Charnwood PT10S Planer Thicknessser

1. Risk Assessment
2. Details of Induction (Induction required)
3. Links to youtube videos

The Charnwood PT10S has been purchased to replace previously less reliable and less capable planers and thicknessers. It is designed with the sole intention of making wood a uniform thickness, flatness, and squareness. It can be used to flatten and square all four sides of a piece of wood, although you would probably find it easier to use another means (e.g. a table saw) to square up the fourth side.

The Planer Thicknesser has two operating modes: Planer and Thicknesser. In Planer mode, it can be used to flatten a face of a piece of wood, and make a second face flat and square to the first face. In Thicknesser mode, it can be used to flatten the face opposite the first face, and bring the wood to an exact height dimension. The fourth and final face could be flattened and squared in the thicknesser if the wood is stable sitting upright, or it could be dimensioned using the table saw.

This Planer Thicknesser has a Spiral Cutting Head fitted with 44 Tungsten Carbide cutting heads. These provide several advantages over the predecessors straight blades:

• Each cutter is indexed directly in to the roller, and so does not require fiddly adjustment to ensure it is set correctly - it should be possible to just tighten the screw in to place and it will be set correctly.
• Each cutter can be rotated four times before it needs to be replaced, e.g. in the case that it has been chipped by a rogue piece of metal, or has become dull.
• Each cutter can be replaced individually, as needed, instead of replacing / resharpening a whole blade (or pair) due to a single chip.

Just because the maintenance is easier than on previous machines, does not mean we should be lax with it. Each insert costs £5 to the hackspace, and while you may only damage one side of an insert, you could damage multiple inserts at a time if you put through metal.

• NO Nails
• NO old wood that has previously had nails in it. (including no pallets, no matter how carefully you think you got the nails out.)
• NO scaffold boards or dirty wood. (Cement, dirt and grit will damage and blunt the blades.)

With the machine set up in planing mode: - Use the Cutter Guard Height Adjuster to adjust the height of the Cutter Guard, so that the workpiece can fit underneath. - Set the Planing Depth Adjuster to the desired setting, reading off the Planing Depth Scale. If in doubt, set the depth to 0.5mm - Connect a dust extractor to the 100mm diameter outlet. - Start the machine, wait for it to get up to full speed. - Lay the work piece flat on the Infeed Table and push it over the cutter block. Use a push stick or push pad to ensure hands are kept well away from the cutters.

1. Pick up the work piece and return it to the starting position. Make as many passes as necessary to achieve a flat planed finish.
2. When planing taller pieces, over 60mm, undo the Cutter Guard Lock and slide the Cutter Guard away from the Side Fence just enough to provide clearance for the workpiece.

To move from planing mode to thicknessing mode:

1. Engage the drive rollers by moving the Drive Rollers Lever into the upper position.
2. Release the tables using the 2 Planing Bed Locks, one at each end: Rotate the handle towards the centre of the machine, pull out away from the cutter block and then lower the handle.
3. Use the Lifting Handle to move the tables into a vertical position. This process is spring assisted, but take care as the tables are heavy. The tables are automatically locked in the vertical position.
4. Swing the Extractor Hood up and over the cutter block, until it clicks into place.

Video how to change from planer to thicknesser https://youtu.be/D5Ahn18Mbo0

With the machine set up in Thicknessing mode:

1. Measure the thickness of the work piece.
2. Rotate the Thicknessing Bed Height Adjuster anti-clockwise to unlock the thicknessing bed.
3. Wind the Thicknessing Bed Height Adjuster handwheel clockwise to raise the thicknessing bed. 1 rotation is equal to 2mm adjustment.
4. Read off the scale or use the Digital Position Indicator, with accuracy down to 0.1mm, to set the bed at the starting thickness. Then raise the bed another 1 – 2.5mm, depending on how much stock is to be removed.
5. Tighten the Thicknessing Bed Height Lock.
6. The feed direction is the opposite direction to planing mode.
7. Start the machine, wait for it to get up to full speed.
8. Lay the work piece flat on the end of the table. Slide it forward until you feel the drive rollers take it from you. Let go of the work piece and walk to the other end of the machine to support the workpiece as it is fed out of the thicknesser.
9. A safety bar will prevent you from trying to make too big a cut. If the timber hits the safety bar, lower the table to take a smaller cut.
10. Make as many passes as necessary to get the desired finished dimension.
11. If making multiple components, consistency is best achieved by feeding them all through at one depth, before adjusting the table height and feeding them all through again.

To move from thicknessing mode to planing mode:

1. Disengage the drive rollers by moving the Drive Rollers Lever into the lower position.
2. Lower the thicknessing bed all the way down.
3. Release the extractor hood from the retaining pin and swing the Dust Hood underneath the cutter block.
4. Support the tables with one hand and pull back the Planing Beds Release Catch.
5. Then lower the tables to the horizontal position. The weight is supported by springs, but take care as they are heavy.
6. Lock the tables in place with the 2 Planing Bed Locks.

Video how to change from thicknessing to planing https://youtu.be/wj7hXqzyI5Y

To move the thicknesser for longer pieces of wood, raise the feet either side of the base press down to lift the unit onto it's wheels and then lift up to lower back down to the ground. Make sure before use that the unit is stable.

Short video how to move it: https://youtu.be/Zkt4tW6JbHI

When faced with a rough sawn piece of timber which requires planning on all 4 sides and taking down to a specific finished dimension, follow this guide:

1. Set the machine up for planing.
2. Identify the flattest of the two wider faces on the timber. (Face 1 on diagram)
3. Pass that side over the planer as many times as necessary until a flat and smooth finish is achieved.
4. Hold the planed side (1) firmly against the side fence and pass the narrow side (Face 2 on diagram) over the planer as many times as necessary until a flat and smooth finish is achieved.
5. You should now have two planed sides at 90 degrees to each other. (1 and 2. You can check this with a square).
6. Set the machine up for thicknessing.
7. Pass the timber through the thicknesser with the wider already planed side (Face 1 on diagram) facing down against the bed. Continue until the desired thickness for the timber is reached.
8. Finally, pass the timber through the thicknesser with the planed narrow side (Face 2 on diagram) facing down against the bed. Continue until the desired thickness for the timber is reached.

PT10S Manual

The default configuration should be in planning mode this should be how it is left after each use when finished with after tidy up.

When using in thicknesser mode ensure your hands are clear of the entry point of the thicknesser. If required to process smaller pieces of wood then ensure you use the push tools or small sled.

Below how not to do it!

Below the correct way to do it!

Holder

When your finished with your work make sure you vaccumm out all the planner all levels. Return to planer mode and ensure that the leave is locked in the correct position for planing.