Vaeske Thanks for tip on Fiberglass Hawaii.
if you were doing a few boards I would think that the rent for the shaping bay could be negotiated.
Vaeske Thanks for tip on Fiberglass Hawaii.
if you were doing a few boards I would think that the rent for the shaping bay could be negotiated.
I’m so spoiled in summertime. I shape in a swimsuit in my basement which has a door to the outside. Outdoor shower and then into the pool.
that is pretty nice…I’ll make sure I think about that setup for my dream home.
The only logic to paying for a shaping room is if you are glassing yourself…
Otherwise id say 80% of the glass shops near you will let you use a room for free if you leave the board there for glassing.
The math makes sense anyway save the 60 for renting a room and think of that going towards a glass job.
Matt’s right most glass shops will let you use a room for the work, and a good glass job makes bad shapes look better.
For my day job I’m a carpenter so I’ve owned and used many electric planers over the years. I once used one of those old Skil planers that a lot of people here get all romantic about and I thought it was a complete piece of sh1t. Heavy, awkward, and underpowered was my evaluation. Drop one of those puppies off a scaffold and you can guarantee they’ll break as well, due to their excessive weight. The trade standard here is pretty much Makita. Tough, reliable, ergonomic, easy to use and service. They’ll go ten years of daily trade use. Dewalt and Hitachi are also used here but they’re not as common. You get what you pay for though as Makita have quite a range from DIY to heavy trade use.
That said I can see the advantage of a heavy planer in shaping surfboards so although I wouldn’t have a skil planer on my building site I imagine they work okay for cutting foam. There are advantages to mastering the use of a high powered lighter planer though and I reckon if a lot of the skil proponents out there had spent a career using a real trade quality carpentry tool then they’d possibly reconsider using the skil to cut foam.
At the end of the day though with making surfboards it’s about mastering certain skills over time and it doesn’t really matter what planer you use; you can get used to pretty much anything. You can’t use cheap planers in construction as they just blow up, but for cutting surfboard foam a $40 planer can do the job just as well as a $400 if you get used to it.
Spending money on a Skill planer is too stupid if ur not a pro shaper, or maybe not that stupid if u wanna show off in front of other shapers (just joking)
I saw Makitas on ebay from 45$-500$ and u also have a nice posh n fancy skill planer for 1.150$.
The question is: what the hell can do a skill planer???
My opinion is, it’s not all about expensive tools, it’s about what ur hands can do.
Like spuddups sais “cutting surfboard foam a $40 planer can do the job just as well as a $400 ”
Now it’s up to u.
My Skil 100 was $20. Sure some people pay stupid amounts of money for them on ebay but that’s not necessary. No doubt the Skil is a superior planer. A Makita or Hitachi will do the job but won’t do it very well until its been modified. I have a grand total of $60 invested in the two planers below. I just stumbled upon a 653 two weeks ago for $60…only got it cause its the first one I’ve come across. I will try it on my bext board. I can assure you the skil is a better tool than the plastic planer.
" I just stumbled upon a 653 two weeks ago for $60"
You don’t just pick those up an start hacking foam with em. There are a lot of modifications needed to make em “work”. Otherwise they will do more damge than you can fix faster than you knew what happened.
You are a carpenter and obviously not a shaper. If you had any knowledge of shapers and or hand built board building you would not make such broad and frankly stupid statements like you have done above. Most people I know that build boards for a living are not stupid or ignorant of other quality planers. I can hear Brewer, Jim Phillips, Bill T, Hynson, Aipa and a thousand other shapers world wide looking at this and wishing you had told them that they were useing the wrong tools all these years. Gosh Golly we all feel so ashamed that we did not know that Skil 100 was an infearier tool.
You are kind of like a Proctologist telling a Cardiologist that he is using the wrong tools. A scope used to probe the Anus may not be the best for probing Arteries.
Could it possibly be, that they have made choices based on how well that particular tool works in making their job easier with the best end results possible? If the Makita had proved it’s self to be a better tool. Most shapers would have jumped on the Makita band wagon.
First what makes you think that Shapers that have worked day in and day out producing boards have not used so called trade quality tools? as to getting 10 years out of a Makitia. How about some skils going strong after 20,30 40 or more years of all day use. Surfboard shaping requires fast changes in cutting depth on the run. The Skil planer is excellent for changing depth on the fly. The way the handles are set up are also very comfortable for all day very day use by a production shaper.
