Question: thicknesser or planer thicknesser?
Philip Crossley
to resaw thick stock for box making. While looking through a few
catalogues I have discovered that several companies make planer
thicknessers. Having never used either tool, this has raised several
questions:
1. What are the pros & cons of each machine?
2. It appears that you can use the planer thicknesser to perform
jointing work as well. Is that correct?
3. What features / considerations should I look for when chosing a
machine?
4. How difficult is it to sharpen & install the blades in each?
5. Any recommendations for make/model available in Australia?
I am also interested in furniture making.
Based on this info, what would you recommend I purchase: a thicknesser
or a planer thicknesser?
Many thanks in advance.
Philip
Walt Conner
Walt Conner
Greg Millen
the thicknesser will not give you a flat surface whilst a planer/jointer
thicknesser will. For example, you have a slightly bent piece of lumber, the
thicknesser will make it an even thickness with smooth faces, but it will
still be bent. If you joint it first (give it a single, flat face), the
thicknesser will then use the flat face as a reference to duplicate on the
opposite face, thereby providing a flat and coplanar board.
Using a thicknesser without first jointing one face is a waste of time for
accurate work. You may want two machines (jointer & thicknesser), depending
on how you like to work.
If you are in a capital city I suggest that you go talk to the guys in a
tool store and look at the tools as they describe them. CarbaTec in Swan St
Richmond (Melb) is good, as are the other Carbatec stores in the other
cities. Tell us where you are and I'm sure there are lots of lurkers who'll
chime in with advice.
If you know how to use the google search engine, you should find answers to
this question dating back to Noah and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Greg
BTW, what is the better measurement system, Imperial, metric or cubits?
"Philip Crossley" <cro...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
<snip>
Andy Dingley
> 1. What are the pros & cons of each machine?
I've just bought both a thickness planer, and a jointer-planer.
Some comments are at:
http://codesmiths.com/shed/workshop/reviews.htm#thicknesser
> 2. It appears that you can use the planer thicknesser to perform
> jointing work as well. Is that correct?
Yes. Nearly all have adequate fences to allow this.
Some planer thicknessers aren't solid enough to work well as jointers
- but they're not good planers either, so I see this as a general
problem, not specific to jointing on them.
Thickness planers can be used for surface planing, but there are
limits.
- Make sure you have a cutter lock, to avoid snipe problems.
- They won't remove twist from a board, unless you de-twist it with a
hand plane (manual scrub or electric) first.
- Only the better thickness planers have decently long tables. Short
tables are OK for on-site carpentry, but not for workshop cabintetry.
- They're noisier than planers.
OTOH, thickness planers also have advantages over planers:
- They don't produce tapered boards, which are all too easy for the
inexperienced to make with a surface planer. This is probably a bigger
risk than the problem of twisted boards in a thicknesser.
- You can buy a wide thicknesser much more cheaply than a planer of
comparable width. My 13" thicknesser is half the cost of a 10" planer
(allowing me to spend the rest on a jointer).
- Power feed, which is a little safer to use.
- They're much cheaper, which lets you spend the surplus on a 6"
jointer. 6" jointers (there's only one - everyone is reselling the
same Taiwanese model, with minor tweaks) are lovely little beasts; the
smaller size allows proper cast iron construction and massive tables,
all for a budget price. You'll get a far more rigid and accurate
jointer by going for a smal one.
Planing width is important. Thicknessing height is rarely important.
Jointing width never is.
> 3. What features / considerations should I look for when chosing a
> machine?
Big solid tables !
> 4. How difficult is it to sharpen & install the blades in each?
Honing (in situ) is easy, installation is pretty easy once you've got
a good big straight edge and preferably an engineer's dial gauge on a
magnetic stand (another advantge for iron tables).
Sharpening is tricky. Many now use replaceable blades, just because of
this.
Unless you're an expert sharpener with big stones, then I'd send wide
planer blades out for sharpening.
> Based on this info, what would you recommend I purchase: a thicknesser
> or a planer thicknesser?
Either a thicknesser _and_ a small jointer-planer, or a 10"x6"
planer-thicknesser. Both options cost much the same (700-800 UK
pounds), although the two separate machines can be bought in stages.
The two small machines are cheap and convenient. You can plane well on
a thicknesser, so long as it has adequate tables and you're not trying
to take out twist. Finish can be surprisingly good, with a good
thicknesser.
The combination machine takes up less space.
Going to a cast iron planer thicknesser, or a planer-thicknesser with
12" or above width, gets expensive.
Two other things you'll need:
A set of push-sticks and push-blocks. Planer knives worry me far more
than my table saw.
Dust (or chip) collection. Thicknessers produce a ridiculous amount of
waste and throw it everywhere. Most of the 15" thicknessers _must_
have vacuum collection, or they eat their own chips (with bad
results).
Philip Crossley
It appears that I would get more use out of a thickness planer as I
can perform jointing work as well.
Greg, I'm going to the woodshow in Sydney in June (?) & will more than
likely pick something up there. I know Carbatec, Timbecon, Hare &
Forbes as well as several other machinery suppliers will be there.
re what is the better measurement system, Imperial, metric or cubits?
- I'm still looking for a cubit rule, please let me know if you find
1! ;-)
Philip
Greg Millen
I suggest you hook up with Nuno Souto. He is in Sydney and I know he has
recently purchased a planer-thicknesser (lucky sod) so he may be able to
give some pointers.
cheers,
Greg
"Philip Crossley" <cro...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:e1b1539.02052...@posting.google.com...
Sawblade
http://www.vendian.org/mncharity/dir3/bodyruler/
Kinda feel like JOAT now ...grin...!
--
Sawblade
(use dot net to reply)
"Philip Crossley" <cro...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:e1b1539.02052...@posting.google.com...
deloid
"Sawblade" <Sawb...@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:grpI8.14691$Ah1.97...@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com...
> As for the cubit ruler, here are the measurements you need to make one.
>
> http://www.vendian.org/mncharity/dir3/bodyruler/
>
> Kinda feel like JOAT now ...grin...!
> --
> Sawblade
> (use dot net to reply)
One dynamic vs static measurement is missing that usually interests women
(but it really doesn't make a difference).
;)
Dean