So I got 50-60 bucks to blow on a new tool for my seconed board. Just wondering if a nice hand plane would be a better choice than a cheap power planer like the harbor freight. Im pretty straped for cash, so there’s not much more for options, but let me know if you have any ideas.
…the real value for a power tool is :accuracy, but you need to change the factory settings to obtain that accuracy…you need a handplane for the stringer also…
…if you buy the handplane, you need the better also you need to sharp the blade…if you dont sharp well, you ll tear the foam…
…with a handplane the accuracy its a factor in a roockie s hands…
…man, sit down and think what kind of work youll do…´cause if you dont have money and youll go for a not complicated shape, buy some sheets of heavier, medium and finer grits sandpaper, do some blocks in wood and foam, and buy a “close tolerance” foam…
If you don’t already own a planer, that should be your first choice. Scrounge around, I’m sure you can find a small hand plane somewhere… some ones bound to have one, I picked one up at the flea market for 50 cents on saturday. Sharpen the blade and you’re golden. -Carl +
get one o them clark r2d2 solingen block planes with the razor blade replacements.shape a whole board with that ,closly tolerant I might add…19.00 and cheaper,then some o’ that expensive shaping screen and some homy depot foam that oughta leave you 2.00 for a hot dog and save ,start saving for an epoxy kit you be Juan KY Knoby…
lemmie know when you need some mo Investment counseling…
…ambrose…
filling in for the great Favad on sebatical
just looked it up foamez calls it Hobby Plane >16.95
Shaperkook, You won’t have much luck mowing foam with a hand plane. Stringers, yes. Foam, no. Too much tearout.
You can successfully use a long surform, and sanding blocks with 50 grit, 80 grit, and 100 grit sandpaper will rough out the blank. Then the usual sanding screens to finish up.
Good advice to look around for a good used power planer. Flea markets, and pawn shops are excellent places to start. Doug
go to the pawn shops (thrift stores) and get a good power plane for $50.
Search the internet for refurbished planers… I went that route with a Bosch. When I got it looked brand new.
So if one were to go the hand planer route, what would be the preferred tool? Low angle block plane, low angle smoothing plane, regular #4 bench plane. There are tons of options, and for the novice wood worker looking into making a board, there is a ton of info out there, just not related to cutting foam. There are some really nice looking Low angle Smoothing planes with adjustable throats. I would imagine you could minimize any foam tearing with that and a sharp blade. I am interested in what Doc or LeeDD may have to add to this. I would like to make a coupleboards a year maybe, but do not feel like dealing with the noise of the power tools.
Thanks for all the help everyone… defineatly think Ill do some pawn shop hunting. Anyone know of any particular ones in SD that are good for powertools? Learned my lesson with a cheap hand planer on the foam with my first board-- mutilated the foam
For hand planes, all you need is the 3" long stringer planer! Mini plane.
Go across to thin the blank…be aware it cuts fast and deep.
Aww, sheesh -
Quote:
I am interested in what Doc or LeeDD may have to add to this.
Ahmmmmm - I have a funny take on it all, being the happy owner of a HF cheapo plastic power planer and a truly lovely Rockwell #653. I have and appreciate them both, but I also dearly love my non-powered planes, from the small block planes iI use in (third rate by definition) house carpentry to the old wood-bodied 24" job that I use for jointing big panels of expensive wood.
But for cutting foam, I kinda like the Stanley surforms large and small as the hand tool of choice. Followed by screen paper. Thing is, they do a pretty fair job, some of the older discontinued models came in curved shapes, you can accumulate a few on the cheap. If you are making two boards a year, and you don’t want to deal with the noise, dust and general cord misery, then that’s not a bad way to go.
The low angle planes are truly lovely things, if you can push the $#@& plane collectors aside and get a good old working tool for a reasonable price and use it. Using 'em on wood, and having a nicely honed blade and taking off a translucent shaving on end grain - heh, I do dig it. The sounds of a truly sharp plane at work are- well, sublime. The arcane sharpening tricks ( commercial sewing machine oil and a Soft Arkansas stone are my current favorites) and all that - but I suspect it’s not the tool of choice for foam.
Going to the general topic, and reprising an answer I wrote before a minor crash in server or my ISP -
Hand tools are a good move. Every power tool is no more than a powered version of a hand tool, one way or another. But while a hand tool gives you one motion, one cut, a power tool is - well, powering, and you can screw up a lot fast. Best to get the feel for the tools, how they work and how they can be used and what they won’t do - do that with a hand tool. Then, it’s a natural and comfortable step up to power tools from that. You understand things better, a ‘walk before you run’ deal.
I know when I was training as a boat carpenter, I wasn’t allowed to play with the power tools until The Old Man was completely satisfied with my hand tool skills. When he said ‘the tool fits your hands now’ it was time. That meant I had learned the tool, and could ‘think it’ into what I wanted to do, it was a natural extension of my hands.
And even then, there are many times when I whip out a hand tool, saw or plane, broadaxe or adze, because the setup time for the power tool is longer than the hand tool plus a trained eye takes to do the job smack on.
In some cases, the power tool plain can’t do what the hand tool can. Don’t get me going on shipwright’s lipped adzes - a finicky tool that has to be fitted and honed to the man using it and the material and angle he’s working on and can make a finished surface on cross-grained hardwood in contours no power tool can do. I enjoy all three of mine, which are set up differently for different situations.
And as to HF planes vs hand planes vs whatever:
Like I said, I have one of the HF plastic power planes. And for what it is, it’s ok, as good as the makitas and similar, and it comes with spares like brushes and belt.
But… a nice, barely used Rockwell 653 came up on eBay a few years ago, and I paid serious money for it and haven’t regretted that for a moment. I still use the HF for beater work, but it doesn’t have the feel of the good, solid Rockwell. The HF is a light and somewhat strange thing, the Rockwell just falls into my hands and I just ‘think’ it into what I want to do. That’s me, that’s my experience with tools, so the ergonometrics work right for me.
I’m not alone in liking 'em - when Porter Cable made noises about discontinuing the 653, a boatbuilder friend of mine went out and bought three more to compliment the one he had and to make sure he had one at hand for the rest of his working life.
So, rather than suggesting a HF power plane, I’ll suggest getting by with hand tools a while longer and saving up some dough. Then, look into a good used 653 ( though if it’s on eBay look out for me and Keith ) or one of the PowrKraft all-metal beauties we’ve seen of late here via our friend decolgd . I have to admit I was tempted to get one for the fun of having another good tool,and he’s made a version custom-built for shaping at a price that blows away the Skils and what I paid for my Rockwell. Those who have played with 'em have been very happy. The extra money is worth it, just to have something that fits your hands, y’know?
hope that’s of use. Funny thing, I am writing this on the eve of what I hope is my last day in the carpentry biz…
doc…
For what it is worth, Harbor Freight has this planer on sale for $29.99 until Feb 27th.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91062
I figured for the price, I’d give it a try.
The pawn shop is the place. I bought a hitachi p20
on e-bay today for $52.00. The seller was a pawn shop.
I just have to wait a week for it to get here. Good Luck.
You can find both on ebay for less than 50 bucks easy. Just look around. Good luck.
Austin
If you get a power planer, make sure that you grind out the corners of the base so they dont ding the foam.
Last week I bought a drill press and a scroll saw from harbor freight. I paid $49.99 each. They are not very precise tools but for what I do with them they work great. Plus you cant beat that price. Check em out, I attatched a pic of my shop, you can see them on the right hand side next to all the airplanes (I love my planes)