Thread: Jet JWP-12 vs H&F T13A - Battle of the lunchbox thicknessers, which one?

Hello takai,

I can't really help you much but as I am also looking for a new thicknesser I went to the H&F site and just wanted to note the T13A has the option of one of them fandangled spiral cutting heads (loosely called both spiral and helical in their blurb) for a few hundy $ more, option T13S. The images on their site for this model make it a bit tricky for me to figure out exactly what head it is. Perhaps someone could chime in on that, and whether it's worth the extra $?

Originally Posted by takai

Thinking about getting a lunchbox thicknesser in the EOFY sales, would mostly be used for cleaning up reclaimed lumber, and preparing various pieces of stock for use.

The T13 height adjustment operates very well not needing you to lock it in place each time you adjust it.

I have the T13S and would say that it is a huge improvement (much quieter) on the straight blade model which it replaced. The cutters as supplied are only HSS and will die quickly on reclaimed timber. They are readily replaceable with TC cutters from SJE-Tools.com.

I think that it is really worth the upgrade to the spiral head with TC cutters.

The cutters run parallel to the table and not at an angle so they cut (like a knife blade head) rather than shear like a true helical head eg. Byrd. The Carbatec similar unit has the same head

IMG_0270.JPG

I was also looking at that unit before I bought the Dewalt.

Thanks for the feedback, i ended up getting the T13S and using the DV50 voucher for an extra bit of a cash back.

Originally Posted by Lappa

The cutters run parallel to the table and not at an angle so they cut (like a knife blade head) rather than shear like a true helical head eg. Byrd. The Carbatec similar unit has the same head IMG_0270.JPG I was also looking at that unit before I bought the Dewalt.

Thanks for the clarification. No thanks for buying what I would have if only I had seen the post before you. )

Yep, square cutting heads, but staggered, so work really well.

As with any tool though worth checking them over first before running it. I didnt, and found this on the first pass:


One cutter askew and was gouging the wood on the back side. Quick adjustment and its fine now though.

Thanks for keeping us informed about your choice. Did you look at the Dewalt 735 model?

I'm trying to decide between that and the T13S that you've just bought.

The Dewalt has a 3 year guarantee, two feed speeds (14/26 fpm), but not spiral head and more expensive.
The T13S has a 2 year guarantee, just one feed speed (26 fpm), spiral head, and cheaper.

I'm leaning towards the T135S. If anyone is still reading this, should I forget about the Dewalt? Should I just grab the cheaper T13A model - I actually enjoy grinding blades with my Makita grinder and working on perfecting my recipe for different woods and blade material.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Last year AWR did a thicknesser shootout with the H&F T13S; the Carbatec CT330X and the DeWalt 735. It actually rated the finish from the Dewalt as the best of all three due to the two speeds; but the difference between it and the not-actually-spiral-headed machines was marginal.

One thing that put the reviewer off was that the infeed and outfeed tables weren't included! DeWalt have a habit of doing stuff like that I've noticed; I couldn't believe my chop saw didn't come with a hold down. The only other issue was that the knives will of course require sharpening or replacing.

At least one forum member has fitted a proper helical head cutter to the Dewalt; from memory the end result was a lunchbox thicknesser that could perform as good as one of the cheaper floor mounted semi-industrial units.

Thanks. Just ordered the T13S. On backorder here in NZ. Will grab some inserts from sje-tools.com also.

When I bought my CT330X I also ordered a set of TC inserts from SJE tools and didn't even bother trying out the original HSS ones; I just pulled them out and put them into storage. Thus far the TC inserts have milled many meters of QLD red gum and show no sign of blunting yet.

That's good to know, thanks.