The skill 100 has the reputation as being the best or at least the most prefered planer for shaping boards. In your Opinion what would be a good 2nd choice? i Have been looking at a Makita at a pawn shop in very good condition for $69.00
http://virutex.com/largedoorplaner-ce24e.aspx
[img_assist|nid=1053194|title=Virutex Planer|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=493|height=250]I Just got this one. $480 new. Works great
looks like a very nice machine. Have you given it a test run?
First board with it. Super smooth operation. 1000 times better than my last cheap plastic DeWalt.
Adjust on the fly doesn’t work so well. It takes full rotation of the knob to get anywhere. I’m more of a set it at one depth, and make feathering passes kind of guy. Lift the tail when I want to feather the end of a pass.
I’m thinking about taking the shoe to a machine shop to have different threading on the bolt. But I’m not sure it its worth the effort.
All things considered, (New, 10 amp motor, no difficulty getting parts and blades, excellent size feel and weight, exhaust port fits slinky hose) I’d take this over any other planer.
Sounds nice and price isn't to bad either. Have you used the Hitachi? i see that you can buy a longer shoe for the Hitachi on eBay. The Price for planer and shoe would only be around $200.00
No, I haven’t tried the Hitachi. But after you buy the Hitachi, and modify it, you still have a weaker motor in a plastic housing with a short shoe length, for almost the same price.
Virutex gets you an all aluminum housing, comfortable ergonomics, and all the rest I mentioned. I really like the feel of it. Smooth as my Rockwell 126 door planer. Shame the 126 is direct drive with the motor too low , or I would have been set.
I wouldn't be so quick to put the Skil up as the ''best'' planer. It was the standard of the industry from the initiation of planer use, and it has attained a cult-like status here on sways recently. But..... There's plenty of us guys who do this for a living that own Skils, but shape with the modified Hitachi. It's a really good tool. It's easy for me to say that I prefer using the Clark Hitachi. I shaped 5 boards today using one.
The Virutex looks like a very nice tool also. The handle configuration is perfect. Gotta get that on-the-fly adjustment though, before it's useful for pros. Length is good for longboards, not so great for short.
Why would you want a longer shoe on Hitachi? Or do you mean baseplate?
Yes, my braincramp, baseplate, not shoe.
Does this have a spiral cutter like the 126? This looks like a nice tool.
ps. You an put on a tangential shaft with a knob on the end to facilitate rotation better. If the shaft juts out 90 deg. from the factory knob parallel to the baseplate, you can put another knob on top (smaller, fit to size) that swivels and it increases the turning ratio. Just a thought although you might not want to fool with it still being new.
It takes the same microblades as a Bosch, DeWalt etc. but they are a little shorter than those. You can either order the correct ones from Virutex in New York, or buy the standard blades from any hardware store and cut them down. That is if you have a method to cut hardened steel; diamond blade in your grinder with eye protection.
As for the adjustment, it takes more than a comfortable rotation to change depth. Full rotaion for 1/16 inch of depth change. The shaft would need different threads, and a matching knob. and then shorten the spring.
If I polish it, can I join the planer porn thread?
Thanks Everyone for the replys. The Virutex really looks nice. If I start making a few boards then it would be an excellent choice.
Keep posting comments The more I learn about the tools the better for the rest of the us newbe wantabe shapers
Just looking at older threads and saw this… I’ve had many Skil 100’s and they work great. But over the last 15 to 20 yearsI’ve used the F30A bigger Clark Hitachi. It’s a powerful tool and even though I bought a Clark F20A Hitachi (shorter version, I did not like the length because my particular style of shaping utilizes the length of the longer Hitachi giving me what I call ‘blocking action’.
As any master will tell you, blocking is key to a true handshaped board. This not only means your sanding blocks but your planer as well. Okay, so what about being able to reach into those tight areas like the deck slope near the nose? I do what I call a “roller cut” which takes practice and steady hands, but by turning the planer pretty darn sideways, I mimick a narrow cut band that is more like something a CNC o router would do. But it takes practice and, well… some courage.
The Virutex looks promising, but not being able to easily adjust depth of cut ‘on the fly’ (continuously mowing from nose to tail) would be a disqualifier for me. I frequently due my thicknessing passes while also putting in my bottom configurations simultaneously. Even some rocker adjustments can happen in that same scenario because I have ‘the big picture’ of what I’m doing to each blank per the order or model and I have already read the foam and know where I’m going.
Shaping styles can vary greatly, and I use my planer and the toe piece a lot to break bands down and to run backwads for blending and knocking down high spots, then a variety of different hard to soft blocks versus a surform. I rarely use a surform. I probably mow as much backwards as I do forwards, which delivers a different kind of cut altogether. To incorporate this style of shapingyou have to be aware of the chronology of your cuts well in advance of performing them.
Handshaping is such a treat…spontaneity is the mother of creation…keep the light bulb lit.
…to each their own… just have be sure and have fun!
