Thread: thicknesser tables fixed vs moving

I have an old Carbatec model SA406 which is a 15" dual speed thicknesser. 2 HP used once to plane a small table top. I has a fixed base and the head rises and falls with a chain mechanism. Very heavy and made in Taiwan, no rust, kept inside a workshop in the house. Have upgraded to a combination machine. PM me if interested, I am about to list but haven't got around to photos

I think the simple answer as to why is that it would be an engineering nightmare for a few reasons:

Most, if not all, industrial thicknessers have the motor mounted in the base so moving the head and feed roller assembly would require either the motor to move as well or a very robust idler pulley system to keep the drive belts properly tensioned.

It's easier to move one table that weighs maybe 35-50kg instead of the feed/cutter/motor system which would weigh well over double that (a 24" cutter weighs close to 50kg on its own)

Keeping the whole lot properly aligned would be harder

And finally, less moving parts mean less things to go wrong

The only industrial one of this design that I can find on Google is the MIDA D-MAX and they don't have an Australian distributor, only New Zealand

Ok so the machine is easier to build but how do people use them effectively.

For short (<1.5m?) pieces you might not have to bother with supplementary infeed and out feed rollers but for anything of any length it is going to need support going in and coming out.

How do people use thicknessers where the table moves? Do they just get supplementary rollers about the right height and don't worry about it or do they adjust extra rollers every time they wind up the table?

For the setup I have been using we had one roller stand at the front adjusted to be level with the table and a 12 roller roller table 2.5m long at the back. Without this it would not be possible to do the 2m, 3m, 6m legnths that we regularly put through the machine.

You don't need roller tables. Just hold the end of the piece as it goes in about 1/3 of the way then walk around to the back and hold the other end as it comes out. The pressure of the feed rollers is sufficient to take care of the rest.

I can see putting up with that for a few sticks but not for the quantities that I want to do.

1 having to hold each piece while it comes through would be horrid on my back if doing for a whole day.
2 I often do the thinking with a second person and our rhythm of work would need to be much slower if we couldn't rely on the extra rollers.
3 while in theory all you have to do is support one side then the other I think it would be too easy for an accident to happen. I once saw a thicknesser tip because they did not get,round to the other side quickly enough. It was ugly both to the machine and the work piece.

If you are having trioule with supporting your work fix one end of the suports to the moveing tables, I had a set up on the outfeed side that moved up and down with the table and it worked well, I just walked the in feed in and there was no trouble. It is important to control the in feed so as to keep the work in line with the part of the cutterhead you want to use.
Rowley.

For the kind of work you're talking about, I can see why you'd want a fixed table height. Carbatec had both options when I bought mine. One had the motor mounted under the machine, with rollers on the top for holding stock. The other had the motor on the top, with a fixed lower table. I decided I liked the ability to put the timber on the rollers on the top of the machine between passes. I have very little need to run pieces over 2 metres through the machine, so I find it easy enough to feed it in, and then move to the rear to support it on the exit.

It's been a while since I got mine, but both options were available then. Hope you find what you're looking for.

ajw

To speed up adjustment of an out-feed support roller, how about afixing a cheap laser pointer to the roller stand so it shines down the surface of the thicky table, or points to a spot just below it?

I think what you might need is ingenuity re the in- and out-feed.

When my other half had a major back surgery, I felt that it was my duty to photograph the neat adjustable examination beds.

They adjusted by an electric hydraulic drive I think.

Might give you some ideas?

Cheers,
Paul McGee