The planers most used by Pros as well as serious amateurs is The Skil 100, Porter Cable 356 and the Hitachi modified.
I looked at The Makita 1100 I MHO opinion it could be modified to make a good Planer for board Building.
Before you get all pissy you opened yourself up for this
What?
Do you mean that halfway down the rail, you don’t stop and turn that knob clockwise or counter-clockwise to adjust the cutting depth?
Why would you need to make on-the-fly adjustments?
Yes, modern planers are lighter.
And more powerful.
Nothing beats my Skil.
My Rockwell 653 cuts wood like no other.
I did start with a Craftsman 3-1/4" Planer.
I quickly learned what depth-control is all about.
These are some of my babies.
Enjoy turning that knob!
oh yeah, Makita talk. Here’s my rough-in Makita for blank building, Play-Doh exhaust customized, loud as hell, throw the thing across the room like a footbal :
Never too proud to use anything…but:
*how can you not get romantic about old school tools and techniques? These guys are badasses and paved the way for us pre-Madonnas. Shame on you for s#tting on surf history.
I’ve used a Skil 100 since 1958. (rental rate, $5.oo dollars/day) I’ve owned one since 1964. New price had just jumped from $125.oo to $150.oo. I still have that same planer, and still use it to this day. Runs great, and has close to 9000 boards under its’ belt. Was there something about ‘‘trade standard’’ that I missed?
You state your case well. I make a full retraction. I withdraw and apologise.
The apology is excepted.
Now we can move on Nico has now lots of ideas of what he can get for a few bucks.
makita…
“what did you say?!”
“what!??”
“I can’t hear you!!”
“Yeah!? Cut the rail band here!?”
“I said, I hooked up with your sister last night!!”
“oh, my rail band’s tight!!? Tight is good, right!?”
"…
I apologize to Suddups; I get a little heated about tool choice vs. quality & the history of the craft. Internet hug-it-out.
I slap up pics of refurb skils because I have a vested interest in getting these machines into the hands of the talent, guys who mow a lot of foam, people who appreciate what this tool has done for the industry. I go months at a time without a Skil myself, I use whatever I have to shape and make the most of it.
…if you really want to see some inspired individuals in the spirit of the Skil, check out the Accurate Planer. Badass stuff, not for the poor man, but always fun to admire: http://accuratewaterman.com/
Surfboard industry trade standard yes, construction industry trade standard no. I’m not even sure why I made this point now but that was my point. It was a pretty pointless point to make on reflection hence my retraction and apology.
I have shaped a few boards with my makita it works but the lack of usable on the fly depth adjustment is a limiting factor For the op its worth remembering that cheap aners usually come with crap blades and have a very shallow cut.
Wouldnt mind one of these would do both work and boards. Full cut in 1/3 turn. Wish tools were as cheap here as the states.
http://www.virutex.es/productes/productes.php?lg=en&accio=producte&id=4
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Hand planer
CE24E
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Designed and manufactured for heavy work with the highest standards
of quality. The single piece housing is made entirely of aluminium. It
is therefore a very sturdy and robust tool which is also light and easy
to handle. A power rating of 1,200 W allows it to perform the heaviest
and most demanding types of work. It is provided with replaceable hard
metal twin-use knives.
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Standard equipment
Provided with replaceable hard metal reversible blades, carrying case and dust collector connection.
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Specifications
| Double insulation | |
| Input power: | 1.200 W |
| Planing width: | 80 mm |
| Cutting depth: | 0-3 mm |
| Max. rabbeting depth: | 22 mm |
| No-load speed: | 13.100 /min |
| Weight: | 6 Kg |
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Optional accessories
2200018 Micrometric fence which enables you to make different grades of chamfering
6446073 Standard dust collector attachment 3.5 m ****
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3540118 Pack of 2 HM twin-use blades 3531019 Pack of 2 HSS twin-use blades 3599101 Reversible blades holder
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External dust collectorr connection. Connection to dust collector with the standard dust collector attachment (optional).
Micrometric square for making bevelled edges at different angles.
Only $480.00 Ergonomically very similar to me Rockwell 653, but you need to modify the shoe for adjustments on the fly.
10 amps