Thread: Help buying a planer/jointer or thicknesser

I'm on a similar journey but have always been put off by the need to upgrade my dust collection. Currently I just use a shop vac which is fine for my saw and router but definitely not up to the challenge of a thicknesser.

Have you got dust collection covered?

Cheers

Originally Posted by Fluddman

I'm on a similar journey but have always been put off by the need to upgrade my dust collection. Currently I just use a shop vac which is fine for my saw and router but definitely not up to the challenge of a thicknesser.

Have you got dust collection covered?

Cheers

) Plan A: I have a very old wet vacuum that I will use; Plan B: my shed is open to the dregs of the garden and compost area: the dust will go that way! Plan C if that fails, I will have to work on something else!

As the poster above has correctly stated you'll need a dust collection system with a minimum of about 2hp to ensure the planer/thicknesser works adequately. With the limited amount you're prepared to spend you may be better off keeping your money in your pocket and making the acquaintance of your local men's shed. Get some experience with their gear and you'll have a better idea what you want.

What about this one Chris which is for sale on the forum,
They are a top unit and it's been for sale a little while so the seller might take a little less if you offer??

New Dewalt DW735 thicknesser, unopened Box, shrinkwrapped

Originally Posted by crowie

What about this one Chris which is for sale on the forum,
They are a top unit and it's been for sale a little while so the seller might take a little less if you offer??

New Dewalt DW735 thicknesser, unopened Box, shrinkwrapped

yep, a great machine, I've put wood through mine you would not believe and it came back for more

If you want to spendmoney once, buy quality, buy a reputable brand, it will be expensive but in thelong run you will save money and time.


I have had 3jointer/planer to date, I have only been doing wood working since 2008/2009.

Some people say youlearn as you go, but what they really meant is more like you pay as you go –because we all started buying something mediocre

Buy a jointer/planer combinationmachine if you can, a second hand Minimax/SCM or a Hammer/Felder in goodcondition will be a very good buy, chances are you will be competing with a lotof people…

Are they ex railway sleepers you want to put through it? If they are you won't be wanting to get one with HSS blades as the surface of the sleepers will be full of stone from the ballast.

You mention old railway sleepers and old fence posts.
The quickest way to destroy blades there is, particularly sleepers.
I agree with Treecycle.

regards,

john

Chris

A lot depends on what you wish to do with your timber when it is dressed. By that I mean are you going to need straight timber? You have identified already that it is twisted, curved and basically defective. To correct this, you must first use a jointer so you have two good faces. Then you can use that reference to saw or thickness to whatever you wish. A thicknesser by itself will pretty much follow the existing shape of the timber and if it is twisted the thicknessed wood will still be twisted.

Really you either have to buy a jointer and a thicknesser or you could purchase a combination machine that has both functions. Depending on how much timber you are going to recycle will dictate whether you will need a "lunch box" style of thicknesser (bench top) or something more substantial. I used the former (mine was a Timbecon version, but similar models exist in most brands) for a long time before I graduated to a freestanding machine. I would suggest you purchase extra blades at the time of purchase if you plan on any sizeable quantity of work.

You may get away with no dust collection for a jointer, but a DC is virtually essential for thicknesser.

Regards
Paul

Thanks everyone; I am learning fast.

No, they aren't railway sleepers. They are redeem sleepers about 100 x 250 but no engrained railway ballast.

The plan: start with a solid secondhand planer and learn the ropes. Now to wait for the right machine to come along.

Meanwhile, further advice is welcome.

Much obliged.
Chris

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

... a DC is virtually essential for thicknesser.

Just to explain this statement, it's not only about collecting the chips. Unless you extract the chips as they're generated, the outfeed roller will press them into the newly planed surface leaving a face covered in dents and embedded bits of timber.

Originally Posted by CKM

Thanks everyone; I am learning fast.

No, they aren't railway sleepers. They are redeem sleepers about 100 x 250 but no engrained railway ballast.

The plan: start with a solid secondhand planer and learn the ropes. Now to wait for the right machine to come along.

Meanwhile, further advice is welcome.

Much obliged.
Chris

1) If you're only going to get one of either a planer or a thicknesser it should be the latter, as at a pinch you can plane a side flat with one with the use of a sled, but then you need a dust collector and a well made planing sled.
2) There are heaps of good videos on youtube that will show how a planer and thicknesser are used to square timber, but beware, in the US what we call a planer is called a jointer and what we call a thicknesser is called a planer.
3) If those sleepers are sizeable length wise and you're working alone you're going to need to set up some sort of outfeed table.
4) Unless you find an outstanding deal second hand I'd be concerned that the $1000 or thereabouts you're willing to spend might just be enough to buy you a heap of frustration. I don't think you should rush into this.

Sorry about being a bit negative but there's nothing worse than getting all excited about a new piece of kit and realising after the fact that you've bought the wrong thing. I did that with my first table saw and within about three months I was wanting to upgrade.

sometimes buying 2nd hand isn't always what its cracked up to be and you can end up spending money trying to fix problems just to get an average machine.

sometimes its worth just buying new straight off the bat and having a machine you can abuse for years and finally sell 2nd hand to someone who should have bought new in the first place.

I bought an old 6" jointer for $200. Then I bought a new T-13S segmented head lunch box thicknesser. I would have to look it up but it was less than $800 on sale. So there is your $1,000.

The jointer really should have a lot of custom improvements made to it but I never seem to get around to them.
I roll the jointer outside under the carport and run it without dust collection. I have to stop every few boards and clean out shavings but it does work.

However running the thicknesser without dust collection is a bad idea. As mentioned previously the shavings get under the roller and on the table and undermine the purpose of the exercise. They also get into inaccessible parts of the machine, which is not good.

I don't recalling trying the shop vac on the thicknesser. I have a mini cyclone in front of my vac so it might sort of half work with the cyclone but a vac is high speed low volume. You need the high volume, low speed of a dust collector for this task.

The problem with dust collection is not the 2HP or higher dust collector. These are not too expensive. It is the ducting to connect it. However while I save up for ducting I have a 150mm hose which I move between the table saw and the thickneser as a temporary setup. The 150mm hose is enormous in my small shop but it allows that large volume of air to move.

The whole arrangement is definitely not a buy once, cry once setup for me. At an absolute minimum, I will be upgrading the jointer at some stage.
But by then my needs will have changed. Plus, now I also have a much better idea about what is important and for me and my projects.

For example, I really want a long bed jointer. However due to space limitations I'll probably end up with a combination machine (which have short beds). So a few years further down the track I'll likely upgrade once again. I don't have a problem with that, myself.