My electric planer has a very notchy height adjustment. As a result, changing my cutting depth while cutting my rail bands would be very difficult.
Does anyone have any tips for getting smooth, well blended rail bands with a planer at a fixed cutting height?
Kind Regards,
Matt.
Edit: Actually I’ve read nearly thread in the archives about this question and many people who have difficulties with the planer just use a surform or sanding block, but I’m specifically looking for tips on using the planer for the bands. Thanks.
Yep, I do have the groove on the front foot. My problem is blending the wider & deeper rail bands in the centre, with the much shallower bands at the tail and nose.
Are you suggesting to take the smallest slice possible and then do more passes in the middle to get the transition from thin-wide-thin?
Good advice from Bert, smaller cuts will lead to less “Oops Dam”. Make the rail bands run semi-perpendicular to the stringer not the entire rail length. I like to make them start about 12-16 inches from the tip and tail. If you try to band the tip and tail the same way you run the bands in the center of the board your going to move way too much foam in those areas. You start with the planer flat on the tail with a zero cut, then as you move to the meat of the rail (about 12-16 in) I turn the planer on the rail band and slowly increase the cut depth, as you get close to the nose, decrease the cut depth, flatten out the planer and run the rail band off the board at about 12-16 in. Then i blend the delicate nose and tail rails with a block plane and some screens. Works for me.
Hope this made some kind of sense? Oh yeah, this is for a short board rails, not a longboard hull!?
I understand about going from the zero cut through to a deeper cut then back to zero as you go from the tail-mid-nose. My question was more about the point that I can’t change my planer cutting depth during a cut & does anyone have tips on still achieving nicely blended rail bands?
Maybe it’s time for me to pull my planer apart and get rid of the detent to smooth out the height adjustment. Thanks for the comments guys.
…hey Matt.s, if you have got a not adaptable planer, you do not cut the bands to zero…you should do the rail cuts from about 1 foot from the tail and go the way to the nose…make the first band about 45 grades (depend on the rail design)…do 3 cuts then do another band up (to the deck) and do other 3 cuts (from 1 foot from the tail) then do other band down and do 2 cuts…all the cuts without change the depth…
then do the 1 foot to the tail rail zone …check… then do the other rail (or may be just do it both together)…check from several angles…with less depth in the planer do the cuts between the other bands…when you satisfied, do the rail near the nose with a surform…check
…when finish that, ligthly surform the bands to “curve” the top rails…recheck in different angles…
then do the bottom part of the rails with a surform guided by hands…
…sand all with carefull in long strokes from nose to tail with sand screen 80 or 100 grit