The start of any new season is a great time to give your trusty workhorses a bit of a clean and tidy! Whether you call these "inserts" or "blades," your machines demand them to be sharp. Plus, we have them at a great price.

Let's have a look at essential benchtop thicknesser maintenance:

• Remove the dust collection connection and disconnect from the power.
• Ensure the cutter head is at its lowest setting, giving you good access.
• Remove the dust hood and use a vacuum (and maybe an old dry paintbrush) to clean loose dust and shavings from all areas around and inside the machine.
• Using a small stiff bristle brush (a brass wire brush works well) dipped in CMT2050 or methylated spirits, remove as much of the built-up pitch and resin as possible from the exposed cutterhead and around the blades. A cloth placed under the cutterhead can help catch any excess liquid.
• Keep rotating the cutterhead to clean thoroughly around all blades and carefully inspect for sharpness and damage.
• Wind the cutterhead up so you can easily access it underneath.
• Use the vacuum again if you find any new pockets of sawdust.
• Wipe both infeed and outfeed rollers well to remove resin, pitch, and dirt using a soft cloth dipped into the methylated spirit. Inspect thoroughly for any damage.
• Wipe infeed/outfeed tables underneath the machining head; remove all rust if required. Use a protectant product like Silverglide or G15 to preserve the tables.
• If you find any dull or damaged blades, now is the time to change them (or rotate them if you have multi-sided blades or inserts).
• Put everything back together, and you are ready to roll!

Now is also a great time to check things like table alignment and order or replace other worn or damaged parts you may have found during your cleaning.