Captain Tex Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 I asked for a plane for Christmas and my sister gave me a Black and Decker 3 1/4" 5.2 amp power plane. I don't really know anything about power planes and I'm considering exchanging it for a manual since that's what I'm familiar with. Any opinions? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 That's one of those portables that kinda looks like a belt sander isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Tex Posted January 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 i have one of those...i haven't figured out how to make it work properly yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 ive been looking at one for joinery puroses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strummer2k Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 I bought one too (haven't opened it yet) for squaring up neck blanks and bookmatched body blanks. Will this tool work or should I have bought a joiner instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdog Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 I have a Makita power plane. It only gets used in rough carpentry situations.....leveling out studs and other similar situations. At least a 6in jointer(or larger) should be in every serious shop, if you can afford one. But, all the old timers have told me..."Power tools are great, but you need to know how to use the hand tools first." Check out these hand planes....I have about a half-a-dozen of Lie-Nielsen bench planes and they are the best. They are not cheap though. A #2 bench plane will rake $235 out of your wallet. It has always been my belief that you get what you pay for. I just picked up a Boggs spoke shave for shaping necks.....Unbelievable tool! http://www.lie-nielsen.com/list.html?cart=...071538006794068 I hope I didn't sound like a commercial! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 I bought one too (haven't opened it yet) for squaring up neck blanks and bookmatched body blanks. Will this tool work or should I have bought a joiner instead? tdog said pretty much what I know about them. They are usually used for a quick planing job for construction jobs. I bet you could find a use for them in instrument building but here's what I would worry about: It would be difficult to maintain a parallel orientation with the opposite side of the wood. Even if you bought the jointer you would still have this problem. The jointer will flatten out one side with complete disregard for the opposite side. Most people take the wood to a power planer (not the hand-held kind) after the jointer so that the sides end up flat and parallel to each other. There is some debate in the wood working industry over whether or not both are really needed but I have found the combination to be very useful. If you do a search for "Jointer vs. Planer" you would probably find many of these arguments documented. I think if I could only have one of them, I would pick the jointer since it can straighten out warped wood. If you are still thinking about it, check out the bench top jointers like the one Delta sells. It's a 6 inch (6 1/8 actually) jointer with a decent sized bed. Perfect for instrument building in my opinion. It went for $200 when I bought mine. I don't know what I would do without it nowadays. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strummer2k Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 Thanks for the input daveq, but let me ask this another way. (Obviously) I haven't built anything yet, but am gearing up for the first project and trying to make sure I have the right tools (so far, bandsaw, drill press, belt sander, router, oh, and the hand power planer). If I buy/order body blanks or neck blanks, do they come squared up, or does it depend on who you buy from. If they come squared up, then I can take the hand planer back. I have found a few sources for buying neck/body blanks, but would like to know what people around here typically use for a source. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 the power planers are dangerous! but good tools, i do prefer the old style manual ones myself, they are more controllable i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 The blanks are usually ready to be cut. The only catch is if you buy a two or more piece unglued. In that case you might have to do some hand planing to get rid of the glue line or any uneven parts from the way it was clamped - if you know what I mean. The other issue is thickness. Stewmac and Warmoth sell 1 3/4" thick body blanks. Most other places sell 2" or thicker as far as I have seen. If you get a 2" thick blank, you might have to settle for that instead of planing it down. Of course, you can just take it somewhere to have it planed for you. I have a rental place near where I live that will re-saw, plane, ... wood for you. I have never done it but I may use their re-sawing some day. Let me know if you need more info or are having trouble finding a body blank that suits your needs. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Luthier Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 i have one of those...i haven't figured out how to make it work properly yet You may need to adjust the outfeed and/or infeed platens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 and at risk of insulting check the depth you have set by the knob at the front. rotate anticlockwise (i think) to increase cut depth (on my one anyway). easily overlooked i must say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 7, 2004 Report Share Posted January 7, 2004 well it's not that..it is the notches it makes at the beginning and end of the board.it suggests using a scrap piece on either side,but where are you going to find scrap pices of the exact same height?i just find it all but useless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdog Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 It is possible to joint the edge of a board with a router and a straight edge....and it is much more accurate than with a hand-held power planer....at least you will have a square edge. With the power planer you don't have a right angle reference, and you have to contend with a short "out feed" table, not to mention the torque of the motor possibly running you off course and losing your square edge......or go with the tried and true method of a bench plane and a good engineer's square....you'll have a lot more control over what you are doing. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 ....at least you will have a square edge. With the power planer you don't have a right angle reference Most if not all these ive looked at have a right angle attachment included. My hope is that this would work cuz finding space for onemore floor standing tool is gonna be tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdog Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 That's not much of a reference......Those types of guides are meant more to keep the tool from running off the edge of a 2x4. It will get you close to square, but remember, the more accurate you are the less visible a glue joint becomes. The guide on a power planer doesn't do the job of a fence on the jointer. These tools are really meant for rough carpentry. If I were to have one machine in my shop...it would be a jointer....even a small tabletop would be a better choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMan Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 I use a large hand plane, and I put my two boards to be joined together , face to face. Then I plane both edges at once. If I am careful to have the plane level and square (I use a fence for this) I usually get a very nice joint.If all else fails, I take a big flat straightedge, and put some fine sandpaper on it,and give each edge a touch with that. That usually cures a tiny imperfection, but I prefer not to glue to fuzzed up wood. My router isn't big enough to try joining with it. Just my approach, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdog Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 DaveMan....Great approach! I have a friend who builds 18th century reproduction furniture (BTW.....He is considered to be one of the 200 best traditional craftsmen in all genre in the country!) and every square edge to be joined is done in just that fashion....without the sandpaper!...of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 If you have a well jointed board (if you are lucky enough to find one from the lumber store), you can double stick tape to it and place sandpaper on it. Just run the boards along it and eventually you will have a nice flat surface. I do this for birdseye maple since my jointer takes chunks out of it. Of course, I used my jointer to make the flat board in the first place though. Norton sandpaper seems to work the best for me with double stick tape. It peels off cleanly where other brands do not. If you use this method for joining two pieces (like a body blank), you will probably need to add a "fence" to it to keep the board being sanded at 90 deg. It really does work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strummer2k Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 daveq, I know what a joiner looks like, but I cannot visualize what you are talking about in that last post. Everyone sounds like they all agree that these power hand planers (even with the right angle guide) are not as effective for creating straight edges on boards (for instance, two book-matched pieces you want to glue together). Hope I don't sound like a moron, but I just don't have any experience in the matter, however, it seems like you could use Daveman's approach with the power hand planer. I bought this one, which sounds like I should take it back: http://www.ryobitools.com/product/product....at=2&toolcat=63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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