Planers and the Shapers Barrel

Hey Guys

I am looking at buying a new planer. At the moment I am using my dads Makita (had a little trouble feathering off my cuts[I think thats the correct terminology], maybe it is just me)

Checked out my local hardware store and saw a Ryobi 650W ERP6582 that looked pretty good. Has anyone had any experiece using it for shaping?

I have also seen a “shapers barrel” fro sale on www.shapers.com.au made for a Makita, Hitachi and Skil. What are the benifits of the shapers barrel? Is it a better idea for me to buy a planer that supports the shapers barrel or is the normal planer blade just as good?

Im starting to get hooked on shaping, its all I think about, and talk about. If only you could eat PU. Hmmmm.

Thanks

Grant.

Well Grant, I have three planers that I use for hand shaping.

I have two Hitachi’s and a Skil. One of the Hitachi’s and the

Skil have barrels installed. I have shaped a lot of AU foam

since the Clark closing and that is why I go with the barrels.

I would suggest that you go with the Hitachi, you might find

a used one on Craigs or a refurbished one on line that is

reasonable. You can start mowing foam right away with the

regular blades and check out some of the modification threads

here to make your planer more like the Clark Hitachi. Save

your money for the barrel when you know you will be mowing

lots of that hard Surfblanks foam!! I really like the Skil on

Surfblanks longboard blanks as it eats it up with a lot less work.

I switch out the Skil to carbide blades to do balsa. Hope this

helps, pm me if you want pics of my set-ups.

Go for the Hitachi P20SB - good general planer for shaping a boards if you are doing lower volumes

  • If you’re just getting into it, maybe use the standard planer blades rather than the shapers barrel due to the $$$

  • If you end up getting into it, you could retro-fit the shapers barrel into the Hitachi.

Thanks Guys I think I will hold out for a Hitachi and I will wait a while till I get the shapers barrel.

Seems like the way to go.

Thanks again,

Grant

That is what I have done and the Hitachi works great with just the blades considering how few boards I make per year. I figure I will have enough money set aside to get the shapers barrel by the time the blades need to be sharpened.

Just wish I had the one from foam-ez due to the fact that theirs is more adjustable friendly. But for what I am doing and how good I am not it works very well.

I think the planing barrels with grit can cook a planer motor if you are not careful. Spoke to one hand shaper who had this problem. I think it’s because the barrel is in constant contact with the foam because there is grit all over it. Compare this to a barrel that has only one (or two) blades which contact the foam once per revolution of the barrel and the planer motor has a lot more work to do. Hence the overheating issue.

If your not getting a Skil or an aftermarket Clark version of the Hitachi

Then the Bosch 1594 is the best surfboard planer out there.

Makes more sense that a shapers barrel! DeanBo is right Shapers Barrels are hard on your tool!

I too have a Bosch planer which looks exactly like the 1594k but it goes by a different model name in NZ. It’s nice and light, powerful and smooth. It also has twin blades which make life a bit easier when it comes to mowing more foam. Not sure if it would fit a shapers barrel though.

Saw these (EZ Abrasive Planer Blades) on foamez for $275. Might not be as much fatigue on the motor. Might not be as effective as a barrel. Anyone used em’?

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These make more sense than a shapers barrel! I have to agree with flatlands.

These are one thing I was thinking about getting instead of the shapers barrel due to the fact that they are a direct replacement for the OEM blades, not to mention that they would resolve the strain on the motor issue for the most part.

Need to do more research on the “high performance” bearings. Do you all think those are worth getting?

If I were to replace my planers bearings I would want a good reason to do it. My first reason would be heat which shouldn’t be an issue with normal blades. If heat does start to become an issue with an after market barrel or blade, bearings would be the first thing I would look at replacing. How high a bearing ABEC rating I would go would depend on my budget however and I think the bearing ABEC rating can go as high as 9? SKF make nice bearings in my experience at skateboarding (many years ago) so that would be my choice for brand if I was going to go down that route.

Try them out! Let me know what you think? Change the bearing only when needed. But yes upgrade them when you have to!

Surfding, those blades look the goods!

I’ve been looking for an alternative to the shapers barrel from a cost point of view. (Not that $275 US is cheap, but its good to know they’re out there.)

I work with a selection of planers, a massive Makita with standard blades for major cuts skinning PU, (yes…I still do that, some of the time…) then a little Towa with a barrel for finer work…

When skinning a PU at max. depth, I find a barrel just does’nt sit down well, it drifts off-line…not comfortable.

I use a Dewalt with a barrel for EPS… Its inbetween the other two… I like that I can push it hard and fast without ripping, and run it backwards.

Everyone ran normal blades since forever, and in a pinch I can think of dozens of other things to spend the money on before a barrel, particularly if you are not shaping many.

Josh

www.joshdowlingshape.com

Bearings: Exotic bearings (ceramics, etc) are intended for applications where grease/lubrication in normal bearings can’t be used (i.e. space, medical devices that get sterilized at 300F). These will give you nothing more than plain ball bearings in a planer. The failure of planer bearings is that they seize because foam dust gets in them, then they spin and melt (plastic) or bore out (metal) their housings. Only sealed (not shielded) bearings should be used, and a good vacuum system will keep the dust issue low. The ABEC grades define the tolerances of the balls. The ABEC-9 grades are used for high precision applications like encoder wheels and such. There is no significant friction differences in the grades. You would not be able to tell the difference from ABEC-1 to -9 in a planer or skateboard.

Grit drums: There’s a lot of input about these in the archives. In my opinion they’re expensive, tend to suck the planer into the board, and slow on deep cuts. I don’t know any production shapers who use them (although they tried them) because of the cutting speed. Keeping your blades razor sharp is really the key, 5 boards max. Cutting is faster and more efficient with blades than abrasives. The reason grit drums tax the motor is because they’re heavier than a drum with blades.

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 or just exchange them with US Blanks

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US Blanks has continued the ''blade exchange'' service from the Clark days? That was a great program, glad to hear it's been revived.

Check the twin edge cyclone grit drum on eBay, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290334165386&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT and http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290327126515&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT. Clark foam hitachi p20sb and SKIL 100 planer ready. Hundreds of these have been sold since 1993. These are the best, read the feedback and see what folks have to say. They offer intermittent cutting that allow the planer to maintain higher rpm's. These also have grit on the sides for those shapers who like to feather and move the planer in non-linear directions. I've sold these on and off since 1993 and have never had a complaint. Although I just found and am new to this site these grit drums are the original twin edge design. Field tested, tough as nails. Priced right, bearings included, and ready to install. Made in the USA.

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Keeping your blades razor sharp is really the key, 5 boards max. 

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Really?  Sharpen the blades every 5 boards?  Production shapers would have to sharpen their blades every day.  No disrespect meant cause I know you're the Skil guru.  Just kinda suprised that the blades would need sharpening after only 5 boards.

every 100 unless you have some gnarly stringers

it's pretty easy to sharpen them yourself or just exchange them with US Blanks