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Hi,
I am new to wood working and so far I have been using restored old hand tools for planing and thicknessing at home.
Just came across the specials at Timbecon on Sherwood 10in Light Combination Planer and was wondering how usable (or not) it is.
I understand a quality machine like Hammer A3-31 (would love to own it one day) will deliver great results but it is way out of my budget.
Cheers,
Salim
I have no experience with this machine but since nobody has replied, I'll chime in with my 2c
This machine seems to be quite cheap, but the brushed motor will be extremely noisy, creating more noise than your circular saw no doubt, even when you are running without load.
Make sure the bed is cast iron, I just don't think aluminium bed will be durable enough.
Others might have more to say. Good luck.
I have the non-light version of that combo planer (ML model)and I notice a couple of differences.
The induction motor on the ML is reasonably quiet whereas the MB with its brushed high revving motor will be noticeably noisier.
I notice it also has only 2 blades (standard is 3) which is why it has to use a higher reving motor.
This also means the blades will go blunt quicker.
The other is the dust collection which seems to be handled by the one port on the MB.
This is quite different from the ML which has a flipping (dual position) dust collector.
Given the limitations of the stock ML collector I can only see the MB being worse.
The fence on both machines is very ordinary which is why I replaced mine.
The Al beds will mark some timber (although this can usually be sanded off) and wear a lot quicker if rough stock is being treated.
I've owned a table saw and jointer that used brushed motors and they both got sold, just couldn't deal with the noise. Even with ear protection on it was still really loud, might not bother some people but it was too much for me.
I bought the ancestor of that machine 15 years or so ago, Sherwood, cost $1000 back then,never happy with it the tables weren't coplanar and couldnt be adjusted, so noisy, and the timber came out the other end of the planer with roller mark imprints, do your research, Rossco
Thanks for the replies! Looks like not worth pursuing it any further. It is discounted to $699 from $1,099 obviously for a reason.
Unless I find a second hand decent combination planner, looks like I need to have a budget of around $2.5K for a reasonable combination planner. What would be the recommendations? I have found following options
1. Sherwood 10inch ML-392 ($1,699 or Sherwood 12inch (currently discounted to $2,399)
2. Carbatec 10inch AW106PT ($1,799)
3. Jet 10 inch JET-JPT206M ($2,399)
4. Sheppach 260mm Plana 3.0 (currently discounted to $1,636)
5. Hafco Woodmaster 304mm PT-300 (currently discounted to $2,299)
6. LEDACRAFT PT-107S with TCT spiral head (currently discounted to $2,519)
I think it really depends on what you're planning to make. I have the ML-392 and it works fine for most things that I want to do but the short planer tables mean I have to use auxiliary supports when I want to joint boards greater than about 1.5m in length. If you're only going to joint short boards then that is unlikely to be a problem for you. I can't speak to the other machines as I have no experience with them.
I have that machine and have found it to be very good for my use,the thing that I found was to keep the blades sharp and set at the correct height,not much success till I got a gauge that set the height to the cutting head not the tables, the drive rollers need to be kept clean and the Tables well dressed with wax
I would say that more expensive machines are better but you have to start somewhere
Again good machine for me and at that price very good value
Go for it
In regard to planner marks leave the height the same and do another pass
As I have mentioned clean drive rolls and sharp blades
I’m looking at buying a combination jointer/planer
Leda PT-107 10″
Sherwood
10in Lift-Up
Carbatec 10" Combination Planer Thicknesser with Helical
Not many choices here in Tassie.
I’d love the Hammer A3-26 but out of my budget.
I did find one here ,but on second look , I was told it had been damaged in transit , broken tables fixed up.
I left it alone.
Thoughts ?
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Pitty you didn't live in Adelaide. I'm trying to sell a Ledacraft 10" combo.