Thickness planer hire

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nickb800

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#113975 3-Feb-2013 17:19

Background: Ive got a few projects coming up, and have stripped a dozen timber pallets to get some nice recycled timber for them. The lengths are rough as guts, but will be lovely once planned. Ive got a cheap/nasty $60 handheld electric planer, but a thickness planer would be perfect for the job. The cheapest I can find is a cheap/nasty one for $400 at Bunnings, but I wouldnt get enough use to justify it and wouldnt want to blow that much on a cheap/nasty tool.

Anyone know of a hire store that hires out thickness planers? I'm in Christchurch, and have done a bit of futile googling, looks like the major hire chains dont have them, but perhaps theres a specialist hire store that does?

Cheers

Cbfd

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

#755154 3-Feb-2013 18:15

Go down to a local wood selling store - mitre10 placemakers or an itm and ask if you can borrow theres for s small feee or some beers - maybe even a wood work place

D1023319

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#755158 3-Feb-2013 18:22

I recommend you buy the planner as its the lost useful tool you will ever buy.

OK dont buy a multispeed DeWalt as they are over priced but other brands are good but multi speed is essential to impact quality of cut. Check size of throat.

They last a lifetime as no batteries and can be used for everything from knocking up custom architraves / skirting boards to rescuing old timbers from tip such as rimu in old kitchen benches.

Risk is in rentals that idiots will put wood through with nails and chip the blades - I would not lend one ever.

nickb800

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#755177 3-Feb-2013 18:52

Stephen - From the quick few that I've looked at online, only the Dewalts have multispeed function. It would be a stretch to get a cheap one (sub $1000) and they all seem single-speed - does it cripple it that much?

Karl - would many stores these days have a planer onsite?

Appreciate the thoughts, thanks!

Handle9

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#755197 3-Feb-2013 20:18

I've gone down this road before and ended up getting it done by a mate however if I was doing it agaon I'd be ringing around some joiners and cabinet makers and finding out what it would cost to get them done with their professional four sided machines. I'm pretty sure you'll get a better job for not much money, especially if you only have 6 lengths to be done.

nickb800

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#755206 3-Feb-2013 20:42

I should have been more clear - I dismantled a dozen pallets so now have a big stack of planks, my guess is around 50. I do like the rustic look, but just want to get rid of the dirt and smooth the roughsawn pieces. So for those sorts of numbers it might end up being a bit expensive paying someone else.

I'll have a go with the handheld planer later in the week but i think it will be a pain finding a way to hold the pieces in place.

Taking a step back, I think I'd rather get a table saw before I buy a thickness planer, as I work with MDF more often than timber, so I'd get better mileage out of it.

RunningMan

8963 posts

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#755277 3-Feb-2013 23:06

See if your local school woodwork room has one you could use.

Rubicon

29 posts

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#755661 4-Feb-2013 16:25

If you mention recycled pallets, a carpenter will think of nails, stones and other things that'll blunten their nice sharp cutting blades. They might run the wood for you, but would be unlikely to lend you their equipment.

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jonherries

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#755666 4-Feb-2013 16:42

nickb800: I should have been more clear - I dismantled a dozen pallets so now have a big stack of planks, my guess is around 50. I do like the rustic look, but just want to get rid of the dirt and smooth the roughsawn pieces. So for those sorts of numbers it might end up being a bit expensive paying someone else.

I'll have a go with the handheld planer later in the week but i think it will be a pain finding a way to hold the pieces in place.

Taking a step back, I think I'd rather get a table saw before I buy a thickness planer, as I work with MDF more often than timber, so I'd get better mileage out of it.

You should ask, as the cost will be time probably. If the planks are reasonably uniform, and you are willing to help it shouldn't take too much time. They will set up the machine, and then put them through. Generally you can fit 2 in the bigger machines at once. You could even save by only using the thicknesser on the wide side. I assume the thin edge is less wide than your hand planer?

You will look at lots of time/cost if they have to adjust the machine for each piece.

Another suggestion is building recyclers for a thicknesser?

Jon

mattwnz

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#755679 4-Feb-2013 17:14

I've done this with a single planer. I have a Makita one, which is pro grade, can't remember how much it was, but probably about $500 in todays money. Is about 20 years old though. The only problem is securing it on a proper workbench, and getting the thickness uniform along it's length, and to match the others. Mine is single speed, and I don't think speed makes any difference.
Trademe may have someone selling something? But I suspect the blades on the 4 sided pro ones are very expensive.

nickb800

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#756566 6-Feb-2013 14:27

Hmm I had a shot with the handheld one today (midweek day off...just seems weird).

Happy with the smoothness of the finish, so dont think speed adjustment will be a problem for me. The main problem is that it most of the planks are wider than the blade (82mm blade) so need two passes on the long faces, and its tough matching up the two passes, without cutting a 'step' into the face. I dont need these pieces to be dimensionally perfect but a smooth surface is important. The thin edges, while easily done in one pass with the handheld planer, are tough to get anywhere close to square, as its hard to balance the tool on such a narrow surface.

Thinking seriously about buying a thickness planer now, I think I can make do with a cheapish (circa $500) one since it will only have intermittent use and I dont think I need variable speed. Given the number of pieces to do, it seems like I'll either need to buy a lot of beer for someone, or pay over $100 (as mentioned above, the risk of nails and stones mean that I'll likely be paying someone to do it for me on their equipment). Would rather put that sort of money towards tools and do it myself (just the sort of attitude that keeps ACC busy haha).

Either way, I dont have a clue what I will do with all of the shavings - planing just one side of one plank practically filled up the attached dust bag. Anyone have any clever ideas to make use of it?

D1023319

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#756635 6-Feb-2013 17:07

shavings

I love to toss out the back of the ute at the happy valley tip on a windy day :-)
even the transfer station does not reduce the experience of old days in the open

Cut width

I dont recommend any machine with only 82mm width cut
Mitre10 has a tool line machine @600 with 318mm width cut
http://www.tooline.co.nz/products/tooline/thicknessers/specs/pt318.pdf

also re your comment on multiple passes through the machine, I didnt think you could put a wider piece of wood into it than you could plane?

speed

the speed only affects quality of cut i.e. number of cuts per mtre of wood. Its not a major

nickb800

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#756642 6-Feb-2013 17:17

I'm currently using a handheld electric planer (as in same sort of size as a sheet sander) that you run over the surface of the wood, but am looking to by a thicknesser planer, which is the desktop version where you feed wood through it. ~100mm width is standard for the handheld type, 300mm+ is what I'd expect from a thicknesser planer

Was hoping for a productive use of the shavings haha

berry

61 posts

Master Geek

#767705 22-Feb-2013 15:20

My partner went through this recently trying to get some recycled rimu planed, most places wouldn't touch it due to risk of nails because they said their blades would cost more to sharpen that the job would be worth!

He ended up buying one of these from this crowd - http://topmaq.co.nz/item/view/3073.12986 but it came with a stand. Pretty sure I got it for under $500 just be emailing and asking for their best price.
He was a bit skeptical of the unknown brand but went and had a look and reckoned it was a lot more decent quality than the same priced ones at bunnings. He's really happy with it so far and has been really useful, has used it for more than he originally thought.

We use the shavings as garden mulch!