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DavidW
6th August 2003, 06:13 PM
I am in the market for a portable thickness planer, not because they are portable, because they suit my limited buget.

I have read the review on the Ryobi AP13 in the online tool reviews website and it seems to meet my needs. Its first job will be to smooth some rough sawn 2" X 10" Oregon for my workbench top and later when I tackle SWMBO's list of funiture requirements and kitchen rebuild (after I acquire all the power tools I NEED).

Has anyone got this machine and can give me an objective opinion of it, and does anyone have any suggestions for alternatives in the $4-$500 price range.

chris_hewett
6th August 2003, 10:06 PM
David,
If you intend to dress rough sawn timber a thicknesser will only do half of what you need. To dress timber square and straight you will also need to use a jointer. All the thicknesser will do is give you a board that is a constant thickness from the face opposite to the cutters. If you put a twisted/bent/out of square board through it all you will get is a constant thickness twisted/bent/out of square board.

DavidW
6th August 2003, 10:26 PM
Yes Chris I have read that before although I am yet to figure it out. My thought is that if you plane it down on one side then turn it over it should be even, I know i'm wrong but my mind works in mysterious ways.

All that aside I am aware that I may need a jointer eventually but $$$ play a big part and when the Mrs says "why dont you buy that thickneser thing next pay" well.....wots a bloke to do.

Space is also at a premium as I share my 3 car garage with 2 cars a bike and my home brew stuff so large machinery is not really an option.

DavidW
6th August 2003, 10:28 PM
Also I may have mislead when I say rough sawn. The timber has been cut to size on a resawing type bandsaw but not dressed.

chris_hewett
6th August 2003, 11:08 PM
Yeah I am with you David...

I purchased a Ridgid thicknesser while in the States that had been reconditioned and was a deal that I could not walk away from. I thought the same thing, but learned the hard way... All that a thicknesser will do is make the top and bottom surfaces equidistant. If the board is twisted or not straight, it will be the thickness you want and still bent. I now have a jointer as well. Having one without the other is a pain. You may be able to get away with only a thicknesser, but will have to get two joining faces jointed at the timber yard before bringing it home, then thickness and rip to size before the things warp again...

Maybe someone else out there has some better advice or help, but I would suggest considering a thicknesser and jointer as tools that operate together and should be considered as a pair when purchasing.

Hope this helps,

Chris

Dean
6th August 2003, 11:11 PM
Arrghh as per previous post, you will need both, unless you are lucky enough to have nice, perfect, squared boards to begin with... not likely all the time.

No way around it unfortunately... You need both.
It will cost about the same to buy them separately or as a combo machine (saves space - but have to change from one function to the other which is a minor inconvenience according to those that have them)

You need more $$ I am afraid :(

Sir Stinkalot
6th August 2003, 11:25 PM
Originally posted by DavidW
All that aside I am aware that I may need a jointer eventually but $$$ play a big part and when the Mrs says "why dont you buy that thickneser thing next pay" well.....wots a bloke to do.


I think that you need to get a gift voucher now for your $4-500 to keep the mrs happy ..... then wait 6 months until you can get the joiner .... then break out the voucher to buy the thicknesser .... The only solution in my eyes :D
http://www.my-smileys.de/laola3.gif

DavidW
6th August 2003, 11:54 PM
Hmmm, yes well saving up lots of $$$ isnt an option as history is bound to repeat itself, ie save like mad collect lots of luverly $$$ then wham unexpected expense and by by $$$.

Ok being a bit serious now. Is there such a thing as a good quality bench mount jointer (I still have the space problem). And are the combo machines any good.

I have the Timbecon cattledog and they list a 25mm?? combo planer/thicknesser (thought it was thicknesser/jointer) for $1049 or a 150mm jointer for $499. Are these good value or am I going to need to spend more $$$.

Dean
6th August 2003, 11:57 PM
Several people here (not me) have the combo machine (PT-260 model) and seem quite happy with it :)

I'm looking at getting the $499 jointer soon... Seems solid enough in appearance and should work well.

DavidW
7th August 2003, 12:49 AM
Looked at the combo,s and find good and bad. The PT-260 has a 3hp donk but is mostly aluminium. The ML-392 is mostly cast but only has a 1.5hp but both have a 3 blade head. Also they both are only 10" as opposed to 12" + for the stand alone thicknessers.

