Thread: Best value combo thicknesser jointer

The outfeed table is not adjustable? How do you set it up properly then? Just hope that the blades are set just right and stay that way? I prefer to be able to tune the outfeed table to fit too...


Hmmm, that has just crossed the JPT-260 off my list.

I had a look at the Woodfast today and it seemed OK - but I wasn't sold on it.

So it looks like sticking with my existing 6" jointer and getting a 15" Carbatec thicknesser...

Then pleading with the finance minister in a few months to upgrade my jointer...

Cam

ronbrunton - thanks for the detailed reply !

I too was leaning towards the JPT-260, but had been unable to find anyone who owns one. When I spoke to my JET supplier in Sydney, I got the impression that they hadn't sold many (any?) either. You'd think it is just a scaled down 310, but that may not be the case. I've already learned that JET is no guarantee of fantastic quality - it just improves the odds of getting a good one first time compared to generic Chinese-made.

Googling the JPT-310 it seems that many people have had issues with the fence. Since this is a lightweight part, I guess I'd just keep sending it back to be replaced until I get a good one. As long as the fence extrusion itself is flat, I don't have a problem with shimming it to get a perfect 90 degrees. Worst case (since most of my work requires fence at 90 degrees), I guess I could make my own out of a strip of laminated kitchen benchtop material.

I'll have to see if I can score a JPT-310 with the digital thickness readout, as that would be very useful.

Have you had a go at changing blades on your JPT-310 yet? If so, did you find any issues with alignment to both planer and thicknesser tables? Last question - one main reason for me going this way is to get a thicknesser which doesn't suffer from snipe.....I'm currently a Ryobi AP13K owner Do you feel that the thicknessing table on the JPT-310 is long enough to avoid snipe altogether, or is it still a minor problem?

Thanks again for heading me off at the pass re. the JPT-260 !

Cheers

Cam - I know how you feel. Having made the decision to go for a larger combo machine, the research I've done suggests that just about all of the smaller/cheaper units have various issues. Even the JET, for extra $$$, isn't problem-free it seems.

The AWW review had me thinking that the Carbatec economy, the Scheppach 2600ci and the Woodfast were all just fine, and that any of these would do a great job. A bit of googling later, I'm starting to think that none of them will meet my needs.

Trouble is, a Hammer A3-31 is a bit outside my price range !!!

I should have mentioned in my previous post that I haven't had any noticeable snipe problems - although I should also point out that the longest pieces I have thicknessed have been less than a metre, and even then I used an outfeed support. Haven't had to change the knives yet, not looking forwards to it, although in the process of trying to get the 260 aligned I did end up removing and reinstalling the knives, and it was not too difficult a job. The nightmare was with the tables!

I don't think you will have any problems scoring a digital thickness readout with the 310 - my impression is that they are now standard on all the combos - the 260 came with one too (although I never got to use it before returning the machine). But if they are not, they can be bought as an accessory, and are not too expensive. Before my machine arrived I checked on the price as I had intended to buy one, and if I remember correctly they were about $70.

A mate down the coast bought a JPT-310 when they first came out, so I might have to trundle down and put some timber through his machine before forking out ~$3400 for one of these. I'd like to see for myself whether it produces any snipe or not, and how easy tit is to set the tables up properly.

I have a feeling that none of the cheaper jointer/thicknesser combos will do a good enough job for me.

I use a Domino for joinery, and life would be sooooo simple if I could just produce accurately squared timber to repeatable dimensions, and without snipe. Is that too much to ask from a reasonably priced combo machine??

I got in to have a look at the Scheppach today. Unfortunately it'll now be a few months at least until I have the funds available for it (so if you were waiting for a review, you'll have to be even more patient). Better dust extraction has been bumped up the list, jointer/thicknesser dropped down.

I did however manage to inspect a Scheppach unit today. A very impressive unit indeed. Well made and flat cast iron where it counts. While I haven't seen it run, the only 2 things I thought weren't fantastic were:

- the aluminium fence. Although it was adjustable and dead straight, and it was a perfect 90 degrees (in the showroom), nothing beat cast iron (except maybe granite)
- Plastic handle to raise and lower when in thicknessing mode. Once again it did the job well and was smooth, but I don't know how long it would last. It would have been nice to see a cast iron one. Might not make any difference. Not sure.

All in all, the scheppach looks like a very nice unit. I will let you all know for sure when I get one home.

p.s. I searched high and low for an indication of where it was made. Labels in English and Geman, but no hint of its's country of manufacture.

It looks like my "workshop" for the foreseeable future will be part of a double garage. So I'm thinking that instead of the separate machine set up that I had envisaged, a combination might be the go - certainly for a thicknesser/jointer. And I'm seriously considering a Hammer. I know they're very expensive, but I'm thinking that $3k+ for a JET compared with around $5k for a Hammer - hmmmm, I might be happier in the long run with a Hammer. I'm also thinking of a second hand "good" machine, but they don't seem to come up that often - maybe folks hang on the good ones when they get them. Must be a reason for that...

Then I look at the Hammer combination machine (saw and spindle moulder as well), and for about $11k I've got all of those covered. Way more than I can afford, but to get it sorted and not have to worry about it ever again? Maybe its worth it...

