Which PT????

[Jameshow]

I have a medium sized birthday coming up and would like a decent PT.

I have a titan 204mm model but like the old table saw I hate using it.

Are all the badged 260 models all the same? Is there a matching kity model?

Budget is £500 used....

Access is poor so don't want a big cast iron jobbie.

Many thanks

James

 

[Spectric]

Access is poor so don't want a big cast iron jobbie.

If access is not easy then you may have to remove the tables anyway to get it in place, they are easily removed and make moving the PT much easier, also look at a wheel kit.

 

[Bojam]

Budget is £500 used....
Access is poor so don't want a big cast iron jobbie.

Finding it hard to answer this question James. If you want a used machine, not too heavy, single phase I guess, with a restricted budget (£500), then the choice will be limited to whatever you can find that meets those criteria within an acceptable distance for collection.

I've just had a look on Gumtree and there's nothing interesting at that price anywhere in the UK that I could see. Have you had a look on Ebay and other sites? Maybe if you find some machines that are of interest then you can share the ads here for people to give their opinions? Best way to get some help I reckon.

Triple+ your budget so probably of no interest but Axminster have this machine with a spiral head on discount at the moment. Gets decent reviews. Relatively light (~180kg), not too loud, etc. One flaw (in my eyes) is that it uses the butterfly style tables, which takes up a fair bit of room and means you have to remove the fence when changing to thicknessing mode. Buying new would mean free delivery, 3 year warranty, etc.

 

[Bojam]

Would a second hand Metabo HC260 be good for you? Like this (but collection in Scotland!). Given that a small portable(ish) machine like this is selling for nearly £400 (without the fence), I'm not sure that £500 will get you much more.

This used Fox PT is listed for £700, again in Scotland. For a couple of hundred quid more, down in Dorset, you could get this old Sedgwick PT1. And this Startrite SD310 is available for £1180 with free shipping included.

Perhaps you'll find a real bargain locally if you're lucky / willing to bide your time. But in the current market £500 for a solid machine seems a little optimistic.

 

[Jameshow]

Thanks for the replies are the 260 machines any good?

Or just more Chinese rubbish?!

 

[clogs]

Jameshow....here u go........
elu p/t.....Elu was bought out by deWalt....they copied this machine.....
very well made.....
worth a look and or a wait till one comes up nearer,,,,,
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144506906072?hash=item21a54865d8:g:BSQAAOSwwTZiWc6q

 

[Bojam]

Thanks for the replies are the 260 machines any good?

Or just more Chinese rubbish?!

Which 260 machines? I don't have personal experience with the Metabo HC260 (which is a rebrand of the old Electra Beckum 260) but they seem quite popular with hobbyists. Major drawback would be the lack of weight and the short tables.

The larger floorstanding machines like the Axminster AT260SPT that I linked to above are good imo. Maybe not for heavy duty use in a production shop but perfectly fine for home use or small joinery workshops where they don't run all the time. I have this 310 spiral head model from a European company - Holzprofi. Made in the Taiwan I believe but with excellent quality control. It gets regular (daily) but not intensive use and has performed admirably. Very little calibration required off the crate and it delivers clean, reliable and consistent results on tropical hardwoods without complaint. I'm very happy with it.

Don't dismiss the Far Eastern manufactured machines a priori. There are differences of course in both the design and the quality control of the various Far Eastern manufactured machines. All the "260" machines as you call them are not the same. I have no idea where that Fox machine linked to above was manufactured - probably in the Far East - nor how reliable you could expect it to be.

I chose the Holzprofi model on the back of excellent reviews (both about the specific machine but also the company and their customer service) on French woodworking forums. It's covered by a 3 year warranty and I know I can rely on technical support if something should go wrong. They're very responsive. The risk with buying second hand is that you don't have anything like this.

 

[Fitzroy]

I have a dw1150 which is the same as the Elu linked above. It’s a fine machine for smaller stock with sharp blades it gives a good finish, tables are a bit short so anything over 5’ is hard to get really flat. I no longer use it as a planer, just a Thicknesser which it’s excellent at.

I upgraded to an old cast iron planer as I wanted to use larger stock, repurposed sleepers. Not in full form but broken down to 4x4 and 6’ long they were too much for the planer as they caused the tables to flex.

Fitz.

 

[Jameshow]

Thanks for the info. I'll do some more research.

I'll have to wait for the "what do you want for your birthday first!" (June)

 

[recipio]

The 260 refers to the width of the bed in mms. Its the most common size as softwood is rarely sold wider than 10" or 250 mm. Regardless of make make sure it has metal gears driving the thicknesser - some are plastic believe it or not. The distance between the rollers will determine the length you can thickness safely . I have an old Scheppach HM250 which will thickness down to 100mm lengths and the rollers are rubber which do not leave marks on softwood. Spares are still available so I'd certainly recommend a secondhand model if you can find one.

 

[Ollie78]

Cast iron is very superior to aluminium and second hand will be the way to get what you need.
I used to have a scheppach( 2600 i ) like @recipio a good machine which will thickness safely down to very thin strips, I upgraded since to a bigger one.

Kity used to do a 260 with cast iron beds which was nice.

A quick point on the plastic gears, on the Scheppach at least they are designed that way on purpose, if you get a bad wedging problem or something the chain will strip the plastic gear and won't destroy the full gear train. Cheap and easy to replace.


Ollie

 

[Jameshow]

Record

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RECORD-R...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Electra Beckum,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/elektra-...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Kity 636

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Planer-T...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Much to differentiate???

 

[KingAether]

Ill have one of the previously mentioned DeWalt machines available for sale by then, Its been sat in the shed waiting for me to clean it up and sharpen the blades for weeks.
Might be worth looking at the Elu ones though honestly, its the same machine and without the dewalt name they probably go for less. I know the DW version normally end around £400-450 on auction

 

[mikej460]

Record

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RECORD-R...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Electra Beckum,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/elektra-...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Kity 636

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Planer-T...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Much to differentiate???

I'd keep way from the Kity auction as the seller has no feedback history and describes it as a 'barn find' which always makes me suspicious, not least because they don't know how well it works. Also, why can't he upload to YouTube?

 

[Jameshow]

I'd keep way from the Kity auction as the seller has no feedback history and describes it as a 'barn find' which always makes me suspicious, not least because they don't know how well it works. Also, why can't he upload to YouTube?

Don't worry I wasn't going to bid on any of them just for research....!

 

[ScottandSargeant]

Record

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RECORD-R...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Electra Beckum,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/elektra-...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Kity 636

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Planer-T...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0
Much to differentiate???

Record and Electra machines are both made in China, spares should be available
No spares available for kity machines (they also had special blades on some models)
I would suggest try to find a used Record Power or Startrite machine. I think used Sedgwick PTs are now commanding a higher price.

 

[Jones]

The cheaper 260mm wide machines are probably all fairly similar and you can get good results with one. The things to check are that spares are still available, the condition of the rollers and if it has disposable etsa blades or resharpen ones. The rubber coated rollers can become very worn, replacement is easy but £50+. Disposable blades are far superior in my opinion. As you'll almost certainly have to collect where it is probably matters too. All of these things probably matter more than the badge.