4 side planers

[mooretoolsplease]

Just spent a few hours at the startrite factory looking at their new range of machinery and I was quite impressed with the 4 side planer.
Any one here use a 4 side planer? or have any views on one?
I'm going to start looking into one as it will save a lot of time in the shop.

Matt

[lynx]

We are currently on the hunt for one but they ent cheap new. What model did you look at?

We have one here (current employer) and it's one of those machines you can't do without.

[mooretoolsplease]

it was the startrite formula Q18, was in the 10k range, less discount of course
Another one I have found is a Logosol PH260 which is around £6750.
haven't seen many come up second hand though

[Scrit]

Yes. The only one worth haviong is the Weinig - the people who saw off Wadkin. Most of the Italian stuff is very variable and takesan age to set up

Yer pays yer money.....

Scrit

[mooretoolsplease]

I spoke to Weinig yesterday about going down to their factory.
One of the guys in the yard saw their machine at Woodmex last year.
do you own a 4 sider Scrit?

[Scrit]

No. I know a few people who do, though. I never found enough work to justify one, especially as most of my manufacturing was done on the CNC when I was doing proddy stuff. I've had a 4-sided planer, though (Dominion). Savesd loads of time but you had to feed it straight stuff as it had mo pre-straightener

Scrit

[paulchapman]

As a matter of interest, Scrit, how do they work? Presumably they plane all four sides at once?

Cheers

Paul

[mooretoolsplease]

The ones I looked at had a straightening table.
Paul, the best way to describe it is that there is 2 surface planers, and 2 thicknessers.
the surface planer at the bottom flattens the bottom face, and cuts a registration mark into the side to be squared, its this registration mark that straightens the wood.
After the side has been squared, then the 2 thicknessing heads put the wood to final dimensions.
The 2 suface planers are adjustable depending on how much wood is to be taken off.

[paulchapman]

Thanks MTP

Paul

[Scrit]

The sequence often varies from machine to machine, but as Matt says they are fundamentally a planer, thicknesser and two side spindles in a single package. The sequence is normally something like underside planer, tight side planer, thicknesser, left side planer although the sequence varies a lot from machine to machine. You couldn't machine all four sides, or even two sides, simultaneously as there would be no way to register the workpiece. Many machines have the facility to add profiling knives to the planer heads, but they are generally only suitable for short run work as knife life isn't great (e.g. Logosol/Moretens). Better quality machines have a fifth and even a sixth head for profiling which are "downstream" profiling units (these machines are specifically referred to as moulders) such as you'd need for skirting boards, and these heads are often capable of operating on any of the four sides and at any angle in between. Another option is the pre-straightener, essentially an extended infeed table which works in the same way as a long infeed table on an overhand planer does and this helps produce a straighter piece off the back of the machine.

There is an older variation on this theme called a match- or matching-planer. These machines are normally a conventional heavy duty thicknesser with a pair of side profiling/planing heads added at the rear (i.e. 3 heads in total) and with the ability to insert profile cutters in to thicknesser head and were often used to manufacture skirting boards, T & G cladding, joinery sections, etc (note that the back of the timber was left rough). Dominion offered this type of machine into the 1980s. A later variation on this type had a planer head mounted in the bed in front of the thicknesser head to plane/profile the underside of the piece. These machines are no longer made but were the mainstay of joinery works until recent years

Scrit

[paulchapman]

Thanks Scrit, that's very interesting. No wonder they cost so much....

Cheers

Paul

[houtslager]

Just to let you know, after using the Moreton ph260 4 sider, I was very impressed, as one can also use standard Euro moulder blades in it to add mouldings to the just planed timber. It has a basic straightening table and a run off bench.
At € 10K with all the bells and whistles, it is on my buy list when the wood shop is built.
As I can get timber from the local forest when I want, and am now making it known locally that I will gladly have any tree that is NOT for burning { 90% are chopped down for }