Claptonfreak Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Has anyone ever used the Wagner Safe-T Plane? I'm considering buying it to plane down Strat headstocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Abbett Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 I bought one. Works well. It does loosen my chuck and the chuck falls out of my drill press. Probably from the sideways pressure and vibration. I have a cheap drill press. Need to upgrade. -John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 I bought one. Works well. It does loosen my chuck and the chuck falls out of my drill press. Probably from the sideways pressure and vibration. I have a cheap drill press. Need to upgrade. -John I think most people on this forum have one. I also now see clones for cheap but I have not seen them up close. It works but dont expect a finished surface. A good drill press is a must as John points out. It's kind of like feeding a piece of wood into a wood chipper at first. I usually use it to thickness the back of my headstock (not a fender style) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 I have one that I used a few times in my little 10" Ryobi benchtop drill press. I didn't quite get the hang of getting it set up and using it right, I guess; maybe it's because of the cheap drill press. I haven't tried it since I got a decent drill press (Jet 17"). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Abbett Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I have that Ryobi Benchtop drill press. I like it because it's small and does a great job. It tends to drop the chuck out of the spindle when I use the Safe T Plane. Not to steal this thread, but its sorta on topic. Is there a way to help that chuck stay in the spindle? Maybe light sanding or something? -John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Sits in a box on the shelf after I bought the Drum Sander. It is useful for headstocks but it is so rough that I don't use it anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I have that Ryobi Benchtop drill press. I like it because it's small and does a great job. It tends to drop the chuck out of the spindle when I use the Safe T Plane. Not to steal this thread, but its sorta on topic. Is there a way to help that chuck stay in the spindle? Maybe light sanding or something? -John Never sand a Morse taper. Wood and a hammer after a total cleaning of all oil or grease on both the chuck side and the drill press spindle. I has to be totally clean or it will never lock in. You may have to give it a good shot to seat it tightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Use the ordinary handle to press the chuck into place. That is what my old workshop teacher taught me anyway. Place block of hard wood on the table to have something to press against and be sure to align everything right. And as Woodenspoke said, keep it 100% clean and absolutely no sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Abbett Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 Peter.. I would be very carefull with that advice.. Before I read the instructions I did that. I put a block of wood on the table, and pulled the handle trying to seat the chuck. The table broke off. It's cast iron on my press. Not a good idea to do that unless you've got a heavy duty table. 60 bucks later, I don't think I'll do that again. I'll try cleaning it. I did wipe it off, but maybe some cleaner would help. Thanks! -John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
govtmule Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 I have the Wagner Safe-T planer and have been a little hesitant to use it. Maybe I don't have it setup right or the blades are not sharp enough but it grabs and pulls at the work piece a little too hard for me. Makes me think I'm always an inch away from my hands being pulled into the blades. Maybe I'm using it at the wrong speed. Any advice as to what speed I should be using this tool at ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Abbett Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 If you use it at too slow a speed, it does grab. Just like if you use a large drill bit at a very slow speed, it starts and then digs in. I use it at half speed of my little ryobi drill press. It's moving pretty fast. -John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 I have the Wagner Safe-T planer and have been a little hesitant to use it. Maybe I don't have it setup right or the blades are not sharp enough but it grabs and pulls at the work piece a little too hard for me. Makes me think I'm always an inch away from my hands being pulled into the blades. Maybe I'm using it at the wrong speed. Any advice as to what speed I should be using this tool at ? Take only light cuts. Maybe try a fence to keep the wood secure. I have used this tool to make radius blocks so it does the job. Yes I will say again like a wood chipper at first, takes nerves of steel. Thats why I used a practice piece at first because it looked scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted January 13, 2009 Report Share Posted January 13, 2009 John- I may have the same ryobi benchtop model- i have actually found that I need to run it full speed to get it not to grab and chatter. I have been told the safe T planer works best between 4,000-5,000 rpm. My ryobi only goes to about 3100 I think. I always run it with the planer at top RPM- the lower speeds just dont work unless the wood is something like alder or maybe poplar or soft pine/etc. Also- I have to keep the cutters sharp, especially if I happen to put something like any rosewood family wood thru it. I also use a drill press table I make- it helps considerably when using the drill press with guitar bodies. Squaring the table to the chuck is key- and I found once I really took the time to set up the table correctly- the cuts were alot more smooth and flat- sometimes I would get "swirls" in the wood- I dont get them anymore, nothing that doesnt sand out rather quickly anyway. Spokeshave- +1 on the light cuts comment- I have found even if I can really dig into say- alder- it is best to take light cuts- this eliminates grabbing, and the chatter that eventually makes the chuck fall out. On hard maple I keep the cuts down to like 1/8"or less- just little nibbles. It takes time- but I love the safe-t-planer. I think the design is just really clever, and all in all- its a really safe tool use. Plus I havent plunked down the bread for a regular planer so I am stuck with it for now:-). