OK, so I finally got my newest shaping tool and have put it through some serious work. After a few weeks of changes and modifications, I believe that PeteC has nailed it. Serious rival for the only other surfboard specific electric planer. (Japanese yet made in China). As with any German car, well designed and runs like a Porsche 918. Pete is my new best friend. After shaping approx. 20+ boards, ranging in size from 5’ 6" to 9’ longboards I have made the following observations.
It is a very powerful planer. Carbide blades cut fast and very clean. I probably save time not using my sureform so much as it really is nice cleaning up all my nose to tail passes. It also cuts my rail band very clean. Nice and sharp! Next is the weight. It is heavier than the Hitachi. Thats a good thing in my book. It lays flatter and is less “tippy”. But not a lot.
Petes mods are a big improvement over the stock planer. The quick adjust depth control works well in just a slight turn. It does click just a little. Just enough to feel the adjustments. Much improved over the multi-turn stock knob. The rear handle sits more vertical and separates the two hands for better control of the planer. The rear handle does feel like the handle on a large caliber pistol. Feels really comfortable. The front shoe is completely new. Slightly rounder in front and the corners have been rounded. Fits really nice inside nose concave on the longboards. The rear base has also been rounded.
One of the greatest things about this planer is the 3 1/4" blade. 1/4" wider than the Skil. So less passes to plane the blank. The pictures below are about twenty minutes of planer time. (after outline was cut).
Next he completely re-did the exhaust port. Stock you can pick which side to shoot out the material from. It stuck out too far for my vaccum setup. So he fabricated a new exhaust port. It is a custom fit, machined piece that shoots foam vertical. By doing this, he also narrowed the over-all planer. Big improvement.
Over-all, as a hand-shaper who uses a planer on a daily basis, my tools are important to me. Admitingly, I am a tool nut. But always on a search to find a better, no efficent way to hand-shape my boards. I feel this planer will help in the production of my boards. Powerful, efficent,and lightweight. I love my Skil. It has been a trusty tool. Always my go-to tool. But yes. it is heavy, lugging that thing all day is a bit tiring. And I’m not getting any younger. I say money well spent. It is a welcome addition to my garage full of Hot-Rods.
Buy one. Let Pete do the mods. It may be a bit difficult for the DIY guys.;
Thank you Barry for the kind words, and I hope that this new tool will contribute to the special work you do. We also appreciate all of the help from Greg Tate and Cleanlines on the advance units we sent.
For tax reasons, we’ve decided to launch the product after Jan 1.
On the international versions of the Bosch 1594, we discovered that the French version only has one blade (the opposite slot is welded closed) and doesn’t cut worth crap. Everything else appears to be the same though (same part numbers as the US version). I’d like to hear from anyone outside the US whether their versions have 1 or 2 blades. One option is to supply a US replacement cutter and we’re checking if it will indeed fit the French version before we move forward with this.
The vacuum adapter that Barry has will only be offered on kits that we install due to the complexity of the modifications for it. As an alternative, there will be a simple elbow that attaches to the stock port sold separately.
I apologise for all of the delays in getting this to the market, but since these are kits, we needed to fool-proof every detail of the modifications and also foresee what happens during use. The more planers we modified, the more issues we found. As a result, we added 3-wire grounding for vac systems that aren’t hose-grounded (and also safety if mis-wired), and replaced the modifications to the stock shoe with a new shoe that goes on easier and is more shaping-friendly. We’re finishing up the instructions (lots of pages and photos) and getting the point-of-sale site ready.
Herb posted awhile (several years) back about his one-off customized versions that had machine gun grips that ended up looking a bit like Pete’s. The posted images are lost in space but maybe he’ll post them again for historical purposes?
Pete is putting the new shoe on mine now, but when I get it back, I have an old EPS LB blank to shape. Davo Dietrich built it for me and I just never got around to shaping it. Now I am motivated.
Pete is putting the new shoe on mine now, but when I get it back, I have an old EPS LB blank to shape. Davo Dietrich built it for me and I just never got around to shaping it. Now I am motivated.
Barry I found Bosch ran much cooler than either if my two Hitachi’s. ( yes I exaggerated a bit about spinning the bearings on them, but I did need to let them cool after 45 mins of use). What is your experience?
Pete’s Bosch will eventually replace the Hitachi as a moderatly priced surfboard planer than can handle a pro shapers production load or a backyarder’s “one -off”. Certainly on this site when a “noob” post up the question “Which planer should I buy?” The answer should be automatic; Pete’s Bosch.
I’ve just picked up an Australian version of the Bosch (GHO 26-82) and to my dismay I have discovered that, like the French version, it only has one cutting blade. Does anyone out there in Sways land (particularly my Aussie colleagues) know if I can get hold of a double bladed drum? Kicking myself; I got all excited by Pete’s mod threads and went out and bought one without checking the specs…
Over here we have a bunch of tool sites that you can get the replacement drums if they are compatible.
e replacement parts, toolparts.com etc but they are like 75 bucks for the unit. It may be easier and cheaper to just return the one you have and buy the other planer if you can find it.
Agreed. The new Hitachi is a piece of shit. I dont care who mods it, the base unit that is being modified though nice and sleek looking is still crap. Hitachi tools overall are on a quick demise. I was a die hard Hitachi guy up until recently, nearly every tool I had was Hitachi from Table saws, to Demolition hammers to drills to planers etc etc etc. But the new stuff just its steps down vs what they were putting out a few years back.
Agreed. The new Hitachi is a piece of shit. I dont care who mods it, the base unit that is being modified though nice and sleek looking is still crap. Hitachi tools overall are on a quick demise. I was a die hard Hitachi guy up until recently, nearly every tool I had was Hitachi from Table saws, to Demolition hammers to drills to planers etc etc etc. But the new stuff just its steps down vs what they were putting out a few years back.
I’ve had a look on the Bosch Australia website and from what I can gather, they don’t sell a planer with two blades in Australia. Fark. Maybe I could try trading it with someone for the Makita…
CassS, the single blade version will work to shape with, but you must move a little slower, and make shallower cuts than you might like. I picked one up about six or seven years ago, so that I didn’t have to use my Skil 100 for trimming doors, or other hard lumber. I’ve shaped a few boards with it, for the experience. Works fine on a close tolerance blank, just have to go slower. Too fast, and you get tears in the foam. PeteC may be able to answer the question of changing out the cutting heads, and putting in the two blade version.
All of the parts for the GHO 26-82 are the same numbers as the US 1594K except the motor and cutter head, so it’s essentially the same planer. You can buy the entire cutter with blades or just the pieces as shown in the diagram since you already have 1 set of the blade assembly (carrier, holder, etc). Whether or not Bosch USA will ship these internationally is another story. We asked our sales rep to inventory the US 2-blade head in Europe, and he said it was impossible due to part allocations based on what was marketed in that country. The US cutter head as a replacement part isn’t cheap, so keep in mind that a new 1594K is about $130 USD with many used ones on eBay and Amazon for half that. Shipping to Aus is about $75 (US Postal). The depth control mechanism we sell as a kit (see surf shop - tools) will fit the GHO 26-82. Another option is to buy a modified 1594K and swap the motor and field coils with the GHO 26-82, or simply use a transformer.