The 150mm joiner looks the goods but is 150mm big enough. Of course this takes me back to my original problem of which thicknesser if I were to get a dedicated jointer.

And of course there is the issue of which to get first. And then they probably should have a dedicated dust collector and then blah blah blah blah blah!!!:confused: Sigh!!!

My brain hurts....I'm going to bed

Dean
7th August 2003, 01:01 AM
hehehe well you have to get what you can afford.
150mm wont be big enough for every task, but then its several hundred cheaper than the 8" models which may also not be big enough for every task either... Ideally a 12" would be nice, but who has that kinda money floating around? :)

FYI, the Ryobi thicknesser is actually a generic model CT-340 which Timbecon and Carbatec also have clones of but for a bit more $$.

DavidW
7th August 2003, 01:21 AM
I'm still up, all this indecision is keeping me awake.

So how do you get away with a 6" jointer when you need to work with 10" boards?

Can you do one side the turn the board around and do the other or must you rip them and have extra joins in the finnished job?

I guess for the home woodworker alot of compromising has to be done.

Asquared
7th August 2003, 03:42 AM
David

I empathise with your situation - very tight for space and limited budget.

I bought a 6" jointer (or buzzer or planer) from Timbecon a couple of years ago and thought it was the best thing I ever did. Use it all the time. Later got a 12" thicknesser (DeWalt) which tucks away in the corner of my bench and I have to take it out and set it up on a bench or workmate stand to use it. It is OK but hasn't had a great deal of use. Main problem with it (and most similar portable units I suspect) is the in-feed and out-feed tables are a bit flimsy for heavy boards and are not really long enough. I also find the adjust ment of the tables tricky although theoretically once you've got them set they should be set - theoretically that is!

Recently I bought a dust collector and now I think that is the best thing I ever bought!! Well after my band saw that is. You'll be amazed at how much dust and cuttings jointers and thicknessers can put out!

Anyway what I wanted to pass on is that I saw an article in a woodworking mag about a year or so ago (sorry can't remember which one, maybe this will jog someone else's memory) but there was a great tip in it about using your thicknesser as a planer to overcome the problem of getting two smooth square surfaces before you actually thickness the plank. In simple terms you get a piece of MDF (probably at least 20mm thick) and as wide as your thicknesser (say 12") and a little longer than your board and attach a low stop block across one end. (NOTE that the stop on the MDF must be less thick than the plank you're dressing. You could glue it on and then if the blades hit it it will just get dressed - no screws to destroy that fine set of blades.) This MDF assembly becomes a flat smooth base plate to which the rough plank is fitted. The stop will push the piece through the thicknesser. You will need to put some screws into the MDF at strategic locations so that you can wind them up or down to act as support posts for the unevenness of the plank. So if it is twisted, adjust the screws so that it sits as flat as possible and doesn't rock or wobble.

Then set the thicknesser to take the MDF and plank together and gradually work your way down till you have a flat smooth surface. Then take it off the MDF base plate, flip it over and thickness the board in the normal way. If your boards aren't too wide you might be able to do the edges the same way but I suspect that there won't be enough clearance through the thicknesser for really wide boards. Doing the square edges of boards is where a jointer really comes in handy.

It is a bit more fuss and bother but it sounds like you've got time and enthusiasm rather than $$$ so that may have to be the trade off. I have not tried this out myself yet but I probably will because I only have a 6" planer and a 12" thicknesser and I need to work on some wide boards soon.

Hope this helps

Daniel
7th August 2003, 09:25 AM
I saw this post last night and had to think about a respone because I am surrounded by all the good gear as some may put it.

If I was to buy some new gear then the two things I would buy first is a good rip saw and buzzer. You can dress two faces with the buzzer and then thickness it with the rip saw providing the saw can to that size.

Most of my work now is done with DAR material and the only exception to this is when I find some good palleted material that needs to be dressed.

My thicknesser sits idle most of the time whereas the buzzer still gets a good workout on most days.

The other disadvantage of the thicknesser is blade maintenance the buzzer is very easy to service. This of course would depend on how many blades your thicknesser has, mine has four 24 inch blades and the buzzer has two 12 inch blades mind you the finish is not as good but then there are better sanders around now.

