thicknessers
Fred
I sometimes think about getting a thicknesser but I'm confused by all
the types out there. I was looking for an entry-level, i.e. budget,
machine to test the water. When I looked in the machine mart catalogue
a few months back, I saw machines like these:
8 inch:
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cpt800-204mm-planer-thicknesser
Given the choice between these two, I guess it's worth going for the
8" machine as it gives you a bit more versatility, 2 inches more to be
precise?
Since then, thicknessers seem to have become more common. Even B&Q are
selling them now. But the thicknessers I am seeing now are more like
this:
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cpt250-portable-thicknesser
Please can someone tell me the differences, the pros and the cons, of
the two types?
The latter accepts wood up to 10", so based on width alone, the last
one seems the most versatile but...
I went to MM for something else and asked about thicknessers and they
confused me even more! They said that the first type was better
because they are planers and thicknessers, whereas the second type is
a thicknesser only. Don't you need to plane one side before
thicknessing the other?
I'm not too sure how the first type work. The illustrations appear to
show wood being planed across the top but how does thicknessing occur?
Is there another path through the middle?
MM also sell a 6" planer that does not do thicknessing and it looks
very similar:
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cp6-152mm-surface-planer/path/planer-thicknessers
but the body is not as tall, which makes me wonder whether there is
something in the middle of the thicknessers that is missing from the
planer?
On a slightly different note, when the timber yard thicknessed a
floorboard for me, they put the board through "the wrong way round":
this way "|" rather than "-" that way. I wouldn't have thought the
machines would grip narrow edges very well. Of course they will have
machines in a different league to the ones I have linked. What is the
smallest piece of wood you could put through a thicknesser?
TIA
John Rumm
> I sometimes think about getting a thicknesser but I'm confused by all
> the types out there. I was looking for an entry-level, i.e. budget,
This could be a good thread - I feel another FAQ/wiki coming on ;-)
> machine to test the water. When I looked in the machine mart catalogue
> a few months back, I saw machines like these:
>
> 6 inch:
> http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cpt600-152mm-planer-thicknesser/path/planer-thicknessers
>
> 8 inch:
> http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cpt800-204mm-planer-thicknesser
>
> Given the choice between these two, I guess it's worth going for the
> 8" machine as it gives you a bit more versatility, 2 inches more to be
> precise?
You may find a narrow thicknesser a bit of a limitation some of the
time, but in practice I find most of the stuff I end up sticking though
mine less than 6" wide anyway. For planing, then chances are you are
more often going to be getting something square and flat edged for
jointing purposes anyway, so width is less critical.
Needless to say the needs are different depending on what you plan to do
with it.
> Since then, thicknessers seem to have become more common. Even B&Q are
> selling them now. But the thicknessers I am seeing now are more like
> this:
>
> http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cpt250-portable-thicknesser
>
> Please can someone tell me the differences, the pros and the cons, of
> the two types?
>
> The latter accepts wood up to 10", so based on width alone, the last
> one seems the most versatile but...
The latter type is a thicknesser only, the others are combination
surface planners/thicknessers.
> I went to MM for something else and asked about thicknessers and they
> confused me even more! They said that the first type was better
> because they are planers and thicknessers, whereas the second type is
> a thicknesser only. Don't you need to plane one side before
> thicknessing the other?
Depends on what you are starting with. Purchased sawn (or PAR) timber
will be flat enough to plane in a thicknesser and get decent results.
In the same way that if the only tool you have is a hammer, then you
tend to view problems as types of nail, the same can apply here. To
plane a square edge on something with a thickenesser, you can make
yourself a right angle or tee shaped fence to clamp your work to before
feeding it through.
> I'm not too sure how the first type work. The illustrations appear to
> show wood being planed across the top but how does thicknessing occur?
> Is there another path through the middle?
yup, planers require you to manually (assuming you are not looking at
posh machines with power feed) feed timber across the table. There is a
fence to keep stuff square, and a rotating cutter block under a guard in
the table. They plane the underside of the board.
