I just bought the Clark Hitachi planer but am not sure what to do with the depth indicator kit. What does it do? Where do I install it? I have some idea of where to install it, but they give you different length pins and I don’t understand why there are different lengths. It’s late so maybe I just need some rest before I do this, but it doesn’t make sense at the moment.
The pins are just for a point of reference. They give you several pins to choose from depending upon personal preference. The action of the Hitachi 2003 mimics the twisting range of the Skil 100 and the Skil 100 has a lever with a detent mechanism (clicker). Some shapers remove the clicker but rely on the lever to incicate depth of cut.
So, it is up to you to put a reference pointer on your planer. Although I was involved with the design process of the planer, personally I do not use any pins for reference; I just rely on the “feel” of the tool as I am sure you soon will…
Is there an easy and effective way to contain the foam dust without a vacuum?
Other than shaping in a large wind tunnel type dust collector, I’d say “no”. Clark consulted a lot of shapers on this topic and considering cost and availability parameters, they did a great job. Check out their newest Catalog for schematic line drawings of the device(s).
OK, but rather than “contain” what about “control”. I’d just rather not have foam shooting up in my face while I’m trying to shape. If I just put a short hose on the exhaust, would I be able to route the dust away?
Ohhhhh-kay, got it. I would take the black 90 degree elbow off and place a bit of folded cardboard to create a “chute” that you could tape to the place around the exhaust port. I imagine a chute that keeps the debris flow narrow (about 1-1/4") and maybe just a little taller in order to create a low-firing snow blower effect. I don’t know if a short hose is a definite answer because it could drag erratically and all it would take is a momentary flick of that hose anywhere toward your face and suddenly you could have a 'live-changer" type event.
With that said, a bendable hose section could be money if you have something wire-reinforced so it holds in a predictable position. That could be better than a chute. The blower inside the 2003 is not super powerful, so I would guess a section of flex-hose no longer than a foot or so in total length…