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Hi all, just wondering what peoples views/opinions are on the these two bench top thicknessers.
Pricing is similar but the Carbatec replacement cutters are easy to get and relatively inexpensive.
All reports on the Sherwood seem positive but haven't heard much about the Carbatec.
Any or all feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers Peter
In that price range you may as well pony up the extra $100 and get the Sherwood with the helical head.
I have the Carbatec unit and cant fault it. Still running the HSS blades but have a set of carbide blades ready to go. I think the only issue with the Sherwood unit is that is uses a unique carbide insert and to the best of my knowledge only available through Timbecon.
...and Timbecon are well aware of this and charge accordingly.
Another option in a similar price range and style is the Rikon. The good thing about their design is it comes with 4 threaded rods to adjust the head height so therefore should have less tilting of the head as the timber enters and exits. The specs indicate that the inserts are the same as those used in the Carbetec unit and only have 2 cutting edges. The details from the site in the link are very poor but that is the one closest to you. Here is another link with more details.
This unit from H&F has the same post design and inserts but comes with a full replacement set of carbide inserts as a package deal.
The big difference between them both is that the Sherwood has a proper spiral head with a 4 sided cutter where the carbatec has a segmented head with a 2 sided cutter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Carroll
So does that mean you get a better cut/finish with curly tight grain timber?
Cheers Peter
Yes, you should get a better finish with a proper helical head. I've got the spiral head Carbatec with 2 sided cutters, you can get tear out on especially troublesome timber but taking very thin cuts minimizes any tearout and a hand plane or scraper can be used to clean up. My jointer has a helical head and you can tell the difference with gnarly timber - the helical tends to have no tear out with light cuts. With timber that doesn't have troublesome grain, there is little difference in surface quality - for quality work, you'll still be sanding/planing/scraping to get your finished surface.Quote:
Originally Posted by woodtryer