The Skill 100 and to a lesser extent, the Rockwell/Porter Cable 653, have been used since way back. I’ve got about seven of them and for some reason can’t seem to part with any (nostalgia is not what it used to be). The question for this post however, is: Do any of you have experience with the old Rockwell power “block plane”? Its small sole and spiral cutting blade seem to suggest it might be adequate for up in the nose area of the deck. An overkill tool, or just long forgotten since its manufacture was outlawed?? An older Rockwell service rep informed me that left-handed guys operating it would get their right-hand fingers caught in it, thus a liability problem forced its end. Any one out there go back this far to shed any light?
It had to be at least twenty years ago I used one for a few passes on the edges of a pine board, more out of curiosity than anything else… Felt okay, though I’m right handed, the main thing I recall is that it wouldn’t take off appreciably more in a pass than a common # 60 1/2 Stanley block plane set as deep as you could and still push it. Though it might be just fine for foam or light dry softwood, especially if you worked on the depth stops with a file or stone so it’d take a good healthy pass. .
Actually, a one handed power plane strikes me as a great way to plane off the fingertips of the other hand, the one that is holding the piece you are working on. Saw the Old Man do that, planing one handed and holding the planking stock with the other with his Skil 100 one time, nice clean flat cut and his fingertips were about 1/4" of solid callous so that it just thinned it out there.
Amazing command of language the Old Man had. Five minutes without substantially repeating himself.
That’s one of the many things I like about my Rockwell 653 - it’s really too heavy to use one handed if you’re trying to hold the work piece with the other hand.
hope that’s of some use
doc…
OK, I’m old and have a Rockwell 653. Have been getting used it as it is still fairly new to me. I do like using it when doing the bottom of a board but haven’t figured out how to correctly use on the deck area of the nose on a short board. Even completely crossed up, the blade doesn’t seem to reach foam. A block plane or one of my shorter one handed power planes usually does the trick.
My own faulty technique aside, there is something satisfying about using a 10 amp made in USA power tool. It is nice for big stringers on longboards. I get the feeling it will outlast me by a long shot.
Rockwell and Skils are for “Girlie Men”.If you want a manly man planer you need a 35pound 18AMP 220volt Maul.THey used to use em for planing the teak decks of battleships.
I don’t want to do the math on the amps on this beam planer (13 3/4" wide, 2500 watts, 220 volts, 40 lbs) but I think that with 2 or 4 passes, the bottom would be done…
John, Now that’s the planer! Just be reeeeeel careful up in the nose concave next to the tip on those little pocket guns! This is the planer to use for the old Hawaiian boards referred to in the current “Ancient Days” post. Perhaps this planer is the one Cpt. Cook brought to the islands that started the beginning of the end of surfing. Doc could do a schematic on the man-powered generator Cook used for his pre-missionary invading surfboard crafting.
as the planer is the major tool for a shaper I like to mention here the possibilities to adjust a tool for your needs. I used a 6 3/4" Makita planer http://www.makita.com/Tools_Item_View.asp?ID=263
which was a monster until one day Mike Davis showed me how to do it. with a hacksaw he chopped off everything not needed which was about 2/3 rds of the front shoe and 50% of the back shoe, shortened and angled on either side. he rounded off some of the edges and an excellent planer was born. I still needed some time to get used to it and fitted it with a ratchet handle for depth adjustment and after a short time we became a very happy unit. I could easily angle it now and clean up the nose too.
Jeez, betweemn the Maul and that cute little item John found…I want one of 'em. Have a little post and beam work to do this fall and there are just those sticks that you don’t want to feed through the planer and instead put ‘em on the hosses and have at it. How wide a pass would a Maul make? Especially in teak, which ain’t exactly power tool friendly. Single phase, I hope, chain drive as you mentioned before, square head knives, like some of the big ol’ jointers?..
doc…
Quote:
I don’t want to do the math on the amps on this beam planer (13 3/4" wide, 2500 watts, 220 volts, 40 lbs) but I think that with 2 or 4 passes, the bottom would be done…
2500 watts/220 volts = 11.4 amps. Being a motor, the power factor is probably 0.85, or better, so the maximum amps is probably 13.4, or less (but it’s the watts, not the amps, that relates to horsepower delivered).