Hey Guys, I’ve been a backyarder for a number of years now and have made 30+ boards, most of what I “know” is from here as sadly I don’t have the option of watching a professional shaper here. Now my problem seems to be a simple one, but sadly on these kind of things so is my mind. I just shaped two boards the first from a 6’2 blank, I skinned the deck with my planer, flipped it, few passes on bottom side, some foiling, outline, rail bands etc. Now on this board the bottom was perfectly flat. Nice quick and easy to shape from there on. Second board is 7’3 blank, I skin the deck, flip and start passes on the bottom, exact same technique, now this time every time I reach the stringer finishing my second half, my cut is deeper on one side than the other, after a couple of passes I stand back and I have a rolled bottom, rails lower on both sides and belly in the middle. Racks are level, blank was sitting level in the rack, but for the life of me despite what appear to be even cuts on both sides when I make them, I end up with an uneven bottom and lots of work cleaning it up. Now normally I wouldn’t worry but this has happened several times, possibly often on the longer blanks but not sure. My brain can’t seem to work out what would be causing this repeated mistake, any ideas or anybody else have this same problem? Thanks in advance, Sam
Did you put a straight edge across the bottom first to make sure it was flat before you started??
Also so do you make passes in one defection or both?
My initial thought are - uneven blank - in even blades - or your tilting your planer a bit.
Same thoughts here.
Let’s say you’re right-handed, like me. When skinning a blank, you will hold the planer’s handle with your right hand and apply pressure on the front shoe with your left hand, OK? Let’s say you start from the tail, planing towards the nose and you will most probably start on the left side of the blank because it feels more natural. Now, when you start planing the other side of the blank, if you still go from the tail towards the nose, you will notice that the position of your hands feels uncomfortable and you will very easily apply too much pressure on the inside and most probably change the angle of your cut, too, hence the deeper cut. A few years ago, I had the good luck to see Dick Brewer shaping at a friend’s shop in Biarritz and I noticed that he would make his first cut from the tail to the nose, then turn around and cut on the opposite side from the nose to the tail and so on. That way, the position is always comfortable and the pressure applied exactly in the same way on both sides. Try it and see if that helps.
Well thanks guys, as always spot on. Balsa I am sure there is certainly a bit of what you are suggesting in the natural positions and directions, I am very aware of that when I plane and feel it fading very very slightly with every board I do, maybe another couple of thousand and it will be all good. But the one thing I never thought to check was my modified bosch, sadly the cutter head is not sitting level, it is about 1-2mm lower on one side (the bed and shoe are fine). I got this wonderful tool from Pete but sadly I am in NZ so posting it back for repairs isn’t ideal and I know he doesn’t deal with this model anymore. As the blades are on the same angle on both sides and I am not very tool savvy I thought about just readjusting the blade holders to compensate for the angle by adjusting the blade so it is also on an opposing angle? If not how easy is taking the planer apart and potentially aligning the cutter head correctly?
You did not say if you have side lights or not. Properly set up lights do not lie. They will show you where you are high and low. Learn to shape the shadows. Just like a planer is a tool the lights are a tool.
I’m sure PeteC will be glad to help you realign things if you shoot him an email.
I’d be curious if you could take a photo from above of the angle at which your planer is sitting relative to the stringer as well as relative to the bottom surface. In this photo of Terry Martin, note how the planer is angled. If you are trying to run the planer parallel to the stringer, it is more difficult to get an even cut, I.E. much easier to ‘tilt’ the planer as you progress down the length of the board. By holding at an angle, the front shoe and sole tend to act as stabilizers.
Start at the edge of the blank, take your first pass, place the front shoe of the planer of the step that is created and proceed with another cut. If you maintain the angle of the planer relative to the stringer as well as relative to the surface you are planing, it becomes easier to get a flush surface. The old Skil 100 manual showed this method for obtaining a flush surface on a piece of wood wider than the planer blades. If doing something like a door edge, it was OK to hold planer flat and proceed inline with cut - sometimes with a right angle guide.
Some guys follow the same line from the edge of the blank inward towards the stringer and leave an elliptical high spot in the center until they have repeated the same thing on the opposite side. That high spot is the last part to remove with a straight ahead approach.
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Start the bottom first. Take a cut down the stringer to bring the stringer and foam down to a level starting point. I usually flip the blank and do the same on the deck. Once I have the stringer and foam at the same points on deck and bottom, I check my thickness with the calipers and then go at the bottom. Starting from the outside rail on the bottom I work inward toward the stringer cut. First one half then the other. The cut down the middle is your guide. Plane both sides and you should be flat across the bottom. Clean it up with the planer, Surform or paper and sanding block. You should be level at this point on the bottom. With a straight edge you can double check and flatten any dips. If done right you shouldn’t have any. From there you can install any features; ie concaves, V, channels etc. flip the blank deck up and do likewise. When you have flattened, cleaned up and installed any features; proceed to cut out your outline and turn your rails. Condensed, but straight forward approach which leaves less opportunity for “F Up’s”.
Thanks guys. Some really well explained planer technique there. I know the theory is a video should be more useful but often it’s like watching a professional athlete perform a throw/jump/kick, to the untrained eye all you see is the whole movement performed in a flash with no breakdown or explanation when actually there is a complicated series of mental and physical analysis, decision making and execution taking place. Shame there aren’t more of you kinda guys in my vicinity. The good news is I realigned my blades to compensate for the 2mm cutter head misalignment and it is like having a whole new tool, I get a much fuller and wider cut, no V in the centre with numerous passes and I can concentrate on the tips posted above and get a solid flat outcome! It must have been damaged in shipping or I notice the original factory model had some production issues, I never knew what I was missing until now, I know a bad workman blames his tools and I may be a bad workman but at least now I have no excuses! Kia Ora
The Bosch should have came with a jig for aligning the blades which is done off the planer, the instructions are in the manual. If you have neither, you can get the jig from Bosch and download the manual. If aligning the blades doesn’t help, check if the front shoe is aligned with the base by turning it upside down and sighting down the front. Raise and lower the shoe and see if it’s always level. I’m no longer affilated with the company that did the Bosch, but you can contact them and they will probably help you if the shoe is misaligned: http://www.socal-fishing-hunting.com/BOSCH_1594K_MODIFIED_PLANER.html
If still no resolution, please contact me at the email I gave you in a PM. Thanks - PeteC
You’re a good man Pete
all the best
…PeteC coolness; seems always behind the product.
—I can add plenty but I am typing with one finger, so only saying that before you start the shaping there s a “pre shaping” process that consist in trueing the blank and levelling checking this in your leveled glassing rack.
Trueing using th shadows and lights as ACE is saying, check the bottom and glueing to see if the possible imperfection is due to that glueing process or the mould, etc.
Also, when you do the rocker you do the bottom contours too, at the same time.
But all depends on what type of blank you have and what type of shape do you want.
Bet you shape with one finger too.
…hi Mcding, I am typing with one finger cause a car hit me and I am out of most things now.
I have plenty of headaches but too much wasted time too, so to watch an screen is not so good right now but worst is to look at the ceiling or the roof all day.