Planer/Thicknesser advice please?

[Wuffles]

This is a duplicate post from something I have just posted on UKW, so forgive me if you're reading it twice.

Was about to pull the trigger on a unit tomorrow for delivery on Tuesday but would love to know if I'm going entirely the wrong way with this.

Every video I watch of anyone doing cool stuff with wood seems to involve them using a table saw and/or a jointer and/or thicknesser, BUT it diverts any money I was planning to spend on anything green for a while.

Trying to keep costs down, and trying to save space I'm thinking planer/thicknesser in one. Here's the post from UKW.

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So, about to make a dish thing for the wife's birthday, successfully done a few on a lathe but was going to use a bowl bit in a router and make something less "round" this time.

Bought a few types of reclaimed hardwood timber from a place nearby and was intending to chop it up, plane it down and glue it together in segments before making it bowly.

The planing it down (Bosch power plane) didn't go as well as I had hoped. In fact, it was dire. So I decided perhaps I need* a planer/thicknesser to manage this type of task now and in the future.

Is this the right tool for the job? The timber is all over the place, no flat side to speak of, so will a thicknesser (something "portable" like the Makita or Metabo bench mounted ones) flatten both sides in one hit? Never used one, so am confused.

Essentially I am trying to get it all nice and flat so I can glue it up. In the future I can imagine wanting to dimension timber myself for edging and what not. Sort of thing I have managed without in the past, partly down to not having whatever tool it is I probably need.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SMJoinery]

Hi Wuffles

Yes it would
Use the planer to flatten a surface and then an edge after cutting if required.
Then change over to thicknesser and take down required size.
I have the  METABO HC260C and it's does everything I ask of it.
Key is to spend time setting it tables and blades to there as close to spot on as possible.
Good luck.
Scott

 

[Wuffles]

Ah right, so it can be a planer too then? I'm looking at the METABO DH330 specifically, which is similar to the Dewalt 733 and the Makita2012NB - from memory.

 

[SMJoinery]

Hi

The DH330 is thicknesses only.
You really need the planer on top to flatten one face and then square an edge to it.
You can make a sled for a thicknesses to use it for flattening a face but it's not something I've tried.

 

[Wuffles]

Righty ho, more money then or a separate box.

 

[Wuffles]

Found this on gumtree the other day, perhaps might be more in line for what I need to start off with?

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/planerthicknesser/1100811015

 

[Doug S]

Wuffles, think the ones you are looking at are thicknesser only, but very portable. You need something with a surface planer on top to get your face flat before you thickness it. There are many models which seem the same as SMJoinery has, I am sure everyone just rebadges the same machine. I have a slightly more industrial model from Axminster but find it frustrating because it can only remove 2mm at a time when thicknessing.

Doug

 

[Wuffles]

I think I see my mistake now yes. Am looking behind the sofa for the extra to get one of these:

http://www.tradetoolshop.com/metabo-hc-260c-planer-thicknesser-2200-watt-240-volt.html?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=CNCz_96WiMQCFWfKtAodnVsAjw

Going to be an expensive bowl at this rate.

 

[Birdhunter]

Typically, one would use a jointer to flatten one side. Then put the flattened side against the jointer's fence to create a flat edge 90 degrees to the originally flattened side.

Then, run the board through a planer with the originally flattened side down against the planer's base.

Then, run the board through a table saw to true up the remaining edge.

Just running the board through a planer seldom results in a board that can be glued up.

I've never used a combination jointer/planer so can't help there.

 

[Wuffles]

Right on, I'll sleep on it and see if the tooth fairy is looking to off-load any illicit cash en route past my place tonight, see how rich I am in the morning.

It's a worthwhile purchase for a stationary workshop I am guessing?

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

There is always some sort of wadkin, robinson, stenner or such on ebay uk i wish i could buy and ship here.

 

[Wuffles]

My Startrite table saw came that route. One day I'll finish assembling it and putting in a 16A cable for it too. Only been a year.

As an aside, does anyone know what would happen if I put a 13A plug on the TS? Trip the breaker frequently or would it be fine?

 

[Doug S]

Americans have a separate jointer and planer, here in the UK we have a planer thicknesser. There are always a lot of bargains to be had on big old cast iron machines in the UK, problem is they are normally 415v 3phase which most people don't have, also they need upgrading with electric brakes etc to comply with our current regs which costs more then they are worth so a lot of good old machines end up as scrap  [sad]

 

[Doug S]

I am no expert or electrician but your saw will probably very rarely draw 16amp. I have heard of people using a piece of 15amp fuse wire in a 13amp plug to run 15amp machines. Probably not safe so would never do it myself  [wink]

 

[peter halle]

If you really want to get a planer thicknesser now then just skip over this post.  Ultimately that would be the route to go if you want to process your own wood.

But if this is especially a smaller project then you could look at creating a router sled.  That can create both your reference plane and then after flipping the work over create the second plane parallel to the first.

Just a thought.

Peter

 

[Birdhunter]

Peter, do you have any good guides on creating a router sled?

 

[rvieceli]

I've got thread on the board here:

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/router-planing-sled/

Woodwhisperer has a video when he flattened his workbench here"



Just google router sled and a bunch will come up. Basically you want a flat surface to rest your piece to flatten on and secure it in some way. You need two straight rails on each side of the piece for the sled to run on. Then you need a router and the sled.

Two methods mostly on the router, one is to fix the router to the sled and then move the entire sled across the piece. the other is to have the router move in the sled. Either works.

 

[Wuffles]

I am no expert or electrician but your saw will probably very rarely draw 16amp. I have heard of people using a piece of 15amp fuse wire in a 13amp plug to run 15amp machines. Probably not safe so would never do it myself  [wink]

It's a dedicated ring in the outbuilding from its own consumer unit. I could easily put in a 16A dedicated cable, with time, but I just wanted to find out whether this thing even works.

If you really want to get a planer thicknesser now then just skip over this post.  Ultimately that would be the route to go if you want to process your own wood.

But if this is especially a smaller project then you could look at creating a router sled.  That can create both your reference plane and then after flipping the work over create the second plane parallel to the first.

Just a thought.

Peter

I'd watched all the videos I could find about a router sled for a different pipe-dream, even one by Nick Offerman, but for this particular project (and others if this works out ok) I guess I ought to be able to process. Cheaper for me to destroy wood I have prepped myself vs buying it and breaking it.

Thanks all.