I have shaped 5 boards now and due to lack of funds, i have only been using a surform for making the rail bands(in place of planer), and an orbital sander for the glass. I have saved up some money and will be getting some new equipment this week. My questions is; Obviously using the two above tools is quite time and effort consuming (i am glad i learned this way to learn the basics), but if I were to buy either a power planer or a sander, which should be first on my priority list? Just enough dinero for one Thanks Josh
Uhm, Josh, you may want to take a look at the Harbor Freight stuff: sander (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46507 ) $25 plus whatever you spend on an 8" soft sanding pad for it, planer $40 ( http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=32222) No, not the highest quality available, but adequate for around $100 total with pad, and the next jump up in quality will run you a fair bit more than that for either tool unless you get real lucky with good used tools. Real top of the line stuff, well, that can get pricey. If your budget only allows one of those Harbor Freight tools, well, me, I’d suggest the sander/polisher first, plus a good 8" pad and stick-on discs. Sanding isn’t any fun and the sooner ya get onto better, faster tools for that, the better. hope that’s of use doc…
Thanks Doc Those are some great prices! Nothing close to what I have been looking at price wise. It will be so nice to let some tools do a little work for me. Sanding with an orbital is not easy and fills the paper up quick. Thanks again! Josh
De nada, Josh. I have and like the planer, and I have heard okay things about the sander - I’d worry more about the quality of the sanding discs and backing pad than the sander anyhow. One suggestion: if you get the sander, practice on some scrap before attacking a board with one. They work LOTS more aggressive than the orbitals and you don’t want to sand through anything. Also, have you seen the rubber blocks they sell for cleaning sanding belts and such? Look like the biggest art gum eraser you ever saw and they can de-clog sandpaper and discs if it’s nothing gummy stuck in there, say like partly hardened resin. One shown at the link below. hope that’s of use doc… http://www.toolpeddler.com/belt_disc_cleaners.htm
You will need a power pad for the sander. I use a “soft” one 8" dia. Look at Surfsource or fiberglass supply. It will cost more than the sander! Check archives on the harbor freight planer. I know i have posted some tips for making it work a little better. Spent two hours truing the base plate and setting /sharpening blades this weekend. Should perform much better now that I’ve taken the slop out. Krokus
Go with Doc’s advice on the tools. Don’t know your budget, but generally speaking, the most expensive tool is the cheap one you must soon replace. Again, general advice (always exceptions)is “invest” in the very best tool you can afford even if it means buying fewer tools now, then protect and care for it, and let the pride in your tools show in your work. Enjoy the ride!
…I go with the harbor Frieght sander,but I’d get a Bosch planer at H.D.Herb
I’ve had two harbor freight sanders and abused the crap out of them on marine fabrications…still work fine…Caution…you need to replace the carbon brushes often when in heavy use. The planer?? Don’t have experience with that one but they do have the regular Hitachi at Lowes (here in Florida) for 99 bones…pretty cheap. Good luck
I have Crappy Skill Planer that I need to replace. It’s a chore to even skin a blank with this thing. Herb, I saw your post about the Bosch planers. What’s an ideal max cutting depth for a planer? I’ve shaped 3 boards, each with a sureform and I’d like to learn to use the electric planer. Thanks, -R.M.
Thanks for all the info. Very helpful. Josh
try ebay… The following models look promising, don’t bid against me, thanks… Makita 9207.9217, 9227; Milwaukee 5540, 5450, Hitachi SP18VA, SAT180, Dewalt 849, Porter=Cable 7224, 7248. I use a pair of made-in-china planers I got on ebay, they’re makita knock-offs, work well for me. I got a variable speed sander polisher made in china, but first the trigger failed (replaced wiht a toggle switch) now it doesn’t start. I cleaned it once and got it going again but midway through the last longboard it conked again. Maybe fixable, maybe not. I also have an old 7 amp Black and Decker 2400 rpm 7" sander that was my workhorse for 15 years. $50 as a rebuilt, back then. A little fast for polishing.
…between 1/16" - 1/8"max ,more depth for more experienced shapers.Herb
Herb’s shaped a lot, lot more than I have, but my recent epiphany makes me think you should look at the 1/8" to 1/4" cut for your first pass – thickness of the blank permitting: I started out the cautious route and was doing those 1/32” to 1/16” cuts, thinking that nice and small was the way to go… then I got the master shaping video and saw Jim do it. It then dawned on me that doing a million little cuts it far more inaccurate, and most importantly, it makes a smaller ledge to rest the front variable part of the sander on. I tore into my last blank at 1/8” or so, left a big fat ledge that you can’t miss. All of a sudden the whole point of angling your planer made sense – rest it on the ledge, don’t change your depth, perfectly even cut. I plowed all the way to the stringer, in about 4-5 cuts… you could hardly see the lines in between cut paths. I was grinning from ear to ear. Kept my depth the same and did the other side – now I have an even blank, 1/8” thinner. One more pass and I was down to thickness. Next time I’m doing the full cut. …just my experience.
…You’ve been around long enough to go deeper,just remember it’s much easier to take it off ,than to put it on.Herb