Thread: Carbides for Hafco Thicknesser worth it

You can source the carbide cutters much more cheaply than that. See this thread - replacement cutters for spiral head
If SJE doesn't have the ones you want have a look on eBay or Aliexpress.

Carbide cutters are definitely worth it but as Aldav said, don't pay the store prices for them. You'll get a full set for a third of the price from SJE. The HSS cutters aren't garbage either. For a hobbyist/home user they'll last a bit and the finish isn't bad at all, especially since you'll do finish planing/sanding/scraping anyway.

I presume you mean this machine, currently $650 with HSS cutters, and an option of 3x $99 for Carbide cutters. That means you have to buy the original HSS cutters as well (which they want $69 per 10 for).

So I'd be saying to them "the difference is $30 x 3 = $90, so I'll take the machine with carbides for $739, or forget it".

Hafco T-13s thicknesser which has the helical cutter

I'm pretty sure the cutter head is on this machine is not helical, even though they say it is. I haven't actually seen one, however, the images I have seen certainly don't look helical or even spiral for that matter.

Originally Posted by Feckit

I'm pretty sure the cutter head is on this machine is not helical, even though they say it is. I haven't actually seen one, however, the images I have seen certainly don't look helical or even spiral for that matter.

I'm uncertain which is which, but this T-13S places its cutters in straight rows, 4 to row, with each following row offset a little. The spinning head is definitely not spiral in shape, just the cutters.

The confusion is not helped by the official brochure claiming it to be helical, then further down the page a picture of the cutting cylinder titled "Spiral cutting head".

I rang Hare&Forbes yesterday for clarification, and he said "oops - better fix that!"
The SJE website mention further up the thread calls this head "Accu-head spiral cutter" and sells a full 26 carbide cutter set for $99, one third of that charged by Machineryhouse.

I have been looking for sometime for a small helical thicknesser and as far as I can tell, they don't exist. I used to have a small bladed Carbatec thicknesser and found it to be a complete PITA. I suspect the T-13S, while being an improvement on blades is essentially the same approach.

I'm sure that you are aware that in a helical head the cutter edges are not perpendicular to the travel of the wood nor parallel with the head and instead are slightly rotated to facilitate a shearing cut as each blade passes over. The T-13S does not have this capacity as far as I can tell and instead is simply just smashing down on the wood with multiple blades, albeit smaller and more in number than the old machine I used to have.

I agree with you that this machine, the T-13S, is totally confusing. Unfortunately I live too far away from H&F to go and have a look but as I have noted, the images I have seen certainly don't look helical or even spiral for that matter.

EDIT. I have just spoken with H&F and they're going to send me a photo when they get a chance.

I've often wondered why the Carbatec version of this machine is so much more expensive than the H & F model. They both appear to have the same style of 'spiral' cutting head. The special price that H & F are offering it at at the moment makes the price difference between the two $350. Despite the fact that neither of these machines are a true helical head I would suspect that you'd get a better finish than all but the very best straight blades machines.

As I suspected. This machine is neither helical nor spiral. It's just a bunch of small cutters slamming into the wood, more of cleaver chop than a sashimi slice I'd say.

IMG_0201.jpg

Originally Posted by aldav

I've often wondered why the Carbatec version of this machine is so much more expensive than the H & F model.

I had a look at both the Hafco and Carbatec lunchbox thickies before buying the Carbatec one a few years ago. The Carbatec one weighs about 10kg more and feels a lot more sturdy. I think the extra weight is in the thicker material used for the body and tables. The Carbatec wasn't $999 when I bought it though... Seems a bit over priced at that price point. If I was buying today and had $999, I'd go for the Timbecon. I'll go contrary to Feckit's experience and say I haven't regretted my purchase at all. Timber comes out thicknessed even enough that it takes calipers to find discrepancy.

The Hafco is definitely not a helical head. All of the lunchbox thickies are spiral arrangement. It is possible to get tear out on tricky grain, but usually taking light passes is enough to solve that problem. A 16" helical head thicknesser is $3,000+. A card scraper is a few dollars - not being a production facility, the card scraper will do me for clearing out any tear out I might get.

I have the Hafco from H&F and yes you will still get tear out on tricky grains, which is why i have a drum sander and a Mirka sander as a tear out solution. I have rotated the blades once and have a set of carbide blades which i bought for $99 but i'm not going to install these until the OEM blades are absolutely worn out.

I bought one of the Hafco units a couple of months ago, for the price it seems to do a good a job ( better than I expected) on the various timbers I've put through it.
For $600 with the $50 off coupon for joining their mailing list I figure it'll do fine till I one-day upgrade to a euro combo machine.
I haven't had to swap out to the carbide blades yet.

Both the H&F and the Carbatec use the same head, it is neither a spiral nor a helical but a segmented head. Saying that, they do give a better finish than the majority of straight knife thickies. A few years ago AWR did a shoot out on both of these and the Dewalt straight knife unit, the Dewalt actually gave the best finish but that unit has two feed speeds, the slower the feed the better the finish. It was also about 30% more expensive than either of the other two.

The Carbatec is a much heavier unit and dearer than the H&F but both are reputed to give the same finish. I have the Carbatec and am very happy with it, although I never ran it with the original HSS cutters. I ordered a complete set of TC cutters from SJE Tools and fitted them before putting any wood through it. Those cutters have gone through hundreds of metres of QLD red gum without blunting yet. The only tear out was on cranky reversing grain but it was mild and easily scraped out.

Some excellent advice here as usual.
I followed up a suggestion to look on Ebay for cutters, and came up with this curious entry
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/14-3mm-S...-/302445170074

Curious in that these have 4 cutting edges as opposed to the 2 on the blades from SJE or the H&F. Makes me wonder if there is a specific reason that these latter 2 only have two cutting edges?

Other issue is that these Ebay blades are 2.5mm thick instead of 2mm, but given their location screwed to the outside of the cutting cylinder, I wonder if that matters?

In some of the pictures I've seen it looks like there is a full depth solid side that registers on a stop on these particular heads. That's why they can only be two sided. I'd be very wary of buying anything that doesn't appear to meet the OEM specs, and that includes thickness. If in doubt ask Steve (SJE), he's done extensive research on the fitment for all of these machines.

Don't forget that these inserts are also used on turning tools so any that you see aren't necessarily fitments for jointers/thicknessers.