Thread: How big is "big enough"?

Mine is a 6" and works for me, most people prefer 8", all a matter of $$$$.
A long bed is something to consider too.
My thicknesser is a 12 1/2" and I generally only thickness boards up to 6" wide prior to assembly.
Space with the big buggers becomes an issue too.

My advice is go with the 12" thicknesser and put the extra $s to a drum sander for those wider tops etc,

Rgds

Originally Posted by Ashore

My advice is go with the 12" thicknesser and put the extra $s to a drum sander for those wider tops etc,

Rgds

That is good advice ... so often we (or I :eek: ) get caught up in the purchasing of the next "big" thing that we (or I :eek: :eek: ) forget how some of that money might be better spent elsewhere.

One of the issues I've come up against is the idea that table tops are inevitably wider than our thicknessers, making a drum sander very desirable...

Originally Posted by Ashore

My advice is go with the 12" thicknesser and put the extra $s to a drum sander for those wider tops etc,

Rgds

Ive got a 12" thicknesser and a drum sander.

When I make a 3' wide table top I glue the individual boards into 3 panels each 12" wide. Thickness each panel then join them together. The 2 joins clean up so easy with a ROS that messing around with the drum sander would be a total waste of time and effort. If I do a 4' top then I only have 3 joins to sand smooth.

I wouldn't bother with a wider thicknesser as I don't see any great advantage. !2' ones being portable and the biggies are not.

Well... having been an owner of a 12 1/2in thicknesser and presently harboring an outlaw 15in thicknesser in the cave out the back I will just say... THE 15in IS BLOODY AWESOME!!

Jointer? well as I went directly for the 8in with long beds I cant comment other than to say I just wish I had gotten a 15in jointer to go with the 15in thicknesser!! :eek: cause its a real biatch tryin to joint those 15in boards with an 8in jointer

Room mate ROOM... its all about how much room you have or havent got!!... money too of course

Also about what you personally prefer too... see I dont like combo machines they just destroy my sence of equalibrium and the mere thought of having two machines in one makes me brake down and sob with distraught distress See I had thought to get a thicknesser jointer combo and a table saw router combo... but then I got sane see Im a real clutchsy type bloke and what my girls call a true bloke in that I can only do one thing at a time and can only focus on one thing at a time... so when I looked at those combos I imagined the nightmare of havin to lift the ruddy jointer out the way every time I needed to thickness a board and then at the table saw with the router table attached and I could clearly see router bits getting broken and all sorts of nightmareish things happen all covered in my precious red stuff and decided "mmmm no bedda not ol fella" cause for me its safer if I have to consciously turn off each machine and set up each machine BEFORE I use another machine... so I went individual... meant of course that I needed a bigger shed but hey!!! thats cool!

I recently spent a day out there movin the 3mtr long benches around and then the smaller 2 1/2mtr bench and then the tools around and now? I GOTS ROOM to move out there!! WHAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

ahem... I will repeat the oft repeated sagely advice of this forum... get the best you can afford at the time and upgrade as you can afford and get the most suitable machines that you will use

Originally Posted by echnidna

When I make a 3' wide table top I glue the individual boards into 3 panels each 12" wide. Thickness each panel then join them together. The 2 joins clean up so easy with a ROS that messing around with the drum sander would be a total waste of time and effort. If I do a 4' top then I only have 3 joins to sand smooth.

Good point echnidna; I too currently use my ROS and/or belt sander with fine sandpaper to finish up the joints. Regards.

Originally Posted by Wild Dingo

Jointer? well as I went directly for the 8in with long beds I cant comment other than to say I just wish I had gotten a 15in jointer to go with the 15in thicknesser!! :eek: cause its a real biatch tryin to joint those 15in boards with an 8in jointer

I have no doubt that we should all have the same sized jointer as we have thicknessers, but it is usually too expensive to get jointers of such large sizes!

Originally Posted by Wild Dingo

Room mate ROOM... its all about how much room you have or havent got!!... money too of course

Your point about the room is pertinent for us all. That is why, in the end, I am thinking about the combination machine. I agree that stand alone machines are fantastic, but when it comes to SCM or FELDER type gear, the combination machines have evolved into a pretty enjoyable and usable machines. Unfortunately I work in one garage bay which is 7.5m x 3.5m. Space is a serious premium!

Thanks for the feedback everyone but I still want to know when does it get "too big" if ever?

For example, I have found it nearly impossible to thickness a board at a thicknesser's capacity. For starters, the thicknesser usually bogs down trying to take a light pass over the full width. Second, the boards usually jam along the sides since the feed rollers never feed the timber in a straight line. Thus, I have always thought that if I really need to routinely thickness boards which are 12", then I "need" a 15" thicknesser to accomplish this easily. Likewise, if I want to routinely thickness boards which are wider, then the 20" size comes into consideration.

