Wish mine turned that easy. Guess I’ll try some WD.
Thanks John. Appreciate that! Was starting to think I would have to go through the hassle of selling the makita to get a true shapers planer, which in view of me being at the beginning of learning to shape didnt want to have to spend loads of money on a Hitachi. I might too post some photos of the makita if thats cool just to gauge everyones reaction of on the state of it seeing as I bought it used? I also picked up the master series of shaping DVDs so will be watching those soon. Also picked up Surfer Steves DVD but im not sure if thats a good thing or not! ha. Thanks again as i was starting to get pi**ed at myself for perhaps not researching enough on a beginners planer!
I think I did remove some piece that was sticking out around the base of mine(?)… can’t even locate where now that I’m looking at it. I think Guilhem did the same with his. I think we also both noticed that the rubber ‘gripper’ on the top of the knob comes off too easily. No big deal. I still think it’s an adequate planer ‘as-is’ - right out of the box.
I’ve been discussing a revival of the Makita project with the CNC shop, mainly because of the issue with the single-blade Bosch 1594 equivalent internationally. I’m pretty certain that the Makita comes with 2 blades everywhere. The Makita is a very viable planer for shaping as-is, but of course it could be made better. Most that have used it will agree that it’s a real foam mower.
This is great guys. Thanks for the further input on the makita. I would like to buy Petes mod but finding the Bosch (as Pete and I have talked about briefly) seems a bit of a pain in the ass internationally or at the very least with 2 blades. I did think of the Hitachi intially and whilst there is nothing wrong with using international tools, its just a nuisance for me personally and having to transform the voltage just ends up doubling the cost of any tools running on anything other than UK/EU voltage. So hopefully this makita might do the job for me after all so that might save me some money which is always a good thing. And John, you kow the piece of rubber you are talking about, if you can remember, what is that black piece which pushes in and out? If so, I will remove that then going off what you and Guilhem did. Also, did taking the rubber gripper around the the knob do much to help or is it not worth it? The knob on my planer seems quite tough to move and especially if I were to be expected to turn it on the fly. - perhaps it hasn’t been used much(?). That would be great too Pete if you looked into the Makita for international markets but I know you are super busy already with the Bosch, so all in good time. PS posted some photos below of what I think are the parts that should be removed?
Hey storm.
I believe the fist photo shows a piece that was designed as a saftey feature for when used with wood; its so the planer can only be ran in one direction. I would agree that this piece would need to come out; I plan on taking it out of mine.
The knob you have highlited is the depth gauge, which I dont think should be removed, but may be able to be modified??? It may also loosen up as it is used more???
The other suggestion I have is to bevel or round the edges of the planer so it doesnt dig into the blank.
Hope this helps.
The plastic stand in the back of the base plate is easily removed with a philips screwdriver, IIRC. You can pop off the top of the depth gauge and remove the clicker so that the shoe will move smoothly. The only problem is that the covers starts to come off too easily the more you remove it and wear down the tab that holds it in.
@ Hidget, thanks for the clarification. I didnt really know what the black safety feature button was for but it didnt make sense to me for it to be staying there and happily you have confirmed it shuld be removed so I will do that tonight. I have the exploded view of the planer so touch wood shuld be simple! ha famous last words.
@ Ghostshaper - thanks too for the help on the depth gauge (or knob as i put it lol so inexperienced am i!). Would you suggest indeed removing the clicker or just try and stick it out with it left in? I don’t want the planer breaking down on me later down the line, but having said that, parts are supposedly easy to source so would you suggest going for it, as I suppose I could order a whole new depth gauge or just the clicker?
Sorry to all too for babysiting me on Sways! Just new to shaping which is evident but wanted to shape since I was 18 (36 now) so trying with all my might to finally get on with it!
That piece on the bottom plate is a kick-stand so when set down the planer doesn’t rest on the blades (if not set to zero). The depth control is intentionally designed to be tight so that it holds the selected cut depth. There’s some flat springs inside that add friction along with some molded-in plastic features. These need to be very carefully modified to free up the movement; if done wrong the shoe will be loose but will stick/jam excessively. Don’t even think about modifying the cam that moves the shoe (on the knob shaft).
What you can do to make it more friendly is grind off all the plastic features for the fence around the shoe and fill the shoe grooves with epoxy putty. Grind the shoe for more nose kick and round off the bottom edges and corners - but be careful.
Thanks pete, I appreciate that. I dont want to mess with the planer too much otherwise i will no doubt break it and end up having to get it repaired or buy a new one. Do you also recommend taking out the kickstand? What Hidget says about taking it out makes sense to me. Do you agree on this? As for the depth control, I thik i might just leave it as stock. Im jumping the gun when I have yet to even use the planer but again could definitely imagine that kickstand getting in the way or damaging foam if left in?
Hi storm…
I just pulled mine out of the carrying bag and yes, that little kickstand thingie is what I was took off. I still have it in a plastic bag along with two little compression springs and two ball bearings. I don’t remember if I pulled those out of the kickstand or the depth adjust knob. I do know that my depth adjust knob is only ‘semi-tight’ and does not click so…?
