Thread: Is my thicknesser a dud or am I the problem?

Hmmm... from what I can see in the vid, that looks much like a model I used to have. Which was a dud from day one, but worked better than that except for one occasion...

Originally Posted by A Duke

Maybe the key has fallen out (or never installed) of the sprocket on the input roller.

This. Both the infeed and outfeed drive rollers on mine were driven by the same chain. There was one occasion when it sheared the key on the sprocket driving the chain, giving pretty much the same performance as you're experiencing. It literally didn't have any 'feed' at all.

(Almost every other time I used it it'd 'unscrew' the retaining nut holding the cutter-head drive pulley when started, until it fell off and the pulley'd fall off the spline while the key would disappear somewhere in the workshop. Many an hour I spent playing "find the key" on hand and knees in the sawdust armed with amagnet. Must admit I did find/recover some interesting items doing this. )

I had to leave for work just after my last reply and I won't be home for 36 hours but I did get a chance to flip the cutters around before I left and put a piece through. The cut was definitely a lot smoother and the feeders were pulling the timber through by themselves for the most part, although I did have to give it a little helping hand.

This piece of Vic Ash was a little thinner than what I had been using so it was a little lighter but the machine seemed to perform better.

Found the problem

Yeah I've become a big advocate of buying right and buying once but I knew I was breaking that rule when I purchased this. It was my first piece of machinery and I'm looking forward to an upgrade.

Some Qs then:
Was the machine new when you bought it?
How much timber have you put through in the 8 months?
How was it feeding through when you first got it?
What brand/model is it?
Was the helical head a retro fit?

Some Qs then:
Was the machine new when you bought it?

Yes

How much timber have you put through in the 8 months?

A fair bit I guess. Mostly new vic ash. Probably a few hours of use once a week every week I've had it.

How was it feeding through when you first got it?

I don't remember it being an issue but it was also mostly small stock.

What brand/model is it?

HAFCO bench top helical

Was the helical head a retro fit?

No it was original

Hi Chode,

If you feed smaller bits or take lighter passes does it feed by itself?

Do you have a jointer?

The reason why i ask is sometimes the machine can get bogged down even floor models will do this if you ask too much of it. Especially if the board hasn't been jointed properly or is twisted and has high spots etc.

Originally Posted by chode

Was the machine new when you bought it? Yes

How much timber have you put through in the 8 months? A fair bit I guess. Mostly new vic ash. Probably a few hours of use once a week every week I've had it.

How was it feeding through when you first got it? I don't remember it being an issue but it was also mostly small stock.

What brand/model is it? HAFCO bench top helical

Was the helical head a retro fit? No it was original

Ok, well considering those answers, I wouldn't have thought the cutters should be ready for rotating yet. I've put hundreds and hundreds of metres through mine over the last three years or so, and I'm still on the first face! Granted, they should be rotated now. In fact I've probably put through several kilometres considering that each piece can have up to 5 passes through, and much of this was pretty nasty recycled hardwood and more hidden nails than I care to admit to.

Perhaps it's a lower grade carbide I suppose (mine is Austrian manufacture), but even so........Vic Ash isn't the hardest timber going around. FWIW Steve at SJE Tools has good quality replacement cutters at a very fair price. I think sje tools (or similar) is his forum name. Your machine won't have too many cutters, so if all the other remedies don't yield a better result then it might be time to look at some replacement cutters of better quality (which you'll have to do at some point anyway).

I have the same machine and I will make two comments. I run a lot of old recycled hardwood thru mine and the cutters only lasted a couple of months.

The tables need regular lubrication with wax and the machine as supplied by H&F is fitted with HSS cutters not carbide.

I bought a set of carbide from SJE Tools.

Originally Posted by Bohdan

the machine as supplied by H&F is fitted with HSS cutters not carbide.

That would certainly explain them dulling faster (but possibly sharper than carbide when new). First I've heard of HSS cutters in helical heads.

