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BigPop
11th July 2004, 11:27 PM
Hi guys,
I need to do a fair bit of thicknessing (a heap of Jarrah) in the next few weeks (plus no doubt will do a bit in the future too) and am in the market for buying a new thicknesser and like the old saying goes "want to get it right the 1st time".
I have done an extensive search on the forums regarding this topic and most of the threads involve which one has a lot of snipe etc or clogs badly or has bad gears/chains etc but not so much as to which is a good (not so much better thickesser) to buy.
Can anyone enlighten me as to which ones I would be better at looking at getting.
There is heaps of discussion on the Ryobi etc but I don't want to go down that path as I feel (by reading a lot of the threads) they are again in the 'stop gap measure' range.
Any advice would be appreciated - I don't want to spend too much on one but somewhere in the vicinity of $500 to $1000 (I maybe way off the mark here too)
Thanks in advance for any input.

Robert WA
11th July 2004, 11:39 PM
I have a DeWalt, the old model with 2 blades, and have had no serious problems over 2 years of use.

I work a lot with salvaged timber and the poor machine gets a pasting. I spent half of today running old Jarrah fence pickets through it. I will have to change blades, I have 3 sets, but the machine didn't falter.

Whatever you get, make sure it has a dust collection port and that you connect it to a DC. These things make more mess than almost any other tool.

bitingmidge
12th July 2004, 08:27 AM
Have a look at the new Jet. (13"?)

I don't own one - spent too much on my cheapie to justify selling it!

The Jet has a heap of nice tricks, like two speed feed,and an indicator of cut depth as well as finished dimension of stock, but the bit that makes me want to buy one is the location of the blades so that they are very easy to adjust and replace.

Cheers,

P

echnidna
12th July 2004, 09:34 AM
I have a 12" Carbatec which I got in 1993 and its had a very hard life and still working very well.
I have run new timber including red ironbark, grey box and jarrah.
With these hard timbers the max cutting depth per pass is 1mm.
With pine and messmate it will handle 2mm per pass.
I have also run lots of recycled timber (and lotsa nails)
I have worn out 3 sets of blades.
The rubber feed rollers have the advantage that they dont mark timber as the tooth type rollers on some other machines can.
I tried various adjustments to control snipe. These days I use the machine without the infeed or outfeed tables fitted and have very little snipe.
The HS steel blades can be resharpoened many times
I would not buy a thicknesser with disposable blades as you could be let down at an inopportune time.

Its an excellent machine. I recommend this particular thicknesser.

QldWoodie
12th July 2004, 12:09 PM
About 5 years ago I bought a Jet 13". It was OK for reducing the thickness of already-planed timber but with no lower roller and rubber in-feed roller it handled rough hardwood only with difficulty.
Eventually (about 2 years ago) I traded it in on a Jet 15". Admittedly this unit is over $1500, but it is a much more serious unit.
With narrow and/or soft boards you have to take off at least 0.5mm at a time or the marks from the serrated in-feed rollers will still show. But if you want to be able to feed rough hardwood reliably this in-feed grip is an almost necessary requirement. A small imposition. Apart from this minor issue it handles anything I feed into it. Like, if you make a cutting board or bedside table-top less than 15" wide, you just feed the glued-up piece through and it is planed and flat in one go!

Qw

BigPop
16th July 2004, 06:36 PM
Hi guys,
Just a further aside to this thread - what is the consensus on combination machines? - ie.planer & thicknesser - is it worthwhile to go down this road or stay with individual machines - I have read a few posts before where guys reckon that if space is not a factor then individual machines are the way to go - but others say combination is better as far as you get a wider planer etc for your $$$'s. Space although it is at a premium in my workshop - I could fit both machines in if need be.
What are the views now??? Still the same????
Again thanks in advance for any replies.

Gumby
16th July 2004, 06:46 PM
Check the recent thread on the Carbatec ML 392 or do a search using that as a starting point. I only got mine today but it looks like it will be great. Cost me $895 and does 10" in both modes. One big advantage I see already over some of the other similarly priced machines is the quick ansd easy change from one mode to the other.

BigPop
17th July 2004, 02:01 AM
Gumby,
One of the reasons for my question is exactly the reasosn as to the post you refer to - Is the ML-392 worth the $$'s or should I look elsewhere???
If I spend a considerable amount of money on a machine I don't want to be having the problems as have been outlined. (ie sticking a hunk of 4 x 2 in and using as a lever to rectify a problem)

Gumby
17th July 2004, 08:57 AM
BigPete,
For the money, I think it's as good as anything else. Keep in mind at a price under $1000, you aren't buying at the Rolls Royce end of the market. I looked for ages hoping to get a second hand machine but nothing ever comes up. The last one that did was a Magno and it was only a 6" thicknesser. ( I think it was 8" as a jointer). It sold for $650 (18mths old) so I thought an extra couple of hundred for a new 10" one was fine. Most of the bigger and better machines are much more expensive.

I wouldn't be concerned about the 4x2 fix. Mine was the same and it was just that the rollers needed a gentle helping hand to get going. They seemed to be jambed in the solts and wouldn't rise up to allow the wood through. I'd say it's just a consequence of being brand new and they need to wear in a bit.

I looked at almost every post in these forums before deciding on the ML 392. For one thing, it's double the weight of the PT 260 so stability is good. It also has a 3 blade cutter instead of just 2 and the replacement blades are half the price of the competition at $39 a set. You can (and probably should) buy a mobile base to put it on so it can be moved around the shop easily. I can't tell you much more as I haven't given it a workout yet but like I said before, so far I'm happy. The test cuts have been pleasing.