I just bought a brand new Clark Hitachi myself, but after checking out the Bosch and Pete’s modification when it is done, this puppy is going on the market. I have been using it over the weekend on a balsa gun and it is virtually impossible for me to use as the thing keeps adjusting the depth by itself, seriously disappointed in it. Time to get one of my Skil planers setup for woodwork until that Bosch comes online.
Pete I’m also interested in an ETA for the Bosch (put it ahead of the Hitachi)?
Anyone interested in a brand new Clark Hitachi planer?
Anyone looked at the new Festool planer that is just about to be released, it looks pretty good as well if it could be modified?
Robin ------------Did you buy the newer Modified Clark Hitachi or a stock Hitachi, I have the older Modified Clark Hitachi with the plastic knob and horizontal pin. I don’t like the feel of the newer ones. They are stiff. I am used to holding and adjusting a Skil so the older Clark is closer to that for me. The newer version still has the foam pad on the shoe which also affects the looseness of the adjustment. I don’t like grabbing a knob in my fist and twisting hard to get depth adjust. The newer version is not an improvement as far as I can see. If I wanted something that stiff I would just buy a stock Hitachi from Lowes and save $200. Lowel
Yes! I did buy the newer Modified Clark Planer, it also has the horizontal pin that approximates the Skil. Although I don’t find it nearly as comfortable as a Skil, but then that might be just because I’m so much more used to the Skil.
Do you know if there is some way of slightly tightening the adjustment lever so that it does not change depth when you push the planer, this is very annoying and makes it very hard to use. I had one of the first Clark modified planers and it was even worse this way so I threw it in a corner and have never used it since.
I really got this planer for times when I wanted something light and easier to handle than the Skil, but I might have to rethink. The Bosch sounds interesting and looks like the depth control might be better setup for comfort than the Hitachi.
Maybe I’m just being to picky, or I have been spoiled by the Skil!
You can adjust the tightness of the newer Clark planer, its been a while since I’ve tinkered with one but if you read the manual I’m sure you’ll figure it out.
Hi Robin, The main reason I like the Bosch is because the blades are just like the very last Skil 100 (type 4a & 5). These are “micro-blades”, reversible, laser sharpened, and disposable (new ones cost about $25/set). The Skil type 5 has a unique cutter drum with carriers for these blades. The drum is interchangeable with all 100’s if you every find one. In fact, you can grind off 1/4" from the 1594 blades and they fit the Skil. The sound and feel of the cut is so different than regular blades to me.
I’ve tried the Festool planer (current model). Although it’s a spiral blade, the cut is too slow. They made a two blade prototype for us, but there was a fit problem with the housing and we had sent it back. Shaping interested them as a niche market, but economics of the project wasn’t worth it. The depth adjust was like a motorcycle throttle (on the grip) and worked very well. Festool makes extremely good products, but they don’t lend themselves easily to modification. Very complex with a lot of stuff packed into a very small space. I’ve used their Rotex sanders for the past 8 years, and these tools are like nothing else in design. At $400 each for a stock model planer, a modified one would be as much as a Skil in the end.
The Bosch kit will probably track about 3 weeks behind the Hitachi. Also, has anyone recently tried to buy a new PS20? Lowes doesn’t stock them anymore (only Bosch and Makita planers). I had to special order one today, and the only places that seem to have them are on-line tool supply houses.
You can get the Bosch carbide set for roughly $12, sometimes slightly less, at Amazon. Order three sets and get free shipping. And pay no upfront tax at Amazon. So for roughly $36 you have three sets of carbide blades from Amazon.
Mahalo for all of the information, I’m definitely up for a Bosch kit when you get them as the planer is very reasonable in cost and I also like the way the blade setup works.
I have attached a photo of the new Festool planer that is just about to be released, it looks interesting.
The only reason I would be interested in it is because of the weight and the ease of blade changes. I have a number of Festool tools and they are all excellent and could not live without them. But I agree with you I would only get one of these if there was some way to modify the depth adjustment. The thing that looked interesting was the placement of the adjustment knob. Because it is on an angle, if it could be modified it looks like it would be a lot more comfortable than the Hitachi. But my attraction was primarily driven by the quality of their tools. Like Pete I have one of their sanders and I cannot live without it especially for working on balsa.
Don’t get me wrong you will not be able to pry my Skil out of my dead hands, but I occasionally like to use the lighter planers when I’m working on a balsa board. But I must admit the main reason is simply because I don’t currently have one setup for working on wood as I have barrels in my working Skil planers.
I’m beginning to agree as the more I look at it I don’t like all of the stuff hanging off the side of the planer, it sticks out way to far. So I’m agreeing that the Bosch seems to be the best choice. Because another thing against the Festool is that it costs a lot more money than the Bosch, roughly four times as much!
