shaping my first board- what planer do i need ??

General Discussion
1

Was curious to know whether i needed a special planer that was suitable to use on foam, im not looking to spend 300 bucks like the one i saw on shaping 101 (John Carper).

Would something like this do the job ??

http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_product_400w-82mm-ozito-ozpl400a-electric-planer_1966.aspx

2

yeah bro thats the one i use. they are not too bad but check them in the store to see if the foot is true and square. ive been through a bunch of these cheap planers QC is not up to scratch . some will be good and some will be shit. from the same brand and factory. the ozitos seem ok the other cheapys all have burnt out from dust in a short time. ozitos will shape a nice booard. sanders however are another story, u need a good one. cheap sanders are shitish your probs better off hand sanding then a crap sander. the reason is they are heavier and unblanced and vibrate so more likely to sand through and ruin your new shooter. cheap planers however can do the job

3

Thanks for the tips paul, will try out the ozito and stick to the handsanding :)

4

Not to disuade you from buying a planer, but I shaped my first few boards with a set of 20" long 2" x 4" ‘s with varying grits of sandpaper belts attached to them. Its a bit more tedious, but the process of shaping the blank is virtually the same and you won’t tend to ruin a blank with touch of a button. Just sayin’…

5

You may want to think about what TioPelon is sayin’…  

While they can be harsh, Surforms are good for rough shaping, then the sanding blocks - or rough it out with a sander - gotta be careful with that too. 

I’m sure I’m not the only person who shaped many a board with out a planer.

6

best to do your first few with just a surform and sanding blocks - get the feel for how to do everything slowly before you rip into ine with an electric planer.

7

2x on pirate_agenda's suggestion.  Power tools can, will, and have ruined many a project in the unskilled or inexperienced hands of those simply looking to do their work faster and with less effort.  DAMHIK.

Back in the day (nevermind how long ago) many of us had to cut the skin off many a Clark Foam blank using only a surform.  And not with a particularly sharp blade.  It gave us an appreciation for the process, built character (I'm thinking patience here) and taught us to LOOK at what our efforts were achieving.

That said, when you buy a planer, the suggestion to check the flatness of the front and back shoes (plate, or more properly "platen") should be remembered.  Put a straight edge on the back shoe along the right side and see that the front shoe is parallel.  Then do that again on the left side.  Many inexpensive planers will not have the front and back shoes co-planar and you'll see that when you do a cut and one side is deeper than the other.  It's not hard to fix with some epoxy filler, but you have to know when/whether it's needed.

8

Yep i think i can relate charlie ive been doing exactly that, i was hoping the planer would save me the time, but it seems to me like it'd probably be a bad idea. ill just persist with the surform and save the planer for the future....thanks guys

 

9

Its not the planer its how well you use it!!! First time shaping, dont worry about what kind of planer!  Just get somethin and DO IT!!! Then down the road upgrade! :)