Thread: Best Combi Planer/Thicknesser <$1500 - FIGHT!!!

Mate

I have been down this road and had my heart set on the Jet JPT-260, it is a 10' machine and in my view a better construction and easier to use machine than the Carbatec version.

But did you know that the Woodfast sold by Carbatec is a 12' machine, I have seen this machine in action and although its not as good a build quality as the Jet it works very well. if your budget is $1500 max then stretch an extra 100 bucks and get the Woodfast.

I picked up a Jet JPT 310 HH on the weekend which they have unbelievable deals on at the moment.

Just my 2 cents

Bryan

I have the leda 10in combi for 7 yrs and have put a lot of recycled timber thu it.

It has performed well with no major mechanical problems. I did discard the alu fence and made a better one of ply. I also bought a spare set of blades and a blade setter.

On the negative side you do need a dust extractor as it will clog up and with these machines a fixed outfeed table will not work so a max of 3m timber is all I can handle without adjustable rollers

With proper adjustment snipe and roller marks can be reduced to the point of a light sanding to eliminate them.

Hi Kris

I've been using the Woodfast WPT-310 which is a 12in jointer for the past 3 years. I have very happy with the performance of the unit. I think Carbatec price is roughly in the ball park. Or you can go to Woodfast directly.

Please note that it uses a 15Amp plug and at start up draws approx 20Amps and then settles.

Gday Kris,

I too was on a tight budget when I purchased a 10" Carba-tech a couple of years ago now. I found the quality to be somewhat lacking particularly regarding the aluminium fence being hugely inaccurate, mine even had a twist in it, the adjust/lock handles on the fence are plastic and stripped out first use too. I have subsequently retrofitted it with a steel fence made from heavy blue tube (though not adjustable set at 90*) at minimal cost and time. I found this 100% necessary otherwise the planer was useless.

It's a chain driven machine as I discovered when I threw the chain guiding stock through the planner. The in-feed & out-feed rollers aren't well fitted and allow for a lot of side-to-side movement which led the chain afoul. Could have ended with more damage to the mechanism if I hadn't hit the stop button when I did.

Speaking of buttons, the unit is fitted with two sets of on and off buttons and a large emergency off button. From the start one of my on buttons has never worked.

I also found that the beds weren't parallel when I got it home and they were difficult to adjust with nothing in the manual about it. Im about to lengthen the beds to better accommodate longer stock as I found the beds to be very short, only suiting stock about two meters in length max.

Having said that I have put 100s of metres of paulownia stock through the thicknesser at the maximum width and it has chewed through without too much trouble indicating that the power is enough to drive the thing at max input.

All in all I'd say that for the money I payed for it I at least expected it to work out of the box but in my opinion it didn't and required retrofits and difficult adjustments.

Well, thats my two cents. Goodluck mate
Benavitch

Oh yeh, I might add, roller marks only occur if you aren't taking enough off with your cut. On my Carba-tech that seems to be a minimum of .7mm cut. Perhaps other units are adjustable in this respect?

So if anyone is interested I eventually went with the Scheppach HMS 2600ci. The governing factors where price($1100 @ the time), durability of build and fence. I went and looked at all prospective machines and found the Scheppach to have the best fence by far. Although the fence itself is ally, the alignment is cast and heavy. The alignment is easily adjusted as it is like a rip fence on a table saw with a positive lock mechanism in front of the table.

Adjustment to thickness depth is near perfect just by spending 10mins with some accurate veneer calipers and an allen key. The 1/10th mm adjustment for thicknessing is brilliant, allows you dress timber to a level where you need only do light sanding/scraping.

All in all I have put around 1/4 of a cube of recycled (de-nailed) hardwood from an 80 year Queenslander through her so far and have not had a single problem. All square when jointing and exactly thicknessed.

P.S. Conversion from Jointer->Thicknesser->Jointer is very quick and easy without any discrepancies in measurements at this stage.

Cheers
Kris

Kris, where did you get the Scheppach for $1100??

I got it during Hare & Forbes' 3 day sale last year in Nov. They just had another one a couple of weeks ago.