Another point that comes to mind is some of the old rip saws had a buzzer attached and this probably backs up my thoughts on using the rip saw as a thicknesser.


Daniel

DavidW
7th August 2003, 11:44 AM
Thanks to all who have offered their advice. A decision has been made.

After taking in all the info here plus looking at other threads and on info from the guy (and girl) at Glenfords Toowoomba (very knowledgable and friendly, highly recommended) I have decided that a dedicated jointer should be my next purchase.

Glenfords have a 6" apparently the same as a Jet. All cast iron construction, very solid proffessional looking machine for $745. The one on the floor was shop soild (just dirty, no rust) so he dropped it to $670. I hope its an ok price but the deal is done because unike Bunnings they are happy to do a lay buy on machinery.

Also I like buying locally as it makes after sales service that much easier. It also povides an oportunity do develop a relationship with a supplier which can lead to better deals down the track.

Now, where to put the thing.

DavidW
7th August 2003, 11:47 AM
By the way Daniel, what on earth is a rip saw. I have a Triton and would love a dedicated cabinet saw but dont know what you mean by rip saw.

Glen Bridger
7th August 2003, 02:40 PM
Originally posted by DavidW
Looked at the combo,s and find good and bad. The PT-260 has a 3hp donk but is mostly aluminium. The ML-392 is mostly cast but only has a 1.5hp but both have a 3 blade head. Also they both are only 10" as opposed to 12" + for the stand alone thicknessers.



Hi,

When I looked into buying a planer I read up on several machines. Your right about the motor sizes but the PT260 only has a two blade cutter block while the ML392 has a three blade cutter block.

I didn't want a portable thicknesser because most of them have brush motors, not induction motors which are much, much quieter.
The main deciding factor was the 3HP motor in the PT260 . It is also fairly portable when placed on a stand. The cast iron beds would have been nice but we can't have everything.

The only drama I had was with the alloy fence which was twisted, this has been discussed in this thread before. Overall I'm very happy with the PT260.

Another thing, many of the portable thicknesser machines have rubber infeed rollers which get chewed up very quickly if you are using rough sawn timber.

Hope this helps,

Glen

journeyman Mick
7th August 2003, 11:43 PM
Originally posted by DavidW
Thanks to all who have offered their advice. A decision has been made.

After taking in all the info here ..........

..........Now, where to put the thing.

David, if you are pushed for space then castors or a mobile base will make your workshop layout quite flexible. Or.... My last workshop had a dirt floor so castors were out. I bought one of those hand trolleys (about $40 at Super Cheap Auto) actually for another purpose but found it ideal for shifting gear around in the workshop. You simply tip up one edge and slip the trolley underneath, you can then happily shift your machinery all over the shop without straining your back. At around $40 - $50 a hand trolley is an excellent tool which you'll find many uses for, besides shifting machines you can move sheet materials, shorter lengths of timber, tool boxes and if you move house they're absolutely indispensible.

Mick

DavidW
8th August 2003, 12:40 AM
Now there is a simple idea that has merit. I was considering the mobile bases at $95 but a trolley which I have seen here in Toowoomba for $25-$30 is an excellent idea.

I am also considering selling the bike which is getting little use and would free up space and $$$ for a few more toys.

Daniel
8th August 2003, 09:18 AM
David

Sorry about the terminology, what I meant was a heavy duty cabinet saw. The cabinet saws they have on the market today are generaly for light duty work, cutting up sheet material ect.

The saw that I use is a Wolfenden 3 phase unit and this will quite happily rip (along the grain) 100mm material down day in day out. Cabinet saws are not made for this task but they can still perform it providing the material is not to thick.

I had a triton with a good black and decker saw in it, but performing the rip function it did not last too long at all, its a pity because that was the best saw I have ever had.

Hope this helps.


Daniel

DavidW
8th August 2003, 09:26 AM
No worries Daniel, I have the Triton with the Triton saw. I have gone to great lenths to align it properly and it works well and the addition of a jointer will have it serving me for quite a while yet. However if I get the redies to build a dedicated workshop I will probably be looking at a Delta Uni saw with all the trimmings. Now where did I put those lotto numbers?