My girlfriend, tired of my making boards with a surform and hearing about my planer dreams, surprised me with a Hitachi P20SB 370W bought off of foamez. After reading all about different planers and modifying them, I still had a couple of questions. First off, this planer came in a big green case, and I read somewhere that it means that it’s been Clark modified already. I don’t think that’s the case, but I thought I’d double check. Also, I wasn’t sure what the modifications were, apart from being able to control the depth of the cut, and having sealed bearings…how can I check these mods? the handle does turn and the front plate is variable, so i think the first mod checks out…does it? and how can i check for and replace the bearings with sealed ones if need be? are they easy to come by? If I’m using this planer on foam, should I never use it for my wood projects? or can I find an alternate blade to switch out for wood?
I’ve read what I could in the archives, but could use some tips from all you. I can’t wait to skin an old board tomorrow night and reshape it with my new lover (i think it was dangerous for my girlfriend to give me this…she may never see me again…)
Thanks all and i’ll try and post some pictures tomorrow…i really wish we weren’t going out to dinner tonight!!!
If you got it from FoamEZ then it is probably modified. I don’t think they sell non-modified ones. I got mine from there. Mine did NOT have the Clark Foam nameplate on it but it was definitely modified.
Other tell-tale signs:
*It has a 20 foot power cord. Mine also had the old 10 footer loose in the box.
*It has the rubber-coated depth adjuster with three different length screw in thumb-thingies.
*The handle is modified so the trigger is vertically oriented.
My girlfriend, tired of my making boards with a surform and hearing about my planer dreams, surprised me with a Hitachi P20SB 370W bought off of foamez. After reading all about different planers and modifying them, I still had a couple of questions. First off, this planer came in a big green case, and I read somewhere that it means that it's been Clark modified already. I don't think that's the case, but I thought I'd double check. Also, I wasn't sure what the modifications were, apart from being able to control the depth of the cut, and having sealed bearings....how can I check these mods? the handle does turn and the front plate is variable, so i think the first mod checks out....does it? and how can i check for and replace the bearings with sealed ones if need be? are they easy to come by? If I'm using this planer on foam, should I never use it for my wood projects? or can I find an alternate blade to switch out for wood?
I've read what I could in the archives, but could use some tips from all you. I can't wait to skin an old board tomorrow night and reshape it with my new lover (i think it was dangerous for my girlfriend to give me this....she may never see me again....)
Thanks all and i'll try and post some pictures tomorrow....i really wish we weren't going out to dinner tonight!!!
Hey Spencer, Howzit? Good to hear from you. Your planer should have all the hard square edges on the sole plate rounded off and the champher groove filled in. Depth adjustment should freely move without any drag. You can use this on woodworking projects but, it would be a good idea to have an extra set of blades. For parts and bearings go to; www.ereplacementparts.com . You can download a schematic of the whole tool. Also if looking for another planer for wood alone check out; www.cpooutlets.com they sell reconditioned tools with a one year warranty. Sometimes they have some real deals. I've bought from them numerous times and use the tools in my business for woodworking and have no problem with reconditioned tools.
tblank: thanks for those links. I think for now i’ll put off a woodworking project to get the feel of the planer on some real old PU boards that i’ll reshape. good to be back on sway’s, i’ve been a bit dormant lately
keithmelvill: i do have the owner’s manual, it was hiding under some styrofoam at the bottom of the box so i missed it last night. and yeah, i’d say she’s a keeper!
i’m thinking some crazy thoughts for the next project, so we’ll see how it pans out and i may start a build thread…stay tuned
