Fiberglass Hawaii is selling a foam barrel for the hitachi planers for $180. Has anyone tried this thing? Is it worth the dough?
I got what was considered a good one when I was shaping in Australia. The Aussie version is tungsten carbide with some wierd metallized fusing process which is way gnarlier than the grit drums I’ve seen that use epoxy to bond the grit. It just never got dull. The good things about a grit barrel are that it is very quiet and you can go really fast across the foam without the chance of tearing up the blank (cheddar) like dull planer blades will do. Also, the grit barrel can be pretty precise once you get the thing to set to zero (cutting depth). I have yet to see one come “out of the box” that will not still cut a little bit even when set at zero. In a pinch I added a couple of layers of duct tape to the front planer shoe just so I could get through some boards (amateur night)… On the bad side is the appearance of the cut which was best described as a “cat scratching post” kind of finish. Instead of each cut being smooth as with a bladed planer, imagine each cut looking like it was made with a wire brush. Gnarly to look at, but if you figure that you are going to work the blank some more… Be sure to feel the weight of the barrel because if it is a lot heavier than the stock one, then you can count on losing quite a bit of your useable horsepower just to keep the thing going. Also, the stringer can present some problems with grit drums that are less robust. With some drums, you may find yourself using a regular planer to knock the stringer down. The Aussie drum just mowed through most typical stringers (1/4" or less) with no effort. Lastly, the chips that your planer once spat out will now be a fine dust. If you use a vacuum set up then this is good- no clogs in your line, if not then you will end up looking like a snowman “'tis the season, ho-ho-ho”. I went back to blades after Clark got their new sharpening machine/service. Every couple months I just trade on the spot with my old blades (spokeshave and handplane too) for some “freshies” and have been the happiest with this. I still use grit barrels when I shape certain styro blanks and can’t use my disc sander… Good Luck.