Thread: Old Wolfenden 24" thicknesser with square 4 blade cutterhead?????

These old machines are solid and robust, but those old square blocks are lethal. Worksafe banned them years ago due to all the accidents there where with knives coming loose etc. If you want to keep the machine, I would think seriously at retro fitting a round head.

Originally Posted by KPH0458

These old machines are solid and robust, but those old square blocks are lethal. Worksafe banned them years ago due to all the accidents there where with knives coming loose etc. If you want to keep the machine, I would think seriously at retro fitting a round head.

Pleas note that I may well be talking thru my hat here re recent legislation and don't want to give anyone a bum steer.
My understanding was square cutter locks were banned from planers (jointers) decades ago because they sucked your whole hand or arm in rather than just slicing off a finger or two.
Square cutterblocks in a Thicknesser didn't have this problem unless you were stupid enough to put your hand in there. (It happened after hours at a teachers college in the eighties).
Fair point about them coming loose but new bolts/nuts and some locktite should fix that.
I had an old 24 inch Wolfenden myself in the eighties and it was a great machine but very noisy.
I also understand that for recycled hardwood and just plain hard Oz timber they are hard to beat.
H.

As per what Clear Out has stated it will be very very noisy as any square header was/is.