I’m willing to take te hit(s) on this one. As long as someone can help.
While waiting for my shaping bay to be emptied, I decided to modify my planer.
It’s just a little Makita N1900b. I chopped off the tiny little pieces of plastic that connect the handle to the body.
I carefully filed down the base of the handle to the exact angle I wanted the handle to sit on the body at. I carefully rewired all the wiring back though the body of the damned thing. I 5 min epoxied the handle back to the base. I waited 3 hours then ran another bead of 5 min epoxy around the entire intersection. I waited about 2 hours. Seemed solid. I picked my new planer up and gave it a good shake and dink! The f@ckin handle snapped right off from the base. Help! Now I have a modified planer with no handle! Awesome!
First off, 5-minute epx is not nearly as strong as slower cure. Also make sure you rough up both surfaces for better mechanical bond. Check the Clark mod Hitachi, there's a small L-bracket that screws the handle to the tool, that's the best way to go.
Use JB Weld. They make a Fast for shorter working time. You can also do something like embedding a screw in the JB weld in the handle and screwing the handle to the planer body. I can send you some pics. A product similar to JB Weld is what is used in the Clark modified planers.
I tried some JB weld, clamped the handel in place and put a good bead all the way around the handle as well as a good blob inside the hollow area of the base ofthe handle and body of the planner. Left it sitting for 12 hours, then put another layer on, overlapping the first layer. It’s sat that way for about 24 hours now. Will see tonight if it held. If not, I’ll grind it off and try threading a bolt through and JB welding that into place. Also thought about getting a small metal bracket to screw into the upper head of the planner and into the body. Was hoping not to have to do this so I wouldn’t have any brakets or braces in the way of my forward hand but, if I must…
LOCTITE has a product named Weld Bonding Compound with a 5 minute set time. They claim on the package that it is stronger than JB Weld. If you can't find JB this stuff works great too. You can find both in automotive parts stores.
Yeah I found some tubes of JB that I had lying around. Worked out good. Patience is a virtue. Built up about 3 layers, now I think my joint is probably more solid than the original plastic handle.
Taylor,
Thanks for the invite again. Hopefully be making it down there early summer-ish. Gotta make a board for my bro that donated his empty shop to the cause, even after I described what I’m going to do to it. He’s stoked, he dosen’t care as long as he gets a board out of the deal. He’s already making plans for the first trip to the coast and I don’t even have my shaping racks up yet…
Yeah I found some tubes of JB that I had lying around. Worked out good. Patience is a virtue. Built up about 3 layers, now I think my joint is probably more solid than the original plastic handle.
Taylor,
Thanks for the invite again. Hopefully be making it down there early summer-ish. Gotta make a board for my bro that donated his empty shop to the cause, even after I described what I’m going to do to it. He’s stoked, he dosen’t care as long as he gets a board out of the deal. He’s already making plans for the first trip to the coast and I don’t even have my shaping racks up yet…
Pretty much done, turned out pretty good. Much better handle angle now. I also rounded off the corners and edges on the shoes, installed new blades, rounded off the belt cover so it won’t grab foam as easily, filled in the grooves and screw holes in the shoes with bondo, attached a 30’ cord, and added a new depth adjustment knob, the original sucked bad; it was short, flat and came so close to the body you could only grab it with your fingertips. The new nob is much bigger I can get my whole fist around it and it is larger in diameter than the original so I can go from 0/64" to 3/64" with just about a halk twist. Much better.
I’m down in Southern WA, Tri-Cities right now. Just moved back. Was up in Seattle (Everett and Olympia). I’ve been up to Shelton and Grays Harbour area (Monte, Hoquiam, etc) quite a few times though. One of my buddy’s family is in Aberdeen, so I’m sure we’ll be taking some trips up there this spring/summer.
