Thread: Workzone thicknesser at Aldi

Had to sell my 20" 4 blade 3phase when I was limited to only single phase access. I joined Knox woodworking club Vic for $100pa. They have a Powermatic 20" and other great equipment choices. For home I now have a new 4 post DW735-XE 3-blade benchtop thicknesser. Bunnings ... $1249 then they price matched $1190 less the 10pc deal. Icing on the cake was a $200 promo "Big Brand" giftcard for >1k spend! Final price $849 ... for a trusted brand that weighs 46kg! Weight and rigidity are important in a thicknesser.

This is what I have done!
The Aldi is very similar to my 10+ years old Ryobi.
Same blades, same mechanics.
My old Ryobi is now having a few problems getting going and I can relate to that.
A few passes through the old Ryobi and then finish through the brand new Aldi.
Fixes my wood problems.

I was just wondering, I have a Ryobi AP13AK. Anybody have any experience with this, and how does it compare to this one and the one at Bunnings?

For anyone interested, the thicknesser under discussion was an MB1931A. I waited till they were "reduced"and I picked one up for $199.
With all these ALDI products you simply look up the model number and google it. See the 1st photo.

I had previously had the 8" 204mm planer/thicknesser (see the 2nd photo) since about 2016. I needed to get a 2nd pair of blades for it, so I googled its model number and found it was sold in the UK under the axeminster brand. It matters, because although they are sold under 50 brands and are the same machine, the locating pin holes in the blades vary across brands making blades replacement problematic. With my 2nd pair of blades, I had no problem making a jig and re-sharpening out the nicks. As a machine, the planer thicknesser had a problem with the in-feed table alignment. You just bang it with your fist till you get it level with the blades. It also had a snipe problem when thicknessing, but you just lift the end of the board and that pretty much disappears. The machine is incredibly noisy,and the safety cutouts are a real pain, but for $300 it did a good job. I recently sold it on after it had been un-used for over a year. When I demonstrated it to the buyer, it still performed well, and went within 24 hours to the first person to look at it, for $200.

I have access to a 9 foot bed powermatic planer and a a 15" 5HP powermatic thicknesser, so while the little workzone combo machine did not get massive use, that did not stop me from buying the "lunchbox" thicknesser when I saw it for $200. Having now had it for a year, it does quite a reasonable job, and it is handy to have. It takes up very little room, and while just as noisy as the old combo, it has no snipe issues (which surprised me).The biggest annoyance is that the chip exhaust is centrally located, which means the dust extraction pipe always interferes with the outfeed, so you have to support it with a skyhook somehow. It does however handle the components for Gifken boxes I make at home quite well, and I have no intentions of replacing it.

But having rambled on enough reviewing their performance, I now have to look up how to get spare blades for the lunchbox planer, so I googled MB1931A and discovered that they are sold under the Axeminster brand https://www.axminstertools.com/media...279_manual.pdf Sherwood brand, here Woodworking Supplies S/E QLD - QWS 121/2 inch Thicknesser here Toolex | Planer Thicknesser 12.5" x 6" 2hp Motor and under the Renegade Brand (& probably several others), so if anyone else is looking for a spare set of blades for ALDI's cheapo lunchbox thicknesser, you now know where to look.

Hopefully this post might pop up next time they come on special

Aldi has these again. Under the Ferrex brand. $299.

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