I have a question about planers. I searched the archives but, couldn’t find the info I was looking for. I’ve collect my tools for shaping my first board and last on my list is a planer. I went to the local hardware shop yesterday and found a few planers like Makita, Robi, and some generic brands. I read that you should get a planer with sealed bearings. I’ll be shaping EPS and polyurathane blanks. I’m just a beginner and I was wondering if there was any minimum requirements for a planer according to how many watts power and length of the planer? Can anyone shed some light? I won’t be shaping everyday but, maybe a few by summer. Thanks, Eddie
Just buy the best one you can afford, cheap tools are too expensive. A shorter base is easier in the nose area of a shortboard but a long base will provide more stability and accuracy. These planers are designed for hardwood doors, so its unlikely you’ll find one without enough juice for foam, unless its an absolute dog.
Personally I own 2 skils 100’s, a bosch and a hitachi.The hitachi P20(non modified) is powerful, two blade cutterhead gives a nice finish but the stock depth control leaves a little to be desired, no sealed bearings but 5 year warranty (bearings are covered, when the first set go, pay for sealed bearings and let hitachi eat the labour). And I love that I can lock on the power switch and get to it.Bosch 3365, nice depth control (once the spring loaded detents are modified), single blade cutterhead requires slower passes to keep a nice finish and just feels too light to me but works really well for delicate work in the nose of rockered out shortboards. The skils are legendary for good reason,my weapon of choice but unobtainable and unpractical for just a couple boards.
Thanks Stevil! I just wasn’t sure how many watts power would be a minimum. I’m living in Japan and can’t read any info on the planers. I just know the depth and the watts. I just came back from the hardware store and there were some real cheapy types of planers but, one caught my eye. The Ryobi L-120TB. It’s 510watts 3.1 kg. Here’s what it looks like. I was reading a thread that said not to use plastic planers because of it’s weight. I think this one has a fair bit of metal and it was a little heavier than the rest. Could this be the one??? Thanks for the reply! Aloha < ‘O‚É–ß‚é
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i have a DeWalt that i really like…paid $80 for it on eBay…looked brand new!
also, check out the cordless bosch…heard good things about it, and i think it’s relatively inexpensive.
you want to be looking at amps,not watts.
I got the bosch:
2.2kg and 610 watt motor. I like the dual exhausts, you can just swap the vac slinky to the left or to the right as convenient.
And they are cheap.
There is a cordless version but I haven’t tried it (yet) 14.4v
and a more powerful one 18v
Da Cheetah, the planer that you posted (the Ryobi) was my first ever! I bought it in 1970 or so, and, at the time, the brand was “Towa”, not Ryobi. Towa was later bought by Ryobi. This little thing is fine because it has a short shoe and goes everywhere. Quite enough to make a few first boards. When you get the feeling, you’ll probably want something a bit more powerful (and a bit longer) and with a depth adjustment specifically designed for shaping surfboards, i.e. full depth of cut to 0 in a quarter-turn. That photo brought back sweet memories, thanks for posting it…
From a previous post:
"I like this planer because it has an aluminum body and not plastic. It’s out of production, but got this one on ebay for $11! and a new set of blades for $6.95
Found a cam tensioner like on your bike wheels with enough travel to move the front shoe.
Fabricated a super secret connection widget.
Ghetto handle re-alignment.
Depth adjustment on the fly for under $20!"
Not perfect, but works fine.
Howzit E-pacman, the conversion from watts to amps is easy just divde the watts by 110 (the voltage) and you have your amps. a formular used by electricians all the time.Aloha,Kokua
Thanks everyone for the help! I’m even more stoked to go and buy a planer now. I’ll go look around one more time to see if there are any more planers that fit the bill. Appreciate the help! Aloha