Draper 09536 Bench Mounted Spindle Moulder

This Draper Thicknesser planer arrived in good time, good value for money I'm impressed . Just what I've been looking for.

I give this four stars only because of the very poor assembly instructions. The service and delivery from Amazon was first class and the product arrived earlier than expected. With respect to the assembly it arrives with a big bag of assorted nuts and bolts as expected. The assembly instructions tell you to use a specific number nut and bolt for a specific assembly, but the problem comes in that the instructions do not specify which group of nuts and bolts are the specific specified number. Hence there is a lot of trial and error till one gets it right - thank goodness for the clear pictures on the box as they made the assembly achievable. The machine itself has worked well so far, the extensions for the table are difficult to get level.

If you use this machine with respect for the size it is a remarkable machine, If you use it as a 3phase machine you will be disappointed.

I ordered this tool which is in fact more like a router table than a spindle moulder in order to free up my router for freehand use. It arrived with no parts list and very poor assembly instructions. When I finally had it assembled; I switched it on only to find that the collets provided were of such poor quality that the machine vibrated violently and started to "walk across" my work bench. Also the side extensions could be pushed down very easily despite the fixing bolts being well tightened. The groove for the fence and guides was out of alignment between the cast table top end the extensions, the motor was loose in its guides so precise work would not have been possible. I did not attempt to use the machine as I was concerned that something might break causing injury. Amazon tok the machine back and provided a full refund, I have not bought another!

The unit works well and does what it is intended for. My only critisim is the lowering/raising knob for planing operations is to stiff to turn by hand, and needs the knob removed and the shaft turned with the aid of a spanner

I use lots of tool now that I have retired, and I find that tools bought from Amazon meat my neads at a fair price. Another excellent product at a excellent price

SHORT REVIEW: PROS: - Performs all modes exceptionally well was thoroughly impressed - Bargain, excellent value for money - Compact size - Very robustly made for the most part CONS - Thicknesser can leave underside of workpiece dirty / oily (I assume from rollers) so leave a little bit proud and clean up dirty face on planer - Blade guard is a bit flimsy (very minor) - Ultra loud (ear defenders a must) - Includes push blocks are useless the part that is meant to grip the wood is just the same cheap plastic as the handle and just slips about they are meant to be for safety but they are dangerous. - Hoover port is massive I assume for a shop van / filtration system LONG / BORING REVIEW: This machine is available under at least ten different brand names but they are all the exact same machine. After thoroughly researching this unit online and reading a fairly mixed bag of reviews I decided to bite the bullet and get one as I was in dire need of a thicknesser and even though I wasn't fussed in the jointer and planer function as I enjoy doing both tasks by hand it was still nice to have. I wasn't expecting much thanks to some of the reviews but I have been thoroughly delighted with mine. A fair view of the reviews have complained about the feed and outfeed table being out of line from each other I actually think this is by design and has certainly not effected my ability to get stock square and even actually not even sure how anyone wouldn't be able to get square faces or edges it's so easy to use and does a really superb job. Some reviews had complained that the fence wouldn't go to a perfect 90 degree angle... again unless they have just been unlucky mine was perfect and studying the build and design of the fence and adjustable bracket behind it I struggle to see how it couldn't unless it's been damaged in delivery or something? The thicknesser worked exceptionally well and was really fast even with several passes to get the right thickness to my workpieces. Other reviews have complained it's design is "Soviet" or "dated" I couldn't care less if it was stone age it certainly won't win any prizes for looking pretty but it really does perform very well and given a decent thicknesser by itself can easily be four times the price of this unit it's one of the best bargains I have literally ever purchased. Yet again other reviews on Amazon and elsewhere have complained about it being a pain to change modes from jointer / planer to thicknesser because the plastic extractor piece needs to be moved around.... it's a less than 90 second job and I have zero patience and it didn't bother me. A few issues I experienced: - In thicknesser mode the non blade facing side (underside) of the workpiece can come out dirty / oily from what I assume is the rollers the worst of which wipes of with a damp cloth but I have learnt to leave my workpiece a tiny bit thicker than needed so I can run the dirty face through the planer to clean it up. - Blade guard is a bit flimsy (very minor issue) - It's incredibly loud I would safely say it's double the noise of my table saw so ear defenders are an absolute must normally I don't bother most of the time with other tools but it is super loud - Included push blocks are total junk and downright dangerous it's actually safer using your hands than these included blocks. The part that is meant to provide grip / friction is made from the same cheap plastic as the handle and all they do is slide over the surface of the workpiece which as a result would be easy to slide your hand and pushblock into the blade. The pushstick it comes with is fine though. - Dust / chip extraction port is massive and I assume is meant for a large shop vac and or dust filtration system which I am pretty sure most people at this price point won't have I know I don't. So a adapter for a normal hoover size would have been nice because without it you do need to clear the unit of dust and shavings pretty often so it doesn't jam (hasn't jammed on me yet) I dare say you can but a generic adapter somewhere to solve the problem. All in all a thoroughly excellent little machine that I am delighted with and performs far beyond what I expected and without a doubt a bargain. All of the wood I have ran through it so far have all been hardwoods in roughly milled planks and it's handled it all superbly. I have no time for cheap nasty tools that don't work properly but this may be cheap but it's definitely not nasty. I would keep on saying how pleased but have bored you enough..... aside from some very minor issues it's a good buy.

Took me a couple of hours to put together. The instructions might as well have been in French for all the good they did me. Draper really need to take a look at their supporting instructions. It was quite often guess work as to what bolt fitted where plus some diagrams are wrong or the detail so small or poorly presented it made things very difficult to follow. There are still things on the unit that I don't understand, such as what is the plastic dial knob for that's found above the router bit height adjustment hand wheel? Does it lock the router bit in place or something else? There's nothing in the instructions that shows it or mentions it. Any ideas Draper or anyone else? Considering that Draper appear to have such a good reputation I'm surprised they let themselves down in this way especially as the unit looks like it's going to do a good job. It's less than two years since I bought this item and I've pretty much given up on it. Each time I used it I tried in vain to get accurate passes using various router bits without much success. I thought it was 'operator error' for quite a while. screws have fallen out from somewhere around the motor assembly and it's proved impossible to align both faces of the adjustable rear fence to make a single straight surface along which you pass your wood. No matter how I position both parts of the face they do not align. It got to the point where I had to make my own straight face and clamp it to the supplied one. I'm considering buying another table router/spindle moulder and it will not be a Draper.

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