The thicknesser works with a "hole" of adjustable height that you pass
stuff through. They are also self feeding, and so very easy to use for
getting a nice planed finish on boards etc with little effort. (chose a
good one, and the results will far exceed commercial planned timber that
usually still has visible planer ripple on it). They have a flat smooth
base plate and a combined rotating planer block with power feed rollers
both sides of it. The timber passes under this and the top surface is
planed.
> MM also sell a 6" planer that does not do thicknessing and it looks
> very similar:
>
> http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cp6-152mm-surface-planer/path/planer-thicknessers
>
> but the body is not as tall, which makes me wonder whether there is
> something in the middle of the thicknessers that is missing from the
> planer?
Indeed - look at the standalone thicknessers - that is what is missing -
a carriage with the planer head on it, that can be raised and lowered
above a fixed base.
> On a slightly different note, when the timber yard thicknessed a
> floorboard for me, they put the board through "the wrong way round":
> this way "|" rather than "-" that way. I wouldn't have thought the
> machines would grip narrow edges very well. Of course they will have
> machines in a different league to the ones I have linked. What is the
The tool porn versions can thickness 4 sides at once, and power feed off
any side etc.
> smallest piece of wood you could put through a thicknesser?
In terms of thickness - 1/4" high ought to be no problem - probably
thinner. You can go much thinner if you double sided tape the timber to
a backing board (bit of MDF etc). Width wise - pretty much anything that
will stand up without falling over. Length, depending on machine you
probably need at least 4" or 5". For best results - longer[1].
Something else to keep in mind is that a thicknesser will *need* decent
chip collection - something with a high airflow and a 4" pipe[2] - to
keep up with the rate of production of shavings. This is partly true of
planers as well, although some are designed to just drop shavings down a
chute and into a waiting bin.
[1] Thicknessers suffer from "snipe" to some degree. This is the
tendency to not plane as well at the ends of the board as it pops out
the machine and is only being held by one set of feed rollers. Ones with
longer in and outfeed tables help here. But generally for best results
on some machines you need to budget a bit of waste at the end of each
board. The best machines have 4 (rather than a pair) of uprights to
support the cutter block, and also a lock mechanism to clamp it in
place. This stops the head rocking slightly and altering the thickness
on the board entering or exiting the machine.
I have used an Axminster 344 entry level machine, and the snipe on that
was such that I would not usually use the board ends. My DeWalt DW733
(superseded model now I think) however causes so little snipe if you
make a light final pass with the carriage locked that I am happy using
the ends for furniture work and planing short stuff as well.
So in summary - if choosing just one machine I would (in fact did!) go
for the thicknesser on its own first, unless laying up wide things like
table tops is your primary focus. If buying a jointer/planer I would
avoid the smaller table top ones since don't really have the solid fence
you need or sufficient length of table.
[2] I use a SIP one similar to:
--
Cheers,
John.
/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
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d...@gglz.com
> Hi,
>
> I sometimes think about getting a thicknesser but I'm confused by all
> the types out there. I was looking for an entry-level, i.e. budget,
> machine to test the water. When I looked in the machine mart catalogue
> a few months back, I saw machines like these:
>
>
> 8 inch:http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cpt800-204mm-planer...
>
> Given the choice between these two, I guess it's worth going for the
> 8" machine as it gives you a bit more versatility, 2 inches more to be
> precise?
>
> Since then, thicknessers seem to have become more common. Even B&Q are
> selling them now. But the thicknessers I am seeing now are more like
> this:
>
>
> Please can someone tell me the differences, the pros and the cons, of
> the two types?
>
> The latter accepts wood up to 10", so based on width alone, the last
> one seems the most versatile but...
>
> I went to MM for something else and asked about thicknessers and they
> confused me even more! They said that the first type was better
> because they are planers and thicknessers, whereas the second type is
> a thicknesser only. Don't you need to plane one side before
> thicknessing the other?
