Axminster AT260SPT Planer Thicknesser Review

[@Welshrugbyfan101]

Another great review Matthew. Thank you. I've had the straight knife version for just under 3 years (bought second hand) and it has become my most treasured machine. Combined with the bandsaw it allows great flexibility in use of materials and I am sure has saved me money on stock purchase in that time. Really pleased you are finding the time to keep your woodworking going. Kind regards.

[@oitoitoi1]

I just got one of these! Picked it up second hand at a fairly "bargain" price (£1320) but it's in pretty good condition with none of the blades yet needing to be turned or replaced, had to pick it up myself mind half way across the country which required a luton van and a whole day... Haven't got the 16A connection fitted yet so yet to get it running. Great review, has gotten me very excited to get it going, I learned a lot from your video so thank you. Didn't know Axminster was replacing it, but hopefully like you say it's not much different.

[@MatthewSmall]

That's not much cheaper than the new price 18 months ago. Crazy. However, if its in good condition, you've got yourself a belter of a machine for a very good price. Hope it all works out well for you . 👍🏼

[@Markrratcliffe]

Thanks for this review. High cost but something I hope to get. Keep up the good videos. Cheers.

[@anthonyparker7999]

Great stuff just came across you and think your a class act, I’m about to buy the Charnwood table saw after your review. Love your stuff keep it coming please thanks Tony

[@mwjoinery]

Awesome video, just what a was looking for. Just weighing up which planer thicknesser to get and i think it may have to be this one. Thank you!👍🏼

[@beanstable]

Impressed with how quiet it is, that hasn’t really come across in other videos Ive seen.

[@MatthewSmall]

To be honest, it sounds louder in this video than it does in person.

[@kevinwillis6707]

a good review, im curious why the spiral cutterblock would need adjustment, surely everything is adjusted relative to that. certainly seems to have gone up in price since i last looked at it. but compared to the Hammer 10 inch model it seems cheap by comparism, seen a few reviews where the Hammer has some downpoints as well , cheers

[@MatthewSmall]

Thanks. I don't think that the spiral head is supposed to be adjustable. It's just the way that it's put together means that if you wanted to do it, there would be some adjustment available, through probably not much. In reality, everything else is adjustable so there should never be any need to adjust the cutter block. I'm surprised by your comment about the Hammer. People normally rave about them... but they are way out of my budget so I'll likely never experience it myself.

[@kevinwillis6707]

@@MatthewSmall I'm in Ireland and there's a felderhammer dealer near me, I had to sit down when he gave me a quote. There's one or two negative reviews of the hammer on KZbin ,surprising as it's such a pricey machine, cheers

[@gdm1985]

I have the old Elektra Beckum version of the Record Power PT and to be honest, I cant stand the thing. I ended up buying a separate Jet thicknesser as anytime I used it as a thicknesser it was miles out of co-planer. I will need to consider a big spend.....

[@IvanWizard-Karl]

Don't know if you'll see this Matthew but may as well ask anyway... in thicknessing mode, does your bed ever drop a little (not much but noticeable by eye) when you feed the wood in, then goes back to where it should be? doesn't seem like it should be doing that, now, I usually always leave my workpieces long incase of snipe so its not a massive issue but just thought I'd ask if you had come across that issue and if you could suggest a fix. I have this exact model

[@MatthewSmall]

@IvanWizard-Karl yes is the short answer. I don't think you can avoid it either as the attachment point at the centre of the bed effectively acts as a fulcrum when you push a piece of wood in. I have managed to reduce it by adjusting the tension on the rollers, but haven't managed to eliminate it. I don't think it really matters though as long as it's only tilting in the long axis of the bed and not actually moving down at the centre of the bed. That way, it isn't changing the distance between the bed and the circular cutter and the angle of the bed is irrelevant. If the bed is either moving up and down at the centre or tipping side to side, that's an issue that will show up in the wood and needs to be fixed. Measure all four corners of a work piece and if they're all the same within your allowable tolerance, don't worry about it. Realistically the only points yhamatter are the bits where you're cutting joinery.

[@grahamcbell]

@@MatthewSmall I thought the same as you, that it did not matter if the bed tilted end-to-end as long as it pivoted under the cutter block and remained the same distance away however I have been trying to eliminate very slight snipe on my cheaper Axminster hobby version and my conclusion is that it is due to the issue of the bed tilting as described by @Ivan because if I brace the bed at each end the slight snipe is almost eliminated. I think this may be because the pivot point is not at the level of the bed but lower down in the lifting mechanism and on that basis when it tilts the centre would raise ever so slightly. I am ready to hear that my analysis is wrong!

[@Steve-dr7rr]

Can I ask how loud is it cheers

[@MatthewSmall]

It's still a machine tool so it's not exactly quiet, but my old PT was the loudest tool in the workshop and this one is the quietest. It's nowhere near as loud as my tablesaw, quieter than my bandsaw, mitresaw and dust extractor... the difference between this and a straight bladed PT is massive. It's one of the main reasons I spent the money as the PT tends to get used for hours at a time on a project.