point is often overlooked when buying second hand things. If you buy a used P/T for £250 on facebook or ebay, and it turns out it is rubbish/you dont use it/you dont like it, then you can sell it again. probably for £250! These things once used don't really loose their value, so don't see it as a big risk you are taking in trying something out. Get one, try it out and see how you get on. If you find it's good but you need better extraction then address that as best you can. If you find it's not heavy duty enough then make do with it until you see a better one available cheap and sell the old one for it.
Lastly - almost certainly your results at the start are going to have far more to do with your experience level than the machine itself, something which applies to almost any tool and machine, even something as simple as a thicknesser which is effectively a wood postbox. How many people do you see unable to use a philips screwdriver properly! It will take time and experience to use any of these machines so at the start I don't think you need worry as much about how much you are spending on the machine. Of course an expensive one might make the process and learning curve a bit easier, but if the expense means you don't buy one at all then that doesn't seem a very logical approach to me. Of course people will reccomend more expensive stuff becasue with their experience it is ovbious they are worthwhile, but you don't have that experience and will have to gain it in your own time and learn the same lessons everyone does.
Don't be put off by people suggesting perfect solutions, they are all giving good advice, but it is easy to miss the point when giving out advice and end up making people feel like it isn't worth bothering at all unless it's perfect, which is not the case at all.
