Thread: Scalloping Marks Left by all Helical Spiral Head Cutters?

Depends on the binder in the carbide, certainly can be.

Is Tungsten Carbide magnetic? - Answers

Hope it works out for you.



regards

Not meaning to downplay your frustration, but I'm trying to understand why this is a problem. Are you expecting not to sand after machine planing? Mine does something like that but the tracks sand out with a quick buzz at 320 grit. Maybe yours are deeper than mine but mine are barely there!!

Interestingly one time when I rotated the cutters, I obviously didn't bed them all down properly and there was sawdust making them out of alignment - the tracks were deeper. So I undid each cutter, cleaned off the dust, and it was all good after that.

Hope you end up with a result you're happy with!

Also the cutters are definitely magnetic since Sherwood supplied a small magnet for picking up the cutters with my thicknesser.

Originally Posted by PFH

Not meaning to downplay your frustration, but I'm trying to understand why this is a problem. Are you expecting not to sand after machine planing? Mine does something like that but the tracks sand out with a quick buzz at 320 grit. Maybe yours are deeper than mine but mine are barely there!!

Interestingly one time when I rotated the cutters, I obviously didn't bed them all down properly and there was sawdust making them out of alignment - the tracks were deeper. So I undid each cutter, cleaned off the dust, and it was all good after that.

Hope you end up with a result you're happy with!

Also the cutters are definitely magnetic since Sherwood supplied a small magnet for picking up the cutters with my thicknesser.

They're about 0.05mm deep so it defeats the purpose of a planer if I have to go back and sand it flat by hand. You can easily feel the ridges when you pass your hand across the stock. If they exchanged it for a new one and it didn't have this problem then I'd be happy with that but as it is, it's unacceptable in anyone's book.

.5mm deep. Yep, that's unacceptable. From your initial description it didn't sound that bad. My planer is a DeWalt 735 with the CTS cutter head, have been running some cutting boards through it this morning, no sign of the problem you're having. I go straight to 240 grit on the ROS from the planer. The fact that the scalloping is right across the board (?) would tend to indicate that there is something wrong with the machine or the machining of the head. Best take it back with a timber sample and show them what it's doing.

A mate of mine recently purchased a Sherwood 13". Same problem as yours. Planing teak boards for a yacht deck. He brought the timber to me and we ran it all through my three straight blade thicknesser to remove the fluting. They told him he was trying to take too much per pass, which he said was not the case. He is a well experienced tradesman and knows better than that. I don't know what the outcome was, as he is somewhere in the middle of the Pacific ocean at the moment. What I saw was not acceptable as in many cases timber is used straight off the planer and then to have to add another process (sanding) almost doubles the man hours which becomes significant when you are talking yacht decks.
Tell 'em their dreamin.

Reply from Timbecon:

Hi Sam,
Thanks for your email.
We wouldn't be able to accept a return on this machine. Based on your photos we can't deem it to be faulty.
Photo one shows that it has been used on end/crossgrain, and over a knot. Thicknessers are not suitable for this application. They are for dimensioning straight grain timber.
Running any endgrain or knots through a thicknesser is very dangerous. Knots are likely to break off and cause damage to the machine.
The correct machine to use on the timber shown in the first photo would be a drum sander, as the grain configuration would not matter.
The second photo is more indicative of the timber being used. I can see from the photo that it is a very splintery timber.
I've had the same issue only once, using my own MBSC-1936. It was definitely just the timber I was using, and not reflective of the machine.
You may be able to negate some of the splintering by feeding through from the opposite end of the timber.
Would you mind testing some straight grain timber and sending a photo of the results?

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My Response:

The second photo is straight grain regular Tassy Oak. What other wood do you suggest I feed through it?.
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Timbecon:
Whatever you have laying around, really. There shouldn't be any issue with Tassie Oak but that 'flaking' you can see is just from that specific piece of timber, not the species.
If you've got some Tassie Oak from a different board, you could give that a try.
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As requested I have run through several straight grain pieces with the same result in all instances. This problem is something that does not occure with other people I have spoken to who have the exact same thicknesser so I can only conclude it is a fault with mine. I don't really wish to get a refund and go with another brand as I have heard good things about this machine however, if you are unwilling to exchange the unit for a new one then I would have to seek advice through CAV.
American Oak:
A oak.jpg american oak2.jpg
Tas Oak:
tas oak.jpg tas oak2.jpg
Okoume:
okoume.jpg okoume2.jpg





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Been there, done that and their warranty/return policy is in my experience a dead end brick wall, I definitely will never spend another dollar with them.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Been there, done that and their warranty/return policy is in my experience a dead end brick wall.

Consumer rights over rule all warrenty/ return policies that retailers make up. Found this out through taking a company to VCAT and winning my claim.

I have the exact same machine, 12 months old and no issue of any type with it, used on painted timber, weathered Hwd and std pine with knots, perfectly smooth in every instance

Before you go the VCAT or Office of Fair Trading path check that your process is correct, take lighter passes through the thicknesser, to see if the issue still persists.

I would also follow the directions in the manual for replacing / rotating the cutters to check that they are orientated and seated correctly and that every cutter bolt is securely tightened. If that does not provide any resolution for you then go in hard to seek a remedy to a poorly performing machine.

I agree with the others & IMO the finish "off the thicknesser" in the images you have shown is unacceptable and constitutes a major fault - i.e. not fit for purpose. These are machines purchased process wood to a near finished state and not to roughly "skip dress" stock.

Does their manual/website back up their claims about what it shouldn’t be used for ? Ie knots etc

Latest Response from Timbecon:

Hi Sam,

You can definitely bring it in for a warranty assessment.
If there is a warrantable fault found it would likely be repaired rather than replaced.

The only other thing that I could think of that might cause that finish is either blunt blades or the amount of material being removed.
How much material are you removing in each pass?

My Response:

Each pass is 0.5mm or less. This isn't a minor problem its a major one so I want a replacement or refund please. I can't use the machine and I'm unsure if its actually safe to use. Because I have had the machine less than 5 days I'm not happy to be messed around with warrenty claims. I'm happy to bring the machine in for you to test it yourself in front of me but I'm not happy for it to be repaired under warrenty as its a brand new machine!.



Regards,

Their Response:

Hi Sam,

I suspect you may be removing too little material. 0.5mm would be the absolute minimum you should remove with this machine.
Nothing I can see suggests it's unsafe to use the machine. Unless you are running more endgrain through it.

If you do want to bring it in for a warranty assessment you would be required to go through the process as any other customer. Our in-house technician would need to inspect the machine, and would not do this in front of you.
It's usually 1-3 days turnaround depending on his workload. If the machine cannot be fixed it would be replaced under warranty.