I started the planer mod tonight on the little bosch 3365 I picked up on sale. I will post some pictures on it tomorrow. For now I have the bottom half off and managed to get the front shoe off. It is tricky getting it off but in the fully closed position you just pull up on the adjustment knob and the whole post pops out. The great thing is the spring loaded clicking mechanism also pops out which now allows for smooth open to close, no more clicking.
Tomorrow the front shoe gets the edges rounded and the grooves filled in with bondo. When I post some pics maybe someone can provide suggestions on modifying the handle so that it is easier to adjust. I'm thinking of an arm with a rotating cam style knob of some sort. Also going to figure out how to disengage the safety switch. Pics coming tomorrow after I get it back together.
LOL, this exploded diagram might have helped before I spent half an hour trying to figure out how to get the front shoe off. This link might be helpful for other people looking for parts, they seem to cover multiple manufacturers.
Well not sure how to post photos here anymore. It appears I now have to upload to swaylocks and title and categorize each photo which is a pita. I usually post to photobucket but it doesn't give me this option anymore.
Is this the only way to post photos on here now?
I could use some suggestions how to go about modifying the handle. I have some ideas but am open to suggestions. If I can figure out how to post photos I will. I was thinking of an arm tapped into the depth adjustment knob with a rotating handle at the end.
The front shoe is filled in, and rounded off. I left one of the clickers in the depth adjustment knob, although it doesn't really provide any resistance. It does stop the knob from turning past fully open.The safety switch is encased in it's own housing so I'm not going to really mess with it.
Not sure how to make the adjustment so it goes any deeper, it seems like the full depth adjustment of 5/64 is all it is capable of unless I grind down the front shoe a little. Overall this looks like a nice tool with sealed bearings. On closer tolerance blanks it should get the job done fairly quick.
Here it is. Any help or suggestions on how to improve are welcome so long as they are constructive on modifying this planer. I don't have money for a nice hitachi.
And some suggestions for the handle please. I'm thinking of drilling the top of the cap off, filling handle with bondo and they drilling through the handle to attach an arm. Any other suggestions or what to use as an arm / cam / lever of some sort?
Ok here they are. I'm having trouble posting pictures.
I laid up some glass today and made an arm to attach to the factory knob. I wedged some clay inside the handle assembly and filled it with sanding resin and chopped glass. Next was sanding the handle and cutting the notch out of the top cap. 4 pre drilled and self tapping screws and I was set. Found a little handle at ace to mount on the end, it rotates freely making the adjustment from open to close so much easier. Factory setting have this planer fully open to close in about 1/4 turn which is nice.
On the left side is the vacuum attachment that comes with the planer. Right is a PVC elbow. I'm having trouble just finding a PVC elbow that matches up exactly to the planer. I'm planning on cutting the square off the factory attachment.
Below is roughly how it will look, ready for vac hose attachment. I'm going to try to do my best to cut the PVC and vac attachment down to a lower profile. As is right now it is just dry fitted for the picture. Any suggestions on how to do this would be appreciated. Thanks
Looks like a real fine job Foamball. I have this very planer for woodworking and have no complaints. A couple of suggestions: Make sure the blades have a real good edge on them and maybe hone them with some jeweler’s rouge compound. And before use, double check the alignment of the blades after all your mods.
Looks good but I would change the design of your dust chute. Its just too far out to the side which would give any snag of the hose alot more leverage to mess up your cut.
Thanks for the tip mako. I found some bilge hosing that fit perfectly on the planer. Taped it to a 90deg elbow and problem solved in a much lower profile.