I got the thing a couple of years ago and was pretty excited at the time. If you can, keep searching for Guilhem’s posts about what he did with his. I just followed his lead.
I also wouldn’t question anything Pete says about this or other planers.
That kick stand should be removed, it’ll only put dents in your blank and you do want to backstroke the planer. The Bosch has the same thing, and we used the slot to hold the frame for the handle on the modification. Had more talk with the CNC shop again on the Makita and we’re looking to get on this as soon as we get the Bosch rolling along on it’s own. Don’t be afraid to slighly round off the edges on the bottom plate and shoe (especially the leading-edge shoe corners), this planer is wide and heavy and won’t get tippy. Use an orbital sander with 100 grit metal paper, you’ll need it anyhow for smoothing down the epoxy putty after filling the shoe grooves.
HEY PETEC.
JUST TO CLARIFY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY BACKSTROKE THE PLANER? ALSO, WHICH MODEL ARE YOU REFERRING TOO? I HAVE THE MAKITA KP0800?
@ John - thanks bud not only for advice on the Makita but all the other advice you have given me on all manner of subjects the past few days! I will leave you in peace (for now… ha!) and wish you a happy new year. I finally decided to stop being a wuss today and took the kickstand out. No ball bearings and only 1 compression spring but the exploded parts view didnt show any additional springs than the 1 I took our or indeed any ball bearings so I shall assume I did it correctly!
@ Pete - a massive thanks to you as always Pete for all the help and advice too and wish you a happy new year also! And for not only tackling re-inventing the Bosch but now the Makita by the looks of it. Good man! If I may Pete, can I ask what you think is the best method of applying the epoxy putty and then sanding it down? I thought perhaps taping over the front plate aside from where the grooves are but then what would be the best way of applying? Just anything that seems sensible and to then go slow and steady? Also, the back plate seems to have its leading eges already tapered off as factory standard so do they need to doing? I’m presuming not. As for the front plate, the leading eges are sharp as f**k so would I be looking to try and replicate the same tapering as the back plate (which looks essentially about 1mm in and down)? Finally (sorry for all the questions!), I’m worried about damaging the plates with the orbital sander when it comes to sanding down the epoxy so i.e. scratching the shit out of them - paranoid?
@ Hidget - No idea what the KP0800 underside looks like but if it helps, the advice Pete has been giving to me is for the KP0810 though the advice may well (or not) apply to you too?
Here is an exploded diagram. Item #s 5 & 6 are the springs/bearings (2 of each) that I removed. Removing those makes the depth adjust knob turn smoothly without the notchiness that is felt if they are left in place.
Thanks John. Still debating if I should do this mod or not as don’t want depth knob wearing out on me. Shall I just go for it and buy replacement parts later down line or not worth it? Originally I thought you said the bearings were in the kickstand which is why I was confused but your last post cleared that up.
Hi storm -
Sorry for the confusion. When I opened the baggie, I found the kickstand and the springs/balls… wasn’t sure where the springs/balls came from. The diagram cleared it up. I just kept the parts in case I decide to sell it.
I say go for it. Remove the kickstand and the springs/balls. If you feel up to it, fill the grooves like Pete suggests and smooth out the edges.
Most importantly, start shaping with it. You will only be able to figure out any planer by using it. The one you have is fine for what you want to do. Visualize where the blades are underneath and take shallow cuts. Give the depth ‘adjust on the fly’ thing a go. It’ll be awhile until you’re comfortable with it but once you are, it’ll knock down your blank much easier and more accurately than doing it by hand with a block plane or surform.
Although it may be tight feeling, the knob will do 1/8" depth in 90 degrees, which is enough to adjust on the fly. Bosch and other stock planers go past 135 degrees for a 1/8" cut. Epoxy putty doesn’t go on very smooth, you basically roll it into long rounds and push it into the grooves and sand down. Rough up the grooves with 80 grit first, put in the putty, sand down until you almost hit metal then go to 120 and finish with 220.
Please follow John’s advice and start using it. Whatever tweaking you need to do on the shoe or base will then become apparent. Skin and do crosswise thickness cuts to get used to the feel. Backstroking is running the planner backwards after a forward stroke to smooth out the cut steps, you do this on bottom crosswise thickness cuts at the nose and tail after you skin the blank. Set the depth about 1/32" and leave it there. Start the planer with just the shoe on the blank and 45 degrees to the stringer. Go back and forth in a scrubbing kind of way and check your thickness often. Repeat until you get to within 1/8" of the overall finished thickness for each end. Main thickness +1/8" of the blank is done on the initial lengthwise skinning passes. If it’s a poly blank that tears easily, leave more allowance than 1/8" on all thicknesses. Everything beyond this you can do by hand. Once you feel comfortable to do more, start with deck/bottom bands then move finally to rail bands. On either rail or deck bands, plane only to 12" from the nose and tail and finish by hand when you first start out trying this. Doing bands full length requires zero-max-zero adjustment on the fly which takes some practice.
Thanks Pete. No more questions I promise.
Cheers
Stephen