...a wood thicknesser. We have access to a whole load of old timber that's ripe for reclaiming and planing down into lovely shelves etc. Our neighbours have this one and say it's great, any suggestions for other good models? Seb?
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hang on a minute....
....ok. Hello. I got lucky with our machine, it's a super old workshop dinosaur called an Emco Rex B-20. It's principal difference to the one you've illustrated is that its a planer/thicknesser, and thus is extremely versatile- I can square thick sections up on it and plane bevelled edges or specific angles if I require them too. a fuck sight easier and more accurate than doing it the hard way. It's very heavily built and has huge bearings and rollers. Also, it has large cast beds and is on legs, which helps a lot when dealing with large lumps of wood. Those site thicknessers have their good points too, chiefly that they take up less room in the tool cupboard, if you want to plane mostly thin boards then this, or one like it is the machine for you, but if you want flexibility I'd recommend at least a quick look at planer/thicknessers. Record power, scheppach and a host of other (mostly german) manufacturers make good'uns. Watch e-bay, it's how I found mine. Look for a machine that'll accept TCT knives, which are expensive but really are the bollocks for good finish on exotic hardwoods and keep sharp much longer than HSS. They tend to be available for most of the better brands that take 3mm or thicker knives.I bought my fancy knives from NLS tools, try finding them at www.nlstools.com , they are very knowledgeable, helpful guys, and also do a knife refacing service for when you've had enough of trying to keep an edge on yours with a whetstone (as much an art as a science). Oh, and whatever you do AVOID Erbauer (screwfix own brand) like the plague- no replacement parts including knives (!!) are available.
Hope this helps rather than confuses.
That's fantastic, thanks for the advice! It's so useful getting advice from people who've learnt through experience, rather than just believing the hype of the ads of the people who are trying to sell you stuff.
Thankyou!
Most "modern" cheapie thicknessers are pressed steel and ok but light "weight"! commercial ones are usually cast and heavy, as "I smile" said a planer thicknesser is what I would prefer and can be obtained fairly "cheaply" from ebay or freeads etc. after all when you have used it I guess you will sell it again? when using such an item be very carefull as they bite so take great care with long floppy clothes (ties scarfs,jumpers etc) as they can get drawn into them and make sure that all nails, stones and rust from around old removed nails, in the wood are removed no matter how much brute fofce you use. Wadkin is a name that springs to mind, they were the cheaper make at the time I fitted out my joinery works.Ph when buying single phase not three phase electric I guess and most commercial are three phase!
That sounds like sage advice rob, thanks very much. Lots to think about....
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