Originally Posted by Kris Logan

So if anyone is interested I eventually went with the Scheppach HMS 2600ci. The governing factors where price($1100 @ the time), durability of build and fence. I went and looked at all prospective machines and found the Scheppach to have the best fence by far. Although the fence itself is ally, the alignment is cast and heavy. The alignment is easily adjusted as it is like a rip fence on a table saw with a positive lock mechanism in front of the table.

Adjustment to thickness depth is near perfect just by spending 10mins with some accurate veneer calipers and an allen key. The 1/10th mm adjustment for thicknessing is brilliant, allows you dress timber to a level where you need only do light sanding/scraping.

All in all I have put around 1/4 of a cube of recycled (de-nailed) hardwood from an 80 year Queenslander through her so far and have not had a single problem. All square when jointing and exactly thicknessed.

P.S. Conversion from Jointer->Thicknesser->Jointer is very quick and easy without any discrepancies in measurements at this stage.

Cheers
Kris

Kris, I just wanted to thank you for this thread and ask a quick question if you don't mind.

Is the Scheppach single-phase or 3-phase? I'm guessing single since it's under 2400W, but wanted to be sure. It's not mentioned on the H&F listing.

I almost bought the 10" Carbatec until I read this. Now I'll go with the Scheppach if it's single phase. Sounds like a much better low-budget buy.

Originally Posted by Hermit

Is the Scheppach single-phase or 3-phase? I'm guessing single since it's under 2400W, but wanted to be sure. It's not mentioned on the H&F listing.

Having had a look at the Scheppach, it looks a well engineered bit of machinery. Looks a lot better made than the low end Jet machine. If I had the space and volume to do, I'd certainly be happy to get a scheppach. Download the brochures from scheppach.com - there are both single and three phase models available of the hms 2600 ci.

Only downside is that they don't make shelix spiral head cutters for them (yet).

Originally Posted by blouis79

- there are both single and three phase models available of the hms 2600 ci.

Yes, Scheppach make both, but do H & F sell both? That's why I asked. I'll email them.

Edit: Hare and Forbes sell the 240V, (single-phase), version. I'm in luck.

Hi Kris,

After some feedback regarding your Scheppach purchase, have a couple questions which I'm hoping you can help answer.

1) How good is the dust extraction in both modes?
2) Is your unit on wheels, if so what wheels?
3) Fence accuracy, any issues?
4) Are you happy with the general build quality?
5) Do you find the planer table width sufficient?

Any other comments welcome.

Thanks,

Gareth

1) How good is the dust extraction in both modes?

I have found that dust extraction is great, provided you use the recommended 1200cfm extraction rate. Had a smaller unit which just wasn't clearing enough waste. Whilst in Planner mode some chips end up underneath on the Thicknessor table, but its not many.

2) Is your unit on wheels, if so what wheels?

It comes stock with adjustable feet so you can level it. I am planning on making a mobile base for it(when I get a spare hour or so) like I have for my table saw which is roughly based on the economy mobile base from CarbaTec.

3) Fence accuracy, any issues?

Provided you take time to set the fence correctly I have not had any problems with it. The little sticker that comes with it that you attach for you tilt angle doesn't stick long, I just applied some contact over the top once I got the fence setup correctly.

When tilting the fence to 45o there is a reasonable gap between fence and table which is a little annoying however nothing that causes any problems.

4) Are you happy with the general build quality?

When researching machines I was reticent about the build quality of all the machines I was considering. After looking at one at Hare&Forbes and manhandling it I found it to be the best of the ones I was considering. After having it for approx. 6 months I am still very happy with the quality. Everything has stayed level and accurate even with the fence being taking off and put back on countless times(when off put it some place safe). Regular maintenance like every thing is the key. The manual outlines maintenance information which is pretty easy, just keeping things lubricated mostly.

5) Do you find the planer table width sufficient?

I have found the width more then sufficient, it has a good feature where the arm holding the blade guard can swing away thus enabling you the ability to plan up-to 20" in two passes(which I haven't needed to do).

I have put near 2m3 of recycled australian hardwood(after spending allot of time de-nailing etc and multiple passes with a metal detector) through this machine now and aside from the blades now being rather blunt it has performed perfectly. I am very happy with my purchase.