I'm considering buying the Performance Power planer which B&Q sell for around £120. Has anyone had any experince with this machine?
Can I use this machine to accurately thickness timber by making multiple passes? And assuming the fence is at an accurate 90 degrees to the planer bed, will opposite sides always be guaranteed parallel?
Thanks, Mark.
Little benchtop 6" wide surface planer / jointer ? Axminster sell a similar thing.
Not a hope - you'll end up making wedges.
Bad assumption. On these little jointers, it's also a problem to hold the timber flat against their tiny fence.
No. Even if they were, it still wouldn't work - you'd just get lengthwise wedges instead of crossways wedges.
If you're looking to save money by buying rough timber, then buying a _thicknesser_ is a good idea, but you won't do it with a jointer.
-- Smert' spamionam
You really need a thicknesser to do that.
These start at about £300 for a small portable one - e.g. Axminster CT344.
You can get small combined planer thicknessers starting nearer £400, e.g. Axminster CCNPT.
However, these are really entry level hobby grade machines so tend to be limited on capacity and possibly accuracy. It really depends on how much work you want to do and how accurate is accurate.
.andy
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Thanks for replying. The CCNPT looks like it may fit the bill.
In terms of accurate - it has to be bang on - I want to be planing 90 degree edges on my timber - not 89 or 91! Surley even the smallest tool should be capable of this?
Also, the CCNP spec mentions that it may need a 16amp supply if the voltage is 'on the low side'. What do they mean by this? Am I correct in assuming that the machine can be run from a single-phase domestic supply?
Surely, this depends on your ability to set it up correctly
CT330 is a much better machine than the CT344, and current prices are barely different. The tables are longer and there's a head lock to reduce snipe.
It's a very good deal for the money, however (like most combined machines) it's narrower than a dedicated thicknesser. Most of my boards are between 10" and 13" in width, so this is a feature I really need.
The tool may be capable, but you may need a taller fence to hold the timber square enough.
1 degree accuracy is unusual in woodworking. You'll also need to use quartersawn timber here, as shrinkage is enough to warp by a degree or two.They mean that taking a 10" slice off oak is damned hard work ! If the voltage is low, then heat lost in the motor is higher for a given output. This machine is a bargain for the price, but the tables are bendy and the motor is on the diminutive side. If you're going to be thrashing it, I wouldn't buy a CCNPT.
Yes. But run a ring main or a heavy gauge radial through your workshop, not just a string of extension leads to the garden shed.
-- Smert' spamionam
Classic is to run such things in a shed at the bottom of the garden on the end of a long length of cable - you'd be amazed what a voltage drop you can get down a couple of hundred foot of 2.5 T&E !
Andrew
I would have hoped so...but the suggestion from some seems to be that no matter how much care you take in setting up and squaring the fence and beds, you will never get an accurate edge.
Does anyone agree or disagree with this?
The sizes of the fences and the beds play quite a part because if you can't support the work properly you won't get clean and accurate results.
Another key factor is how sturdy the mechanics are.
If you look at woodworking machinery in general, you find that as you move up through the ranges, apart from becoming larger, they become substantially heavy as a result of the use of cast and machined components.
If you want something to dabble with and produce some level of result, then a hobby grade machine may be good enough to do some jobs. You could then go for a better machine later, accepting that the first one has been a learning exercise.
.andy
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I certainly won't be thrashing it, but if the tables are 'bendy' then it's surley useless for even a single one-off use? Or do you mean that the tables may flex under the weight of e.g. 10" oak?
My plan would be to simply plug it into the ring main that serves all the sockets in my house. Will the machine be constantly tripping the MCB when the motor starts to struggle?
All tables are bendy. They're cantilevers, that's their nature. If you mean immeasurable movement, spend a couple of grand and get a Sedgewick.
My 6" jointer is cast iron. The tables on that will sage if you sit on them, and the fence certainly wobbles. You just have to get used to using it in a way that doesn't place a heavy side load on the fence. Obviously this needs a little more care than just slamming the boards through, so it's not the sort of machine you'd buy as a jungle gym for your workshop rock-ape.
What's your budget here ? The CCNPT is a bargain for its price, but if I were buying a combination, for the amount of work I'm going to give it, I just wouldn't expect to pay less than a grand.
Should be fine. Just avoid voltage drop problems (caused by long thin radials or extension leads).
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