Hey DS…at the risk of being a blatant highjacker, what do you mean by “blocking”? I acquired a barely used F30 last year and had Jeff Holty at USB do all the Clark mods. I use the F30 on LBs where it really seems to help in getting those nice, long flowing lines. But, I switch to the smaller Clark when doing rail bands, cutting V, adjusting rocker, etc because I feel like I have more control over the smaller unit.
Blocking comes from the term sanding block. Long sanding blocks are used to eliminate peaks and dips that frequently happen with commonly used tools like surforms. In early day handshaping, as well as novice handshaping today, surforms are used a lot because the shaper desires control of what they are doing.
Surforms can remove material quickly but are not a precision cutting tool. I feel their proper place is for blending cut bands, or, in experienced hands, minor bands can be used to remove a little bit more foam from a rail line before final sanding and screening.
The problem with surforms (esp. the little ones) is that they will ride over peaks and dips…or worse yet, create them in the first place.
Inexperienced shapers have a lot of difficulty determining what is a hig or low esp. inthe context of rail lines. Surforms have contributed to quite a few ‘twised’ rail lines as well.
Blocking, esp. longer blocks serve a shaper well to stay true to the breaking curve that is desired. Long sweeping passes with a sanding block resembles the planer’s passes and a variety of hard to soft backing foam works well when working on the rails.
I use the planer to cut bands on my rails both top and bottom. Even on the minor chipped edge along the bottom of a down railed shortie. Let’s say the rail has hardly any edge chipped near the tail but I have created 3 small bands up front for a softer forward rail up to the nose.
I can then take a block (you can use a soft drywall float) and run along the rail and blend the lines into a true breaking rail w/o overworking it. Same goes for the deck. But the important point is you cut the main bands into the rail with your planer then finish with your desired hardness/softness of sanding block and sandpaper grit. By experiemnting with combos of hardness/softness of backing and the grit of sandpaper, you can just whip along the rail removing the hard band line(s) and keeping the desired fullness of rail you want. And by doing this, you can have a finished rail that is ready for glassing saving you time and keeping those rails true. Blocking removes inconsistencies.
I envision my planer as a big fast cutting surform, except a lot more precise. I cut the major bands on rails then break them in half then again until I have close to a very finished rail. This becomes pretty easy to do when you learn to ‘break bands’ using your planer backwards. The cut backwards is less critical and removes less material than ‘forward cutting’. You learn to use your toe piece as well. This cuts your handshaping time way down and results in a truer shape.
When I really got into the blocking aspect I was also doing a lot of longboards. I was roughing out 8 to 10 boards every day and by making longer blocks, I could power through my planer cuts on 9 to 10 ft boards then change to sanding blocks and make a big dent the first day. The next day I would do finish work on them so I would net a 4 or 5 board per day average. And these were boards that didn’t have finished rockers or any CNC cuts in them. So it resulted in a high quality handshape in a decent amount of time.
Thanks for the lesson DS. I use three 15" “long blocks”; 36g, 50g, and a double-sided block using 80g with no pad on one side and 120g with pad (yoga mat thickness) on the other. I use the 36g block in lieu of a surform for the reasons you mention and because it doesn’t tear foam as easy. I use a shorter 8" block with 50g to cut the micro-bands after cutting the primary and secondary bands with my planer. I can see how the longer blocks (held parallel to rail band) would “span any lows and cut any highs”, essentially continuing the work of the planer. I use my blocks on deck and bottom for this reason, just never thought to apply this approach to the rails. I can also see how the softer cuts of a padded block would help to blend those final micro-bands, while keeping the curve true, unlike screening at this point, which can leave dips if you’re not really careful. I’ll have to experiment with the backward planer cuts, and using the “big dog” F30 on the rails. I having trouble getting blanks from USB since their recent move or I’d be at it today. Thanks again…
Howzit DS, I have a few sanding blocks that are 12 inches long so I can sand from the stringer to the rail which will knock down high spots real easy I usually wrap them with a thn layer of hard rubber so they still knock down the high spots but have a sliht cusion but now much at all that it would affect the sanding. Aloha,Kokua
nice thread good info. i use a few different blocks all 50grit just different sizes. never thought about using any padding might have to give it a try. i use a 100grit soft pad for finish sanding works good but not very time efficant.
ive been using a chicago planer it does the job but you have to move real slow to get a nice cut. however, it died out today dint even last a year. i am looking to upgrade. was hopi.g to find a hitachi bit the only one near by hass the 3.4amp motor, will this be to weak?. other wise i can pick up a bosch 5.5amp for a good price. not looking for a long planer as i mainly shape short boards and havent had any problems with the short base on the chicago planer. i would like to have the option to adjust on the fly though by purchasing a bosch will this not be an option.? hmm wonder if the bosch will even hook up to my vacum set.
sorry if this was a little off topic but figured this thread should keep running with the info
Hey Tuf, Try; www.reconditionedtools.com or; www.cpotools.com they sell re-co's with a one year warranty but they are higher quality than Chicago Electric. The Hitatchis come up all the time. You have to modify them yourself however.