Ryobi thicknesser - anyone used one?

[Tarvis]

Hey all,

Looking to buy a thicknesser to make life a little easier with dimensioning etc. Only a hobby woodworker so don't need anything too whiz bang. Wondered if anyone has used the Ryobi Thicknesser that bunnies have on their website (1500w)?

No doubt there is better out there, but wanted to see if this might suit my needs given its not going to be processing timber day in day out? Should I be looking at something else for the same money?

Cheers,

Tarvis

[twosheds]

Hi Tarvis

I have an older Ryobi AP15 thicknesser which I retired last year after I upgraded to a better one. Mine worked okay for a number of years of moderate home use but it always sniped both ends of the timber. I'm sure if you search the forums you will find this is a common complaint not only with the Ryobi but also many of the other budget priced (and not so budget priced) thicknessers The snipe was the major gripe I had with the Ryobi AP15 and the reason I upgraded.

For the money you pay the Ryobi will do the job but may need a bit of fine tuning to get consistently good results.

I'm sure other forumites will offer more info on other brands of thicknesser in your price range.

Regards.... Twosheds

P.S. I still use my old Ryobi AP15 to clean up dirty or painted timber before I run it through my good thicknesser.

[Tarvis]

Thanks Twosheds, appreciate the info.

Sounds like for my usage it will probably be ok, bearing in mind that there are no doubt better units out there for more $$.

Cheers,

Tarvis

[Afro Boy]

Hey Tarvis,

I also had one of the older models and used it for a number of years. I bolted mine down to an old bedside table and it worked quite well for what it was.

Two minor drawbacks I found are that it's damn noisy and the dust extraction isn't the best. To improve the extraction, I took a 4" PVC pipe and cut a wide slot in it. Seal one end with a cap and attach your dust extractor to the other end. The slot wraps around the dust shroud/shoot on the thicknesser (out-feed side). Works a treat.

Cheers,
Af.


vac-pipe.jpg

[Tarvis]

hey, just an update from me.

Ended up settling for the Carbatec 13in Spiral head model. Slightly more than I intended to pay but hoping it will be a better long term investment.

having never used one before, I wanted to ask a couple of questions before I delve in and destroy either my work or the unit. In no particular order:

- If I wanted to thickness something like some laminated structural pine that has the usual knots etc. in it. Do I just try to align with the prevailing or predominant grain when running through - even though the grain moves all over the place? Note I don't intend to use it for pine in the majority, but it would make my life easier with a bench I'm currently building.
- are there any other pitfalls to watch out for when using a thicknesser? I assume I'll have more questions as I go along, but just want to make sure I'm not making any critical errors.

Cheers,

Tarvis

[Trav]

A spiral head will eat pine without trouble. If you're using structural pine, choose some without knots (or the minimal number). The grain will run along the length of the boards, so I don't think there is a need to pay particular attention to the grain.

The only other thing is to watch out for snipe. That's where the thicknesser will take off more at the start and end of a board. You can minimise snipe in a few ways, generally by getting good infeed and outfeed support. I'd also suggest that you leave boards extra long until after you've planed them to length.

Trav

[dalejw]

Good choice. Those generic thickys are painfully noisy. My elderly Italian neighbor used to say it sounded "like a de earth, she gonna end".

In my experience with spiral heads in general (I haven't used that model) the spiral head will eat anything. It's a much more even load on the machine as there's no shock loading as each blade contacts the surface of the wood.

I had some customers around at the workshop the other day and I was thicknessing samples with everyone standing around watching. So quiet!

I even thickness Jarrah end grain on mine so I doubt a pine knot is going to worry it