Funny thing is, I remember when the Hammer stuff was introduced as the 'poor man's Felder'. Since the Chinese-made machines came on the market, even Hammer is outside the price range of most of us. Hate to think what the 'real' Felder gear costs these days.....

I've been looking at the JET JPT-310 at ~$3.5k, but the Hammer A3-31 is well over $5k at the moment. Undoubtedly a much better machine, and I'd love to have the Tersa cutterhead, but its just too much money. As you say, people tend not to sell Hammer gear secondhand. "A Hammer machine is for life, not just for Xmas"

I'll wait until the Sydney WWW show, then go check out all the options and see what kind of pricing can be had. This year I've a nasty feeling we may not see too much in the way of show specials.....

Crunch time and so I was off to have a proper look at the Scheppach combo.

I can confirm it is made in China under the watchful eye of their QCs. I understand that all Scheppach stuff sold in Australia these days with the exception of their high end stuff is made in China. Having said that, the build quality is superb. After thoroughly inspecting the machine I can say my only complaint is the adjustment wheel is plastic. So much nicer if it were metal, but they're not on their Pat Malone there.

After much deliberation, I decided not to go with the Scheppach for 2 reasons:
1. Table length
2. Thicknesser will do a max of 250mm width

I have plenty of room in my workshop for 2 stand alone machines, so the compromise is not worth it to me, I will save the extra $700 and buy later. Having said that, if anyone is looking for a combo of that size, the Scheppach is certainly worth a look.

Has anyone here got the Hammer A3-31? and if so what has been your experience?

Don't have one, but had a good look over the Hammer machine before buying the JET JPT-310.....

The aluminium fence on the Hammer machine I saw had a visible bow in it, while JET now machine their fences flat. Also, I've since learned that the Tersa cutterhead on the Hammer machine may allow for quick blade setting, but the single-use blades don't last very long and are quite expensive.

If I had the choice again, I'd buy the JET JPT-310HH with the fancy helical (shellix style) cutterhead as standard, which still comes in about $1K cheaper than the Hammer machine. Unfortunately the 'HH' version of the JPT-310 hadn't been released when I bought mine.

After much deliberation, I have opted for the Hammer A3-31, I should have it next week, I decided to the extra cost for the Austrian Engineering, having previously trusted my life to their craftsmanship I will be surprised if the Hammer lets me down.

I will post a review and photos shortly

Hoppoz

Congratulations on the purchase. I'll look foward to reading your review.

Just read this thread....just a few of my thoughts and ramblings based on my experience with machine use, and not necessarily wood working machines....like Zed said... u get what u pay for....if u have any doubts about which machine not to buy have a look at the for sale gear and any thread asking...Y won't my x machine do this ..... HELP! and nine times out of ten it will be a cheap machine that is giving someone grief

If u r going to machine a piece of pine once a month buy a supermarket brand and expect it play up at some point, then go buy another one....
if u r a bit more serious buy a Carbatec/Jet/Sheppach/etc etc and it will work for a bit longer and give good performance if kept in good shape...sharp blades etc expect to have some issues with it at some point, expect to be able to talk to the supplier tech bloke and get it resolved or fix it yourself if u like fiddling....
if u r really serious about machining wood to produce a satisfactory result buy a Hammer/Felder/Robland/etc etc expect it to go for ever with minimum problems and be able to get the tech bloke out to set it up for u and fix it when it needs it while u ask him heaps of questions or go do something else

I started with my dads Durden Pacemaker combo 6" jointer/saw bench ummm well it's ok but painful as well, setting blades in the jointer is a real trial and thicknessing with the attachment ....the ideas right but near impossible to do
about 3 years ago I bought 10G's worth of stuff at the Bris WWS all from Carbatec 19"BS, 300 wide long bed planer, 15"thicknessor, belt sanding machine, spindle moulder, all with the thought in mind that while it's not the cheapest it's not the dearest but anything that goes wrong I can fix/modify because of my trade and prior experience...the BS has recieved the most mods and is now comparable with the better brands and even better with some of the things I make this machine do..
all these machines have issues, some minor niggling faults like the limited hieght travel on the spindle moulder, the fence does work but largely a waste of cast iron
etc etc etc

Then I bought a Hammer K3 winner comfort.the Durden soon was relegated to outside (undercover) and then I bought a Felder AD531, I also bought a Jet 8" jointer (secondhand) I dont really need it atm but I want a machine for just taking paint off.

The standalone machines I find I use the most over the AD531 it is a nice machine but I opted for the quick replace blades....I'm not convinced this was a good move for me, if I was a full on production workshop, yep quickchange but I can sharpen my own blades so the 300 jointer is used the most, I find the 300 wide is good...if I am only doing 100 wide boards I get 3 shots at fresh blades before I resharpen and if I ahve the spare set done I get 6 shots at fresh blades before resharpen.... resharpen and reset takes about an hour, the other thing I like about standalone machines is they do one job and that's it so I know if I need to come back to it to machine a few more boards or a face I don't have to fiddle to move it from one to the other

It's late and I'm off to bed.
peter