I recently received a Makita planer. Has anyone used one for shaping; ie how does it compare to the modified Hitachi or Skil?
Appreciate the feedback.
Better for their intended use; doors. Depth adjustment is a bitch. Just not worth the time and effort seeing that you can buy a Bosch for around one hundred and change, then have Pete C do a conversion on it and you’ll have something much more surfboard oriented.
I “shaped” my first 5 boards with one. Because I didn’t know any better and thought a planer was a planer. They’re not. Take Ding’s advice to the bank. Mike
If it’s your first and only planer, whizz to the above negativity. The are more than enough PLANER SNOBS here to choke any room I’ve been in.
Congratulations on getting a planer I say. Learn to use and enjoy it. Take care of it and it will take care of you. When the time comes, and if you feel the need, there are plenty more planers to be had.
many australian shapers use the makita. some of the best too.
Makita is a brand. Which model? Some are better than others even though none is actually designed for shaping surfboards.
Well said Honolulu.
If you are looking for a comparison to the skill or the Clark Modified. You are useing a tool that will get the job done but you won’t be useing the best tool for doing the job. It would be worth considering returning the Makita and getting a Bosch Then buying the kit to do The conversion fro Ptec.
Excuse mme?? I’m no snob, but I’d rather be a snob than be backwards and ignorant. I own a Makita and it is a well made tool for its intended purpose; Planing doors. I also own a couple of Makita sander/polishers and love 'em. Like most guys that start out with a Makita just because it’s a planer you may eventually figure it out. If not you’ll wind up like the shapers zack referred to Down Under. Held back in your ability to progress by the simple fact that your planer won’t adjust depth on the fly. A planer that does not adjust on the flyy will bump along over the irregular surface of an unskinned blank. Which means you’ll be doing alot more surforming and block sanding Two of the worst most backward mentalities a shaper can fall into is to not be able to adlust for depth on the fly and only planing in one direction. Not intended to insult just facts.
THANKS FOR ALL THE FEEDBACK GUYS, I REALY APPRECIATE IT. INSIGHT, REGARDLESS OF YOUR FEELINGS OR OPINIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
THE MODEL IS A KP0800, IF THAT IS A GOOD THING OR BETTER THING I’M NOT SURE.
I had and still have a whiny Makita 1900 that I bought in the late '70’s…I use what I have and the Makita was my only choice at the time…It does howl, but it gets the job done…When it dies I get something else…
Thank you surfifty. It’s the man that executes the vision. The tool is there under guidance of the man, to assist. I stand by my reference to PLANER SNOBS though note I named no one. They will respond/rise to the bait on their own. I still perhaps mistakenly cling to the idea that this forum is to assist the beginner and disseminate useful guidance. Spouting about expensive planers has little place in that vision.
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For foam-------- I’d rather use a Habor Freight $39.00 orange plasic planer than a Makita The Harbor Freight can be altered easier for depth than a Makita. That IS useful assistance and guidance. Of course if one acquires a planer less suitable for free and doesn’t mind all the extra work created by it; Then “ce le vi”. Yeah a $39.00 planer is pretty damned snobish I admit.
The kp800 has the same slow stiff depth adjustment as their older models. The kp810 has an easyer adjustment. Pity the things are around $600 here.
People come here to get advice on building boards. Other stuff, too. Everyone’s free to take the advice or ignore it. I’m a planer snob because I’ve had the chance to use a better tool for shaping than the Makita and recommend something else. I still do recommend something else. I’m a garage guy goofing off in his garage and don’t really need any of them. I do enjoy them tho. Mike
Several years ago, I was going to use the KP0810 as the basis for a modified shaping planer. It had a lot going for it; sliding shoe, powerful motor, reversible blades like the Bosch, and a removable handle. It is entirely made in Japan. The downside was that the depth control was complicated and not easily modified and it was expensive (about $220 USD). To do everything right, it would have sold for about $600-700 USD, which is about the same cost as a restored Skil. All wood planers currently on the market, and it doesn’t matter which one (from Makita to Harbor Freight) are really not suitable for shaping. A good shaping planer must be able to easily go into a cut while flat on a blank, and many wood planers won’t even do that. The common design is a shoe that goes up/down, a blade that slightly cuts at zero, and a very tight depth control meant to hold settings. These are intended to start cutting from an edge, that is with the shoe first in contact with the wood and the base off the work until the cut is started. The shoe, throat opening of the blades, and the baseplate all play a big role in how foam feeds into a shaping planer.
If you only use the planer for 20% of the shape, then you could use a stock wood one for the flats and thickness at the nose and tail. If you use a planer for 85% of your shape (bands, deck, bottom contours) then off-the-shelf ones aren’t going to work for you. Sorry, but the stock Makita isn’t going to be any better than a Black & Decker, Bosch, or any of the others. Also, many planers now have only 1 blade; these do not work at all for shaping so don’t even bother with them.
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How did the makita (KP810 in my case) turn from being the next possible contender to the Hitachi (aside from Petes Bosch Mods) to a pig of a planer for shaping?? Only a few months back people were raving about the makita which i bought cheap as my first planer for shaping my first boards, so what happened? lol. I get that Petes Bosch mod or the Hitachi or Skil are effectively planers made for shaping specifically as such but damn, feel like I might as well bin my Makita and head over to harborfreight! fizzle shizzle
Primarily the reasom was that people just didn’t look deep enough into the inner workings and mechanisims of the Makita. It has as Pete stated several initial things about it that would make one think “This is it”. But; once you take a hard look at the depth mechanism and the difficulty involved in making this planer an “on the fly” adjustment, interest is soon lost.
I’ve used the stock Makita. (KP0810) It can definitely be adjusted on the fly from a zero cut to a nearly full depth cut with the twist of the wrist. That is with no modification of the depth adjustment mechanism. For fading rail bands (the main reason for a depth adjust on the fly in a surfboard planer) it might not be pro level but is certainly better than many other stock makes and models.
I guess if it doesn’t do depth adjust on the fly with 1/4 turn of the knob, it’s rubbish? Don’t believe it. It has decent power, CAN be depth adjusted on the fly, and replacement parts are readily available. That last bit alone is worth something.
Guilhem Rainfray (Balsa) did an impartial review of one a couple of years back. He seemed pretty stoked at the time.
If you’re a machinist looking for a planer that can be easily modified in mass quantities to become the next industry standard, forget it. As a hobbyist looking for a way to mow some foam without wearing out your elbows, give it a try. It’s like any power planer… it takes some practice. Since you already have it, plug that fucker in and use it.
Also get the Damascus Productions Shapers DVD and learn from Jim Phillips. The key message in the DVD is to take many shallow (at or near zero depth) cuts. I’ve never seen anybody get so close to a finished shape using just a power planer. It drives me nuts! I suspect that he could grab that Makita planer and turn out a very nice shape with no trouble at all.
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