Originally Posted by tonzeyd

Hi Chode,

If you feed smaller bits or take lighter passes does it feed by itself?

Do you have a jointer?

The reason why i ask is sometimes the machine can get bogged down even floor models will do this if you ask too much of it. Especially if the board hasn't been jointed properly or is twisted and has high spots etc.

Lighter passes doesn't seem to help. The pass in the video was only 0.3-0.4mm.

I do do have a jointer and the first thing I thought was the timber wasn't flat and was therefore causing friction but it was flat against my straight edge so I've ruled that out.

I'm thinking it's the knives now.

Originally Posted by Bohdan

I have the same machine and I will make two comments. I run a lot of old recycled hardwood thru mine and the cutters only lasted a couple of months.

The tables need regular lubrication with wax and the machine as supplied by H&F is fitted with HSS cutters not carbide.

I bought a set of carbide from SJE Tools.

i think you're right. I'm yet to try the wax but I turned the knives and not only is the finish silky smooth compared to what it was it seems to feed a lot easier. The result of the finish deteriorates so slowly over time you don't realise it's gotten so bad compared with how it was.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Ok, well considering those answers, I wouldn't have thought the cutters should be ready for rotating yet. I've put hundreds and hundreds of metres through mine over the last three years or so, and I'm still on the first face! Granted, they should be rotated now. In fact I've probably put through several kilometres considering that each piece can have up to 5 passes through, and much of this was pretty nasty recycled hardwood and more hidden nails than I care to admit to.

Perhaps it's a lower grade carbide I suppose (mine is Austrian manufacture), but even so........Vic Ash isn't the hardest timber going around. FWIW Steve at SJE Tools has good quality replacement cutters at a very fair price. I think sje tools (or similar) is his forum name. Your machine won't have too many cutters, so if all the other remedies don't yield a better result then it might be time to look at some replacement cutters of better quality (which you'll have to do at some point anyway).

Yes they are HSS cutters so could explain a bit. Thanks so much for the referral to Steve. I'll look into it. It was going to cost about $300 for 30 cutters from HAFCO.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

That would certainly explain them dulling faster (but possibly sharper than carbide when new). First I've heard of HSS cutters in helical heads.

I think quite a few of the cheaper (re-badged generic) ones come with 2-sided HSS.

Originally Posted by chode

Lighter passes doesn't seem to help. The pass in the video was only 0.3-0.4mm.

I do do have a jointer and the first thing I thought was the timber wasn't flat and was therefore causing friction but it was flat against my straight edge so I've ruled that out.

I'm thinking it's the knives now.

If it's struggling at 0.3mm, definitely look at the knives - that's sander territory, not thicknesser.
We were getting 2-3 months out of HSS straight knives at work, it's now close to a year since i last rotated the shelix carbide tips (5+ years since we went helical) and it's still fine. Interesting to note, we're now on sje-tools' inserts and they seem to be outlasting the genuine Byrd ones

I bought the Carbatec CT330X (which uses the same cutter head) and swapped the OEM HSS inserts for carbide before the machine saw any wood at all. SJE supplied the set of 26 for about $100 and they give great results; I'm still on the first surface.

As others have said; make sure the plattern and tables are as smooth and slick as a very smooth and slick thing. It's not unusual for some timbers to leave resinous streaks on the surfaces; these can cause a degree of friction disproportionate to their apparent size. I use Silber-Gleit but probably any paste, candle or bees wax will be adequate. Check the rubber infeed and outfeed rollers too; give them a bit of a scrub with hot soapy water.

Lastly; here is a link to a post on setting up the CT330X for zero snipe; look for post #17 by Evanism. I followed these instructions and have got snipe down to less than a tenth of a millimeter at worst.

Thanks for that Tiff. I've been in contact with SJE about some new blades so hopefully that will do the trick. Thanks for link regarding snipe as well.