Thread: Opinions of the Carbatec Combination 10" Planer/Thicknesser

You have Power Tools and Machinery in Bunbury.

I appreciate buying of woodworking machinery is expensive (like many here i have the machinery). I'm not a fan of and don't have and have never used the combined machines. I'm also not a fan of the benchtop machines, I think they are just toys

Its unusual for Carbatec to have a massive price drop. So maybe that is saying something.

In buying these type of machinery today one should not consider any that does not have a helical head cutter. For a surface/buzzer/jointer planer one should consider it having a long bed. These seriously assit in making life easier when working timber.

Good luck
Rod

Originally Posted by rod1949

You have Power Tools and Machinery in Bunbury.

I appreciate buying of woodworking machinery is expensive (like many here i have the machinery). I'm not a fan of and don't have and have never used the combined machines. I'm also not a fan of the benchtop machines, I think they are just toys

Its unusual for Carbatec to have a massive price drop. So maybe that is saying something.

In buying these type of machinery today one should not consider any that does not have a helical head cutter. For a surface/buzzer/jointer planer one should consider it having a long bed. These seriously assit in making life easier when working timber.

Good luck
Rod

Thanks Rod,

Don't look too much into those prices online, they are only for over east, the Perth store wont go that cheap due to shipping costs.

If the combo machines are still no good then i might just go separate. For what i want to spend i can go the Jet 6" jointer or the Carbatec 8" jointer unless the Jet 8" can be done at a good price.

Thicknessers with Helical heads are way out of my price range except for this one Carba-Tec® 13" Spiral Head Thicknesser : CARBA-TEC I have heard some good things about this but i am not sure.

I'm not going to buy separates with helical heads on both as i'll be pushing over $3000. Remember, I've made one table and want to get some gear to start playing around a bit, i wont be using this every week.

Are peoples opinions on 6" jointers that they are too small and i should go an 8"? This would lead me to go a Carbatec instead of a Jet. If 6" isnt a problem then i will stick with the Jet.

Originally Posted by alex_m_84

Hi guys,

I've just built a Jarrah outdoor table with my wife's uncle and was going to look at getting some woodwork machinery to start playing around myself a bit.

He has the Jet 8" jointer and the 16" thicknesser which are great machines but a little pricey to start off.

I was looking at the combination machines with this one in mind for the price Carba-Tec® 10" Planer Thicknesser - Cabinet Base : CARBA-TEC

Has anyone got one of these? are they good to start off with?
I have read in the past that some combination units are hard to keep the fence square when changing between modes, is this the case for this model?

My other option would be getting the Carbatec 8" jointer and a benchtop thicknesser.I

Any opinions would be a great help. I am in Bunbury WA so the Perth Carbatec store is pretty much it that i know of for machinery.

Hi Alex, I have the Carbatec 10" combination machine and have used it for years. Works great and I would recommend it. I started out in a small 6 x 9 shed so space was important so it suited me. After a while changing from planer to thicknesser became a pita. When I moved into a larger workshop I bought a separate thicknesser and now I just use the combination machine as a jointer. Having the 10" is really handy for me and I wouldn't go any smaller than 8" myself but that's because I make a lot of tables with 8" boards. Everyone's situation is different so you need to work out what suits you best.

I would probably go for an 8" longbed and benchtop thicknesser over the carbi-combi. Not that I have any experience with it mind you. The other choice if 15 amp is an option is the jet jpt310, it's bigger and more powerful and there seems to be lots of satisfied owners.

I have one of the early 10" combo machines (c2002), and while I'd prefer separates, space makes it impracticable. The original drive train was pretty ordinary, but I've replaced bearings and upgraded to the better main wheel currently used.
I've found it quite a good machine, and I wouldn't be without the 10" width. The fence is a POS, though. Don't know what the new one is like.

I think i will go separates.
I don't have space problems so will look at getting the Jointer first and then a thicknesser after.
I'll get an 8" jointer with nice long tables straight away i think, that way its done and i don't need to upgrade again.

Then its just a matter of thicknessers. With the jointer being more than i wanted to spend, i dare say i'll end up with a benchtop thicknesser to start with and upgrade later on.

I dont suppose anyone has the Jet benchtop thicknesser and can tell me if it is bearable to start off with?

