i'm on my 6th board now, and the first five i have shaped 100% with a surform and sanding blocks, mainly so that i didn't overshape my first attempt and doing every thing without power makes you go slower nd think about things.
Anyway, I picked up a cheap electric planer yesterday and started hacking into number 6. set the planer to 20mm (probly should have done it thinner) and skimmed the bottom and deck. Got the calipers and it was already down to the 2 1/2 thick i wanted. From there i wasn't too confident so i went back to the surform and blocks and proceeded as per usual.
A couple of things/issues i noticed and would like to know if there is any ways i can fix these/ what planer techniques i should be using:
1. At some points the planer was tearing the foam, and leaving gauges, not making a clean cut. Is this from going to slow or fast with the planner or an angle of attack issue?
2. How do you shape nose flip / rocker into the deck with a planer? i couldn't even skim the nose from about 9 inches from the nose on what is a pretty flat shap. Tried putting the planer on the side, but still not much luck. Any techniques I should know about?
3. do you shape your bottom contours with the planer or just block them?
Tearing usually means; too fast. You can angle your planer and get closer to the tip. Otherwise just use a sanding block and a mini plane. Learn to use the planer for as much of the process as you can. A simple method is to make a pass down the stringer top and bottom and then check your thickness before you proceed with the rest of your shaping. I make a pass down the stringer on the top and then flip the blank and make a pass down the stringer on the bottom. This will level the stringer. Stop and check for thickness. then proceed to plane the bottom from the outside toward the center/stringer Slight angle on the planer.. Do the same with the deck. Then surform/sanding block to get rid of planer tails and level. Once that's done; then I cut out my template and continue from there. Oversimplication; but I hope it helps your process.
3. i personally use the planer to create a certain depth along the stringer then surform some excess followed by a soft pad and some 60 grit. concave in ten minutes.
You just have to get to know your tool, that’s all. A cheap planer can work just fine, but you can’t go ripping through the foam like you can on a good planer. Slow down and push the planer at an angle (about 30 degrees) to get a cleaner cut. This will also allow you to get up into the nose flip a little further. What I can’t get with the planer I get with a surform… again, on an angle… then I clean it up with a block and spokeshave. Taking a pass down the stringer first will let you see what you’re dealing with in terms of the stringer/glue-up. If it looks good at the start, take a shallow pass and just skim off the surface crust. If the glue-up looks bad, take a deeper first pass. If you take a pass and you still have voids or a ragged or uneven edge, do like Ding said, and start from the rail and work inward with the planer at an angle until you get to that stringer pass, then go down the stringer again, but close the blade a bit this time. You want to take off as little as possible, especially from the deck, and if you’re working with a close tolerance blank. I don’t take multiple passes down the stringer first because once you get to a certain depth, your planer won’t sit flat (depending on the planer)… it starts to ride on the planer body on one side (usually the bottom of the cover over the belt?) tilting your planer. You need to keep the planer flat. So take the whole surface of the flats down one step at a time… Stringer pass, rail passes, repeat as needed.
I rough out single concaves with the planer… gets me to the exact depth I want quickly. Doubles I rough in with the surform. I find the planer too wide sometimes for the doubles… creates a flat rail-to-stringer contour at the bottom of the concave. The surform lets me keep it nice and smoothly rounded. Then I go to the soft block and do the “diagonal blocking” technique to clean them up.
Others might do things differently, but this works for me.
Get some seconds or rejects whittle whittle whittle till you have gone too far. Get a feel for the foam get a feel for the tool. THAN if your lucky find someone who actually knows how to and order a board, yep you will have to buy only fair, ask if you can be there when the damage is being done. If you are ready to see it will make sense. Its a dying art why bother.
I suppose you meant 2 mm, not 20 mm. 20 mm is almost one inch… Besides, I don’t know of any planer that would cut 20 mm deep.
When using a power planer for the first time, choose the right blank: if it’s a “close tolerance” one, you’ll very easily cut too much. Try and find one that is quite a bit over-dimensionned for the shape you’re planning. You will feel much more at ease.
Find old “Windsurfer” boards for instance, strip them and practice on that big piece of foam.
Thank's alot for the replies - some good advice hear and in the thread mike posted.
finished shaping number 6 last night, ready for glass. number 7 i am going to attempt at doing more with the planer - works out well cause its a 2nd blank i picked up cheap to make something short out of.