The AW2260S planer thicknesser with its spiral cutter block is a pleasure to use and delivers excellent results. The spiral cutting block has twenty four, four sided, solid carbide cutters arranged in a helix. The shear cutting action produces a silky smooth finish. There is a complete lack of planing ripple as often found using traditional straight knives. Each cutter’s edge will last around 10-20 times longer than a HSS knife and each cutter has four edges. When a cutter does become dull, take the torx driver supplied and turn the cutter through 90°, retighten the screw and you're ready to go again. Down time is a bare minimum, no resetting or waiting for the blades to come back from the sharpening. Spiral cutter blocks are notably quieter in use and produce noticeably less vibration. Extraction is more efficient due to the size and even shape of the waste produced.

When surface planing, a long rigid alloy fence supports your work. The fence is easily adjustable with stops for 90° and 45°. Changing from surfacing to thicknessing is very simple. You don’t need to remove or change the position of the fence when you lift the table. The single lift table mechanism works well, spring supported it requires little effort. There is a power feed engagement lever for use when thicknessing; the 4.8m/min feed speed ensures a smooth, even finish. The AW2260S is fitted with a digital thicknessing gauge, greatly simplifying depth adjustment.