Canetoad
1st September 2008, 12:23 AM
Powermatic WP2510.
At work I have recently taken delivery of a rather nice 25" Powermatic thicknesser. It doesn't seem quite as bulletproof as the 40 plus year old Barker it replaces however I have been most impressed with its performance thus far. I was somewhat worried about how my limited power supply would handle the 15 hp motor but so far it seems fine. With a Spiral Cutter head which I assume is a byrd shelix but may not be as all the other powermatic thicknessers come with the byrd shelix as an option. With this machine it seems the spiral cutter is standard and isn't specifically called byrd shelix but the inserts are ther same size, The old Barker could be heard from a great distance and when the blades were starting to need a sharpen it was truly uncomfortable to use. With the powermatic when it is running I can't hear it over the dusty and even when taking a heavy cut I can still easily hear the radio in the workshop. The quality of the cut is superb and when set at the medium speed no sanding is neccessary for joinery quality work which translates to a huge time saving in my situation. I am 6'4" tall and find that the working height is quite comfortable at about 1100mm for a 20 mm thickness although it may be a litttle high for my apprentice, I will find out when he gets back from holiday. Pricewise there were significant differences around the country. I ended up getting one freighted from S.E. Queensland and still saved a couple of thousand dollars. Overall I am most impressed with this machine
At work I have recently taken delivery of a rather nice 25" Powermatic thicknesser. It doesn't seem quite as bulletproof as the 40 plus year old Barker it replaces however I have been most impressed with its performance thus far. I was somewhat worried about how my limited power supply would handle the 15 hp motor but so far it seems fine. With a Spiral Cutter head which I assume is a byrd shelix but may not be as all the other powermatic thicknessers come with the byrd shelix as an option. With this machine it seems the spiral cutter is standard and isn't specifically called byrd shelix but the inserts are ther same size, The old Barker could be heard from a great distance and when the blades were starting to need a sharpen it was truly uncomfortable to use. With the powermatic when it is running I can't hear it over the dusty and even when taking a heavy cut I can still easily hear the radio in the workshop. The quality of the cut is superb and when set at the medium speed no sanding is neccessary for joinery quality work which translates to a huge time saving in my situation. I am 6'4" tall and find that the working height is quite comfortable at about 1100mm for a 20 mm thickness although it may be a litttle high for my apprentice, I will find out when he gets back from holiday. Pricewise there were significant differences around the country. I ended up getting one freighted from S.E. Queensland and still saved a couple of thousand dollars. Overall I am most impressed with this machine