There are a lot of pretty-much-identical designs around, for example SIP, Axminster, Metabo (even the same colours!), etc. I'd be very surprised indeed if they didn't all have the same parts in most bits. There are
some unique designs, for example my Kity: It looks similar but it's wasn't originally a Chinese-made one (French design), and the mechanics aren't the same as yours.
I'm 90% sure the Charnwood is Chinese, and, as
carlb40 said you'll find parts from other machines will almost certainly fit.
Good quality planer knives can be had from
Appleby Woodturnings (note: measure the knives, take a pic of them, and email Appleby - they're really helpful) and Doug at
Cutting Solutions (also very helpful).
Also, Axminster are a very good place to get matching spares from, if:
- you download and look through the manual for their equivalent product.
- you find their part number for the piece you need.
I've done this in the past with my table saw (sliding table bearings, etc.), with great success.
I don't think it's fair to pester them with "I want a part for my Charnwood - you might stock it...", but, if you're prepared to do the leg-work and find the matching part number yourself (from the Axminster product's manual), they're very helpful and will put it in the post for you.
Many of these machines are becoming very expensive now to buy new, because of the Pound and Euro exchange rates against the Chinese Yuan. If you can get a secondhand one at a good price, it has to be a better bet. Charnwood as a brand don't have a bad reputation (I don't own any of their stuff, but you don't read lots of complaints here!), so worst case you can buy their branded spares.
Do a bit of Googling to find a Charnwood dealer.
Hope that helps,
E.
I'm amazed to find the EU has some uses after all! The EC Declaration of Conformity in the manual for the Axminster P/T shows the manufacturer as: "Quingdao Capital Resource Electric Co." The Metabo manual doesn't say, but it looks absolutely identical to the Charnwood, too, as does the Screwfix version.