FIRST LOOK: Carbatec 300mm jointer and 6" x 12" belt/disc sander
Carbatec have recently extended their machinery range with some just-landed new arrivals. We popped into the Brisbane store to check out the new belt/disc sander and jointer.
Carbatec BDS-1530P 6 x 12” belt and disc sander
These Taiwanese built machines are rated in imperial measurements hence the 6" x 12" rating. On first impressions this is a solid and powerful sander with excellent detailing. The large 1.1kW or 1.5hp single phase motor is ample for pretty well all sanding, and at 60kg the machine has good heft or mass. The machine arrives un-assembled, so allow around an hour to put it together. Impressively, a steel cabinet base is included with built-in dust port.
The linisher uses a big 150 x 1220mm belt to give a generous sanding area. On most belt sander/linishers like this changing from horizontal mode to vertical sanding mode is quite tedious, however this machine offers a change-over speed of seconds by way of two quick-release knobs. A cast adjustable table adds to its merits.
The disc is 12" (or 310mm) in diameter which is a great functional size. It has a safety cover over half of the exposed disc because if you sand on this area the wood wants to follow the direction of the disc, which is upward at this point. The cover guards against the wood getting randomly thrown upward (with your hand attached). Using the correct exposed disc section keeps the wood pressed down on the table.
The large cast iron table excels here as it is P-shaped and this allows wider pieces of wood to sit against the mitre fence. This size disc sander is perfect for face sanding, hogging off material and general sanding of smaller pieces. With a fine grit disc it is perfectly capable of high precision detail sanding such as chamfers on box corners or levelling brass work.
Carbatec JN-XC300C 300mm Precision Jointer
Precision wood machining begins with planing to get your wood flat and importantly straight. It sounds clichéd, but straight is straight. A good jointer in a workshop is critical.
This Chinese built battleship of 490kg has a cast base, massive tables, a 3.5hp / 2.6kW motor and is available as single or three phase. The 310mm wide bed is precision ground and there is a helical cutterhead.
The tables are an impressive 2100mm long which makes machining of long pieces of wood so much easier. In-feed and out-feed tables use a parallelogram system for height adjustment via large handwheels so you can dial in the table straightness easily. This is a strong and powerful machine offering precision machining results.
These and other machines in the range are available from Carbatec, www.woodreview.com.au