>
> I'm not too sure how the first type work. The illustrations appear to
> show wood being planed across the top but how does thicknessing occur?
> Is there another path through the middle?
>
> MM also sell a 6" planer that does not do thicknessing and it looks
> very similar:
>
>
> but the body is not as tall, which makes me wonder whether there is
> something in the middle of the thicknessers that is missing from the
> planer?
>
> On a slightly different note, when the timber yard thicknessed a
> floorboard for me, they put the board through "the wrong way round":
> this way "|" rather than "-" that way. I wouldn't have thought the
> machines would grip narrow edges very well. Of course they will have
> machines in a different league to the ones I have linked. What is the
> smallest piece of wood you could put through a thicknesser?
>
> TIA
Very good advice from John, as usual!
What sort of work are you thinking/wanting to do with it?
If it's processing a lot of old floorboards, you may be hoping for a
bit too much from a budget machine.
A good planar/thicknesser is an incredibly heavy and well-built thing
- portable thicknessers are aimed more at trim joinery - and most
machines struggle as you put timber through approaching their maximum
width.
The joy of a planar/thicknesser is that you can true-up any
distortions in a piece of timber - a thicknesser will only faithfully
copy the twists in the timber down to a thiner version of what went
in.
That said, a hand plane - (or even a hand-held power plane if the
distortion is dreadful) can be a more efficient tool for attacking the
high points in a twisted timber.
The likes of the machines you're looking at will likely be fine if
you've plenty of patience to do lots and lots of light cuts (say
around 1mm or less per pass) and you're looking at working with odd &
interesting bits of timber to make light furniture, or want to make
fully custom-sized bits of trim joinery (e.g. around boats).
OTOH if you're looking at a lot of heavier timbers, consider hiring a
more substantial machine.
In fact I reckon hiring-before-buying is a good bet anyway with a type
of machine you've no experience of. After that you'll know what a good
machine should do to make comparisons.
And don't forget John's mention of dust extractors - thicknessers
really need them.
robgraham
I would be really sure that you do have adequate use for such a
machine - I bought one some years back and really can't justify now
what I paid for it. I can't offer you any specific machine related
advice. I might be worth your while looking at the Tool Review forum
in www.ukworkshop.co.uk.
Rob
TMC
"Fred" <fr...@no-email.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:fsdmc6lghh4e7rp52...@4ax.com...
looked at the machine mart stuff but went for the Axminster entry level
planer thicknesser (as was quite a bit cheaper than the clarke one at
machine mart) and dust collector
don't have a lot of space so the combination machine was the way to go for
me
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-mb9020-benchtop-planer-thicknesser-prod801599/
well pleased
Only gripe is that blades are a fiddle to set up accurately
but new blades cheap at £18 (missed a bit of embedded nail)
a bit of sniping sometimes but may be me not supporting on the output side
have thicknessed 70mm wide 1 metre long hardwood planks to 6mm thick without
problem
regards
John Rumm
> And don't forget John's mention of dust extractors - thicknessers
> really need them.
To be fair, I have used one once without. We had to take the dust
collection cowl off it to stop it getting completely clogged up, and it
then projected a small snow storm of shavings right across the room!
Half a dozen boards later and we were knee deep in it!
John Rumm
> Only gripe is that blades are a fiddle to set up accurately
Some machines come with setting jigs that make this much simpler - but
without it is a PITA. IIRC Axminster do a generic setting jig you can
get for machines that don't have one.
> but new blades cheap at £18 (missed a bit of embedded nail)
Something else worth thinking about as well... most machines come with
disposable TCT knives similar (but longer) than the ones fitted on a
powered hand plane. A few have resharpenable HSS knives. The latter may
be cheaper to run in terms of keeping sharp, but it does mean you need a
way of getting a decent edge on a 12" long knife.
> a bit of sniping sometimes but may be me not supporting on the output side
A couple of roller stands are well worth having IME as well. That way
they can collect long stock on the output side and save it having yards
of leverage on the last bit left in the machine.