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Buyer guide · Woodworking

Four side moulder from China

A four side moulder planes and profiles four faces in one pass, and the trap is feed speed: a high number sells the machine, but finish depends on feed against spindle speed.

Ask about this machine ↗Where the numbers come from

Written and listings checked 1 October 2026. Every figure on this page names its source.

What you are actually comparing.

Two quotes, one machine name

What hides inside the price

Number and order of spindles

Four spindles plane four faces. A fifth or sixth adds a profiling head after planing. Ask for the order of heads.

Spindle speed and diameter

Spindle speed and cutter diameter decide cutting speed and the knife mark pitch. Ask both for every head, and whether heads take hydro-lock or plain tooling.

Feed rollers and drive

Rollers must push uneven timber without slipping. Ask roller count, type and whether each is sprung.

Motor per spindle

Deep hardwood profiles need power on the head that cuts them. Ask the rating of each head.

Working width and thickness

Width and thickness range decide which timbers enter. Profiles near the maximum need full power.

Finish at your feed speed

With one finishing knife, feed divided by spindle speed is the gap between knife marks: 30,000 mm/min at 6,000 rpm gives 5 mm, 6 m/min gives 1 mm. Ask the feed at which the finish is quoted.

Before you ask for a price.

Send these with the enquiry. Without them, any number a factory gives you is a guess dressed as a quotation.

Your profiles as drawings, and the timber species and moisture content.
The widest and thickest blank, and the shortest piece you run.
Metres of finished profile per shift, which sets the feed speed.
Whether you plane only or plane and profile in one pass.
Whether tooling is quoted, and for which profiles.

Turn the claim into a demonstration.

Require this	A pass looks like
Run your hardest species through your deepest profile at contract feed speed.	Profile matches the drawing on a template, and the surface is ready to sand with the grit you use, with no tear-out at knots.
Run your shortest piece end to end.	Each piece feeds through without stalling or snipe at the ends.
Change the tooling on one head and run the first piece.	The first piece is in profile, and the change time is recorded.

The documents that must arrive with it.

EU Declaration of Conformity naming 2006/42/EC, or Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 from 20 January 2027, plus 2014/35/EU and 2014/30/EU.
Instructions in the language of use with declared noise, which is high on moulders, and the extraction airflow per head.
Tooling drawings for every cutter supplied, with maximum permitted speed marked on each.

The one people forget. The maximum speed marking on each cutter. Tooling must be rated for the spindle speed it runs at, and a cutter without a marked limit is the first thing an insurer asks about after a failure.

When this is the wrong machine.

Buy something else if

Named, not hedged

You only need boards flat, square and to thickness, with no profiles.

A surface planer and thicknesser, which costs a fraction and is simpler to set.

You run short batches of many profiles and change tooling constantly.

A spindle moulder for small runs, or a CNC router for shaped parts.

Where the numbers come from.

We name the kind of source, how many and when, and never the factory. Listed prices are asking prices, not landed cost. Where we do not hold a fact we say so: that is a GAP, not an estimate.

Listings · 13Thirteen four side moulder listings on one marketplace search, checked October 2026, advertised asking prices from US$900 to US$74,000, with four to seven spindles; one title claimed 100 m/min feed. Asking prices, not landed cost.
Listings · 2Two specifications, checked October 2026: a four-spindle machine stated 10 to 150 mm width, 5 to 30 m/min feed, 6,000 rpm and 14.87 kW; a six-spindle machine stated 25 to 230 mm width, 6 to 36 m/min, 6,500 rpm and 55.3 kW.
Arithmetic30,000 mm/min / 6,000 rpm = 5 mm per knife mark; 55.3 / 14.87 = 3.7 times the power.
GAPGAP - no supplier quotations logged for this machine yet. Three to five quotations for one configuration would give a real price spread.

Related machines.

Wood planer. Choose a planer and thicknesser if you need flat, square stock and no profiles.
Finger joint production line. Add finger jointing before the moulder if you make long profiles from short, defect-cut pieces.

Every machine we source in this area is on the Woodworking page. How a project runs, stage by stage, is on how it works, and what it costs is on pricing.

Straight answers

Questions buyers ask about this machine.

Chinese vs European four side moulder: what should I compare?+

Spindle bearings, feed roller design and tooling. Run the same timber and profile on both and compare the surface, not the feed claim.

What goes on a four side moulder inspection checklist?+

Your hardest timber through your deepest profile, shortest piece test, a timed tooling change, and marked cutter speeds.

What CE documentation does a four side moulder need?+

A Declaration of Conformity naming your serial number, instructions with noise and extraction data, and a technical file the manufacturer keeps.

Who is the EU importer of a four side moulder?+

Usually you, when you buy direct. Your name goes on the machine or papers, and you check the documents.

Contact

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