Shaped my 6th board yesterday and I still seem to struggle with the railbands. My planer(F-30A) doesn’t seem to cut fat enough and can’t get into the nose at all. Is getting a smaller planer the only way to solve this problem? I ended up just using a sanding block and my eyes to do the rails but I would much rather do them properly. Anyways, I’m happy with the board so far and will be shaping another in a few weeks. Dimensions are 6’2 x 18.25" x 2.375"
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If that is the case, I might try to do the mod myself. I saw a thread on here about a month ago with a fairly simple DIY mod for the smaller hitachi so hopefully it’ll work on this one too.
if you’re not using a planer w otf adjustment you can simply set planer on a low setting and cut straight forward on the edge at a 45 deg angle… I stay away from tips around 10-12" as a shaper told me to that while starting out…then to come back and blend in w surform, block or whatever…
So you can start you cut at 12" from tips on low setting…then repeat…remember the top edge comes down. I took my rail down to 3/4" from the bottom rail bands at center…I just kept planing until it came close to my 3/4" mark…not sure what type of foam ur using, but pu is real easy to shape w surform, planer etc…eps might be trickier? I shape my own way I geuss? I start bottom rails w surform, planer on deck rails, do second band inside w surform taking
Top edge down…then sand, screen w 80 gr sandingscreen. Eye ballin it. Dunno, but it works!? It doesn’t take much. I think I 2-3 passes on deck, or until it looked right…then it was all hand shaping. Hope this helps until you get a better planer.
In my opinion there is little to add to the Barnfield rail band thread when it comes to precision shaping of rails. The funny thing is I don’t recall seeing many shapers actually following his lead. Most of the handshapers I’ve seen simply mow them out without paying much attention to exact bevels or angles. It seems pretty easy to even it all out with a flexible sanding pad? Grab the rails or use a contour gauge to check for symmetry.
In any case, HERE’S the link to the best thread on rail bands I’ve seen. The one photo is priceless. He explains the different bands and colors in the thread somewhere.
Shapaholic, thanks for advice. I’m going to read over the hitachi mod thread again and figure out if it will work on my planer also. If it doesn’t im just going to put it on the deepest cut setting and follow your advice.
Johnmellor, great picture showing the different bands for the rails! The problem I’m having is getting those wide bands when cutting. Hopefully shapaholics advice of opening the planer up will solve this problem
Read what - John says…that’s a real good description of rail bands sequence…infact, I’ll try it!
Do the mods ltr - you can shape, for now, by cutting low and slow… trust me you can do a fine job w stock planer. Only drawback is: it’ll take a few extra steps. But that ain’t a deal breaker if you’re only shaping a handful of boards a wk. Do the mods ltr, or just buy a planer w otf capabilities. I e; skil 100, mod Hitachi etc… good luck!
I made this with a piece of 2x4 and a mini sure form blade set at 35 degrees (I think), and I use it to start my rails. It gives you a good starting angle before you mow it with the planer. I don’t use it much now, but I did for the first couple years to help me with the rails.
I just slide the tool down the length of the board to get the initial band started, then I continue on with the planer. I used to find that I had the initial band angles wrong, and then it got worse as I went along. This allows me to get a continuous even band through the entire rail, which is a little trickier using only a sureform (or planer). I believe it is a good tool for a new shaper, and it really helped me out during my first 30 or so boards. I’m assuming this is what is happening to the OP. I glued a piece of carpet ;on the adge that slides along the board, as I do the rails last and don’t want to gouge the blank. I even put an arrow on it to show the corrct direction of travel.
I never even knew this tool had a name. I guess I’ll call my variation the “Denns Tool!” Is there a “Show Us Your Home Made Tools” thread? I have some real doozies!
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Sorry it’s been awhile but I finally had time to finish this board. Turned out a lot cleaner than my previous boards; however, I keep getting swirls while sanding. I believe it might be from not keeping the board wet enough while wet sanding because they don’t show until the higher grits. Any thoughts?
-I also finally picked up a clark foam planer for $100. I hope that was a good price for it:/ I know it’s the older version but it’s actually very clean and I didn’t hear any weird noise so the bearings should still be good.
Wow… just when I thought I was starting to learn proper planer technique I watch this video and… I’m a butcher.
I find I have the most trouble running the planer sideways the way I see a lot of guys do - it seems to just chatter the foam when I don’t run the planer mostly-straight.
It also makes me realize I need to be more patient and make more, shallower cuts rather than less, wide-open cuts
