so I was looking through the arcives to try and get a clear idea on a planer, and had a few questions for the swaylocks crew…First, what is a good planer for someone who is going to shape a few boards a year, and wants the planer for its accuracy (Since surforms arent too accurate)? Also, should I use blades in the planer or sanding drums? I’ve been debating buying a cheap planer from lowes. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Swanny
P.S. I am going to be shaping EPS…
Go cheap to ‘‘test the water.’’ Make a decision later about a quality (more expensive) planer. Go with blades on planer.
I got an XU1 planer over here (NZ) for $30. Not sure if they are available over there. Goes pretty damn good considering the price. Up from that you may want to check out the Hitachi PS20 or Bosch 1594k but I’m not sure if this will fit your budget. Blades are much cheaper and drums can cook your motor.
Hey, I used a Harbor Freight cheapie ($30) to complete my first board and it worked out pretty good as far as skinning the blank and bringing the volume down. I used a surform on the rails for the first time just to get an understanding of what I was trying to achieve and, for me, it helped me understand how to blend the rails in from the nose/ mid/ tail. If your all about the planer, try it on a piece of schrapnel before the real thing. Just my 2 cents.
Harbor Freight 30 dollar planer, 3 years and still going strong
yep, that’s the Harbor Freight model that I used but I didn’t have that cool little doo-hickie to adjust the depth of the cut… I was able to hook it onto my shop vac which helped keep the mess to a minimum.
Mace
There’s a spring inside the knob you can remove which makes it turn much easier but you still have the clicking, but I find the clicking is a good measuring gauge for beginners when doing rails to keep them the same on each side.
Tom
Yeah, the height adjustment on this model doesn’t really lock into place as much as other planers that I’ve picked up. Some planers definitely lock into place but not this model, at least not mine. With the planer stock you can actually adjust the height fairly smoothly but the height intervals are so small you need tricked out lever like yours, tjrm63, to make some decent cuts. Nice work, you saved yourself a bunch of cash with that nifty little lever.
Thank you Mace
thanks for the Input...Looks like im heading to harbor freight!!!
Hey,
i got the same harbor freight planar, but has anyone had any issues with it sort of ripping the foam rather than shave it cleanly? i've only planed one board with it so far so i don't think the blade is that dull yet..
thanks.
What foam-brand are you using, Kolohe? Some tend to tear much more than others, especially when planing fast and deep. Try either: plane slower, plane shallower, try another foam-brand…
I had my blades sharpened after I purchased it, never had a problem with ripping, cost me 5 bucks to get them sharpened, well worth it
Tom
thanks, where did you have the blades sharpened by the way?
hi, i'm using a u.s. blank.
i was going kind of quickly, but i've also encountered ripping going slowly too.
maybe it is the blade.
anyone have better luck planing blair foam blanks as they're harder?
thanks.
I skinned the bottom of my blank cleanly, no ripping. Thought I had it figured out so I went a little faster and deeper when it came time to skinning the deck and I got rippage. Slow going worked better for me. I went the Shaping 101 route and gave myself 1/8" buffer to work with so it all got sanded out in the end anyways.
My father in law runs the deli dept. at a grocery store, every week a man comes by to pick up dull knifes and scissors and brings them back the following week, he took my blades and did an awesome job not only on these but also my Skil and Makita blades too.Most old school hardware stores has a person that comes around every week to see what needs to be sharpened. Call some in your area you should have a good chance of finding someone.
Good Luck
Tom
Thanks for the pics mace. I went out and bought a HF planer and will copy your attachment to the shop vac. Hopefully I can keep my work area (garage) somewhat clean.
I got a $20. Harbor Freight type one for a start, filed the shoe edges round, extended the cord, works great especially for this beginner who needs to use 36 grit on a sanding board more than a planer. I loaned it to an experienced shaper and he thought it did the job just fine.