Hi Alex

I have the Carbatec 10" AW106PT

My advice is don't buy it - I wish I hadn't bought mine. I spent countless hours shimming (and swearing) and packing (and swearing) and truing (and swearing) but it is still an ordinary machine.

I have just bought the Dewalt 13" benchtop thicknesser (heaps better than the AW106PT) and I am a much happier chappie. I am now only going to use the AW106PT as a jointer but the fence is krap and the tables aren't really long enough.

I would advise you seriously consider buying separate thicknessers and jointers.

Anyway that is my 2 cents worth.

Regards
Twosheds

If you have the space & the money, separates are definitely the go.

Originally Posted by alex_m_84

I think i will go separates.
I don't have space problems so will look at getting the Jointer first and then a thicknesser after.
I'll get an 8" jointer with nice long tables straight away i think, that way its done and i don't need to upgrade again.

Good move, I have seperates, but due to space they're both benchtops.
Try jointing a long bit of timber on a 6" benchtop jobbie!

Originally Posted by alex_m_84

Then its just a matter of thicknessers. With the jointer being more than i wanted to spend, i dare say i'll end up with a benchtop thicknesser to start with and upgrade later on.

I dont suppose anyone has the Jet benchtop thicknesser and can tell me if it is bearable to start off with?

I have the carbatec 13" spiral head benchtop thicknesser and it's a little beauty! A bit more expensive but worth every cent IMHO.
Take your time setting up the feeder trays and run some sacrifical timber (300mm pine panel in my case) through to clear the delivery oil/grease from the blades and you won't look back.
I mounted mine on a trolley with lockable wheels and use feeder stands for longer pieces.

It is not as simple as separates compared to combos. The cutter head design and the quality of the tables is more important IMHO.

I have recently bought the Carbatec 10" spiral combination machine and so far I am very pleased with it. Very solid cast iron tables and fence. Cuts very smoothly and quietly. Yes, the fence is a bit of a pita but a decent square quickly checks it to reset. It is a much more solid machine than the Carbatec 13" benchtop spiral head thicknesser, which I also have. The 13 is a great little lightweight macine that I find very convenient so probably won't part with unless I run out of room but the 10 spiral is a class above it. The benchtop machines are not really up to heavy duty work like Jarrah. You need cast iron tables for that.

OK the best macines like the Powermatics and pro machines are MUCH better than the carbatec machines but also MUCH more expensive and too much for me as a weekender. Having said that, I have access to a pro workshop (paid time) with very high quality gear and my 10" combo machine gives as good a finish as the 15" machine there. I lack the digital readouts etc. of course but a bit of time and care gets me the same result and if I want I can upgrade to a Wixey readout in the future. The pro workshops top quality machine is a combo machine BTW.

I recommend that you not buy any macine without a spiral head. That is why the straight cutter head machines are becoming cheaper --they are nowhere near as good and very expensive to upgrade.

it will vibrate itself to pieces.
the entire chain drive is held with one(1) 1/4 inch bolt, that comes lose the assembly drops sideways and then the feed stops.
and the pulleys and drive sprockets rub on the side of the casing.
The belt pulley's also come lose, doesn't matter how many times you tighten them and loctite them.
Its as noisy as hell as well.

Peter

Originally Posted by _fly_

it will vibrate itself to pieces.
the entire chain drive is held with one(1) 1/4 inch bolt, that comes lose the assembly drops sideways and then the feed stops.
and the pulleys and drive sprockets rub on the side of the casing.
The belt pulley's also come lose, doesn't matter how many times you tighten them and loctite them.
Its as noisy as hell as well.

Peter

Thanks Peter,

I will pull the covers off and see if mine are already loose. Then I'll keep an eye on them. Have you had a response from carbatec on the design faults?

Regards

David

I got it second hand from a friend.
I did use it when he first got it a few years back, but not since then.

No wonder he was happy to get rid of it.
You can't get the fence to anything reasonable either.

Peter

Originally Posted by _fly_

I got it second hand from a friend.
I did use it when he first got it a few years back, but not since then.

No wonder he was happy to get rid of it.
You can't get the fence to anything reasonable either.

Peter

My fence goes back nice and square quite easily I find. I do double check it with an accurate engineers square because the mechanism is a bit clunky but so far no problems there. I have kept the light-weight machine for convenience if I want to thickness something small so I don't have to swap the tables over much. But for heavier work I find the heavy cast iron tables on the combo to be much better.

Is your machine the spiral head or the older three cutter head?