GMC $199 accuracy

**EMistral** · 13th June 2006, 01:25 PM

Hi guys,

My girlfriend surprised me yesterday and bought me a $199 thicknesser for my birthday before bunnings runs out.
Anyway I spent a couple hours in the shed to set it up and did a couple of passes which gave nice results
Anyway my question is about the supposed to be "thin" red line used to adjust the depth on the scale.
the plastic thing that goes over the scale !
Is there a way to replace that with something thinner?
what I mean is in my case, the thickness of this redline is so thick that it is -I am pretty sure - close to a 1mm
so when I try to adjust it, it is never accurate.
I might have the red line on the 1 inch mark for instance but then the planned thickness will be 2.65mm
If I turn slightly the height adjustment know, I might get 2.54mm.

so if I decide to plane different boards not necessary on the same day and I have to modify the depth of the thicknesser for other reasons, I it virtually impossible to return to the exact thickness.
Are all these "red" line plastic things that bad or is there a way to fix that?
The thicknesser is fine. I just found that annoying.

Also I ran a wide board (almost the max width of the thicknesser) and noticed on one side of the board, a surface that was popping out.
The rest of the surface is smooth but this side had a sort of bump coming out and it is all along.
I checked the blades on this side and the blade and chipped which explains the problem.
Is it cover by the warranty and can I expect them to be replaced?
Thanks
Eric

**Wood Butcher** · 13th June 2006, 01:39 PM

I always set the thicknesser a bit over my intended target thickness. Once you've planed the timber, measure thickness with a set of vernier calipers then adjust the planer to get the final dimension. It states that one turn of the handle is 2mm in height so you can work out the amount to turn the handle to change the thickness by the needed amount.

**masoth** · 13th June 2006, 01:39 PM

Eric, I'm not pre-empting any answers the very knowledgeable members, here, will offer but why not also ask GMC? So far, the news about the company is extremely good.

soth

**duckman** · 13th June 2006, 01:41 PM

You might like to check out this thread and follow the link in the first post. Looks very promising.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=33041

**EMistral** · 13th June 2006, 01:43 PM

That's what I did with a caliper but it is a bit annoying because if the scale is on 9cm you might end up with 9.1 or 8.9 or anything in between
I don't expect great accuracy but something like +/- 0.5mm
I could ask GMC of course and that's what I am planning to do for the blade but I thought someone might have had the same problem and this would save me some waiting time

**Wood Butcher** · 13th June 2006, 01:55 PM

At work I had an industrial thicknesser valued at $8000 that only had a flat piece of steel screwed to the table for a thickness guage and all I did was exactly what I said above.
Don't expect too much from a machine worth $199.

**doug the slug** · 13th June 2006, 02:34 PM

If the blade is chipped take it back to where you got it, GMC still have a 30 day no questions asked satisfaction guarantee

**Stuart** · 13th June 2006, 02:46 PM

Is there a scale? - I've never looked!!!! I have always run my work through, measured what came out, decided on how much more to remove then wound the handle through so more turns (or part thereof).
If the thickness was critical, then I have run a test piece through to ensure the height was as close as required.

**tonysa** · 13th June 2006, 11:45 PM

what stuart said !

**bpj1968** · 15th June 2006, 11:01 AM

for an idea screw a small block or similar about 12 mm below the zero mark on the scale, so that it can be adjusted up or down a bit.

run a piece of scrap through and measure it with your caliper.
Now using the inside measuring part of the caliper, between the top of the block and the bottom of the clear plastic scale. (The red line is about 12 mm from the bottom) Adjust the block up or down until this measurement is the same as the planed piece of wood. It is now calibrated

When you want to cut a particular size set your caliper to the size needed and wind the thicknesser until the inside measurement is the same.

**Stuart** · 15th June 2006, 12:03 PM

Nice idea!

I still think that GMC with all it's laser measuring technology could come up with one that mounts to the front that measures exact distance to the baseplate, and one at the back that gives the differential- ie how thick the timber is as it is feeding out.

Could apply this concept to other devices, such as a drill press, and horizontally mounted for saw and router table fences.

Thread: GMC $199 accuracy

Thread Tools

Search Thread

GMC $199 accuracy

Similar Threads

$199 gmc thicknesser bargain

GMC Thicknesser $199

Direction of Triton under GMC

GMC Thicknesser/planer

GMC Router Table Design Error

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions