Thread: Thicknesser advice

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

Other considerations,

I believe Timbecon have released an updated version of their 13" deluxe thicknesser, to overcome a few gremlins.

If you plan on using figured woods a true spiral cutter head offers far superior results.

What have they updated?.

Originally Posted by BMKal

I have the H&F thicknesser with the straight knife blades. Was not a smart purchase. A set (pair) of knife blades does not last very long at all and, even using the sharpening jig I have made, the blades are quite difficult to sharpen because they are so thin. I mainly use it on pine and pallet wood - doubt it would be any good at all on something like jarrah. Have been thinking of replacing it for a while now.
Until reading this thread, I was thinking of buying a Sherwood, but now the DeWalt is also on my shopping list (probably at the top of the list now).
Agree with the comment about the noise of the H&F - have had comments from the neighbor 2 doors up the street when I run it. Because my shed is open on one side, the entire neighborhood knows when I am using this machine.

A good dust extractor is a must. I have a Sherwood portable unit but that is too small for using with the thicknesser. I have recently installed a larger 2hp dust extraction unit with a large cyclone on a 44 gallon drum. That works much better, but I have even managed to "bog" the cyclone when feeding pine through the thicknesser.

I have heard that some dust extractors cant keep up with the DW built in blower resulting in clogging and possible overheating

The good thing about Thicknessers with a segmented head is they are less likely to clog as the chips are very small compared to straight blades where the chips can be quite long if you are machining wide boards. The long chips can bridge the opening of the dust extraction hood as a lot of the hood outlets are only 50 dia and have an adaptor to take your 100mm extractor hose. This is more prevalent when using small dust extractors or vacuum cleaners as the airflow volume is quite low and once the port gets a few chips bridging it the others will just bunch up behind them causing a complete blockage.

I was using my shop vac for a while to collect the chips. Then I decided to try my 2hp Carbatec Dust Collector, the results are night and day, apart from collecting a huge amount more, you're not having to empty the blasted shop vac every 5 mins!.

As others have noted - dust collection has to be a key part of the discussion. These things generate a MOUNTAIN of chips/dust, and that will absolutely overwhelm some systems, thus causing damage to your thicknesser.

One other option for a thicknesser is a drum sander. I run a Jet 22/44, and I love it. The finish is 60-80 grit sanded straight off the unit. When set correctly, these things sand flat and true. Thin/narrow stock is never a problem. 1.5 mm veneer is not a problem. Neither high figure, not burl are a problem... I think their one problem is sappy wood. The sap can stick to the sanding belt, and clog it, causing burnt wood and ruined sanding belts. I have seen this cause issues with blade thicknesser units, though. The ONE caveat is that you absolutely cannot run one of these without good dust collection.

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice. I ended up spoiling myself and buying the Sherwood with the helical head. I ended up asking the delivery driver to help me put it onto a lower bench. I then tipped it on its back, unpacked it and then rocked it over to the the higher trolley I built. Not really recommended. In hindsight I should have asked for someone to help me shift it onto the bench but I was too eager. Note to self: Swallow pride and ask neighbour for help...

The finish is beautiful - no need for sanding.
The thread pitch is 1.6mm ?? I used to have a Ryobi and the pitch was metric (2mm). I have a feeling this is imperial. No big deal, just something to keep in mind.

I noted it has a spindle lock which automatically engages when you remove the cover for the cutterhead. Clever design which allows maintaining the blades easier.

I built a trolley for it which houses a dust extractor. It works well. Just bear in mind the height of this is around 68cm, not 64cm as quoted in the specs on most websites.

front.jpgside.jpg

The height adjustment is a bit clunky I think because of the plastic bevel gears below which have lot of "play" in it.

The front plastic guard is stepped. I'm not sure why this is. It's easier to feed timber in the through the middle compared to the sides. I wonder if this is to ensure a thick cut is prevented for full width boards. It certainly makes feeding timber in through the sides very difficult and I'm tempted to modify it... but that will probably void my warranty.. I find the height gauge a bit gimmicky but that's my personal opinion.

front guard.jpg

For interest I used a DowelMax jig for all the joinery using 10mm dowels. I deliberately placed the front rails horizontal rather than vertical to give myself more clearance for the vacuum.

As long as I respect it, hopefully it will last me a long time.

Good stuff. Thread pitch of 1.6mm? is likely to be 1/16" (1.5875mm). You'll likely find that the thicknesser will quickly clog the filter of the dust extractor, but it's a good start.

The lower sections of metal either side of the centre recess are definately to prevent you taking heavy cuts on wider timber. Even with lighter cuts on wide boards you can hear the motor slow down so you wouldn't want to take heavy wide cuts. Certainly wouldn't modify the housing as I'm sure your warranty would be out the window if you tried to claim.
I only use the height gauge in the middle to set the head height for the first cut. I place the very end of the timber under the plunger and wind the head down until the pointer reads about 0.5mm, start the machine and run it through which gives a light first cut. After that you can use the winder to determine how deep of a cut you want to take from then on. The adjustments after the first cut are quite accurate basing it on a 1.6mm pitch thread. Not home at the moment to check but I seem to remember when I first got mine a sticker on the machine said that one revolution of the handle was something other than 1/16".

Ahh thanks. That makes sense. When I had a Ryobi with straight knives I used to alternative which side (left, middle, right) I passed the timber through to get even wear on the knives. It probably doesn't matter with the type of cutterhead I have. It's more out of habit. Thanks for the tip.

If anyone wants plans of the trolley I built, I drew it up on a CAD program. Let me know.

I'm only use narrow pieces at the moment. The bin will probably fill up quickly but it was a cheap option for me. I bought this vacuum for Edisons for $159. It seems similar to the Sheppach, Sherwood versions.

I found some good 75mm castors too on Amazon here.