But echnidna rightly points out that it is not hard to sand out a couple of carefully glued joints. I have always thought the maxim "buy as big and as good as you can afford" is a good one. But does it really hold at the bigger end of the market?
Regards Luckyduck

Based on recent comments around the forum, I'm sure there are some who would say: "Save the money for a domino" That way you can do your 6" or 8" boards and join them together so accurately that even sanding the joints is going to be a minor operation.

See, you are starting to influence me. Now, if you can influence the bank to see that I need an extra $1500, then we'll be away laughing...... Course, I'd want to upgrade the table saw first, and extend the shed (eh Dingo ) before the domino purchase.

Ah crap - there is too many things needed, and never enough money.......

Hi Lucky Duck,

I have just read some of your questions and their feedback.......
It really is a personal decision at the end of the day, depends on several things:
space, how many times are you going to use it either for normal use or extra wide usage, is it as a hobby machine or a daily tradesman use, and of course
finance............... I have all Carbitec machines (20 inch thicknesser, 12inch buzzer, spindle moulder, and about to purchase a 12inch panel saw.
The reason I prefered this size is that I am use to working with large machinery
when I was in the joinery shop, and as a woodwork teacher in the tech system.
This could raise another question also, and that is if you are not familiar with larger machinery you may find yourself with difficulties until you have used it a few times.(and there is also a weight problem to be considered, because if your workshop has a timber floor and not concrete this may also need to be considered. (my thicknesser is around 450kg. and the buzzer is similiar).
I also posted a thread under carbitec earlier tonight.
I hope I have not confused you too much...............
Kind Regards,
Ron

Hi Lucky Duck...

I am currently running a full combo in 12" size. I could be happy with a 12" jointer but would really like a 16" or larger thicknesser. The added mass of a bigger machine really puts into a different league.

In the Felder equipment there are better options available on the 16" machine, like power drive or digidrive, and larger motors. The Felder system has clip-on tables that can add up to a meter of extra bed length on BOTH infeed and outfeed. I find this a great system, and easily trued to level with the table.

If I was ever going to up-size machines I would be sure to order a Tersa cutter block for rapid knife changes. This way a rough set could be used for initial milling and quickly swapped out for finish work (less than 4 minutes).

The other consideration is available power and available dust extraction. A 16" machine needs at least 5 hp, more is better. That pretty much means three phase. Also, chip clearance from that big cut needs at least a 3 hp dusty with large ducts to the machine. On my small machine I can fill a standard dust extractor bag in 15 minutes.

I would never go back to separate machines now, having had the combo for a couple of years. I simply don't have the space to dedicate to a side-by-side installation of separates. The changeover between functions takes a minute or less, and the machine imposes a kind of discipline in work habits. It doesn't take that much forethought to plan out the next few steps in the project, and the changeover time often provides a little break in the tempo of machining and provides a chance for second thoughts.

Check Grays Online...there's a few things up your alley right now.

Greg

Geeeeeez LD if I thought we were wish talking I would have mentioned Felders gear but I didnt!... heck Id love to have the mega $$ to buy that gear! And not just for the size either... beautiful looking gear

Having just gotten Felders cattledog I tell you what if I won lotto Id be their best customer in a nanosecond But I havent as Id say most here also havent

1) Money is the foremost reason people buy smaller machines

2) Spacial area available to use it being the second reason... those two are also the primary reasons one either goes dedicated or combo machines as well

3) Personal preferance often dictates a persons choice of dedicated or combo machines

When I didnt have a shed just the living room... yes the living room was my shed for some years in Mandurah and I was happy with that... yet before that in Carnarvon the laundry and back verandah was my shed and I was happy with that too... I didnt have any machines other than a few hand tools and a couple of hand held power tools... then I got a bit of money together so I got a shed and a couple of machines (table saw and 12 1/2in thicknesser) that I could afford after the shed blew the budget... and I was happy as the proverbial pig in poop with that

Then we sold that place and bought this one and money was found for a bigger shed and bigger and better tools and machines choice unlimited except by budget which was far more than I thought her bloody highness would allow!... but Im happy with what I now have...

One day I might win lotto or come into some serious money and buy yet another larger shed... AND... be able to get to know Felder's legendary Brendan personally and fill said shed with all the mega toys in the cattledog BUT!!... Id still not go a combo machine simply cause I personally dont like them they bother me cause Im a clutz forgetful and sometimes rather spontainous... so for me personally I will always go dedicated machines others like the combos and even if they won lotto would simply upgrade to bigger heavier and better combo machines

Its dependant on available finance, spacial area availablity and personal preference its as simple as that

well... I think... maybe??

I had a 12" woodfast thicknesser which did 99.8 percent of jobs.
Now I've got a 16" griggio(Italian) thicknesser which does 99.99 percent.
My durden 6" jointer is fine as I only use it for dressing edges up to 4" max and sometimes rebating.
Three phase power makes a big difference to a machines performance I think. They don't seem to labour as much, they can spin heavier cutter heads and therefore the quality and quantity of work they can do will be greater than a single phase machine imo.
As some say.. It's not the size, it's what you do with it that counts.