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_player Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Has anyone ever used the Wagner Safe-T Plane? I'm considering buying it to plane down Strat headstocks. Have you considered just setting up a router jig to do it? It would be free and from the sounds of it safer if all your using it for is strat headstocks, could be a little time consuming for other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 I don't think I'll ever buy one. Just seems so "trying to wing it, with the wrong tool" to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Peter.. I would be very carefull with that advice.. Before I read the instructions I did that. I put a block of wood on the table, and pulled the handle trying to seat the chuck. The table broke off. It's cast iron on my press. Not a good idea to do that unless you've got a heavy duty table. 60 bucks later, I don't think I'll do that again. I'll try cleaning it. I did wipe it off, but maybe some cleaner would help. Thanks! -John I hear what you are saying, John. But that is the way of doing it. Of cause you shouldn't use excessive force but that is something you should never use with precision tools. I would be very surpriced if a cast iron table broke like that. I would assume that there are a flaw in the casting and claim warranty (if the drill press was under warranty). But you are right John, I should point out the Morse cone should be pressed into plase using very moderate force, not much more that you would use when drilling in wood. If a Morse cone doesn't "stick" more or less by it self there is something wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claptonfreak Posted January 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Has anyone ever used the Wagner Safe-T Plane? I'm considering buying it to plane down Strat headstocks. Have you considered just setting up a router jig to do it? It would be free and from the sounds of it safer if all your using it for is strat headstocks, could be a little time consuming for other stuff. Well, I never really thought of building a jig to do it because I assumed that the plane worked quite well, but from what I'm reading it's not that great. I'll probably design some kind of jig or system to do this quickly and neatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Abbett Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Peter. I suspect you are right about the force required. I um.. Probably used way too much force on it. After it fell out while I was using it, I wanted to make sure it was on there good.. I could have taken a block of wood and put it on the base, instead of the table, that would have kept me from damanging the table. The instructions tell you to use a block of wood and a hammer to knock the spindle in place. I of course didn't read the manual until after the thing broke. -John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 I use mine a lot, and its one of my favorite tools in the shop. keep it sharp and go slow (feeding). you'll get very clean results. one tip to get less tearouts is to plane the edges of the piece feeding them in the same direction of the rotation. then after you get the edges down, you can go against the rotation of the planer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
govtmule Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 Take only light cuts. Maybe try a fence to keep the wood secure. I have used this tool to make radius blocks so it does the job. Yes I will say again like a wood chipper at first, takes nerves of steel. Thats why I used a practice piece at first because it looked scary. Thanks, I'm going to definately try a fence. I'm sure that will help with stability. I think another problem I have is that I have never sharpened the cutters. I must be a little slow but honestly from the instruction booklet I couldn't figure out how the sharpening stone was to be used. After seeing some youtube videos recently it's clear now.....duh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 (edited) Peter. I suspect you are right about the force required. I um.. Probably used way too much force on it. After it fell out while I was using it, I wanted to make sure it was on there good.. I could have taken a block of wood and put it on the base, instead of the table, that would have kept me from damanging the table. The instructions tell you to use a block of wood and a hammer to knock the spindle in place. I of course didn't read the manual until after the thing broke. -John I think this is an important tip for several applications. Especially for smaller bench models and people using them for fret pressing and such. Its just a good idea to support the table in case. It takes all of 2 seconds to setup and you alleviate any stress put on the table. This is more important for those using the drill press for fretting, since you'd be repeatedly apply this excessive force in a way that the press never would normally see. Most cases as you said, you probably don't need as much pressure as might be expected, but many people do that just in case, I mean you'd rather have a fret seat fully and not have any problems and guesstimating the exact pressure without going over isn't reasonable, so it seems its just better to be safe than sorry. I have a 12" Delta that's quite a bit bigger than most any benchtop model and feels extremely strong, but I'd support it just in case. Takes the stress off the table, the bolts and sleeve holding the table and yada yada. Glad you mentioned supporting the table, its a good idea for sure in certain cases. Jason Edited January 14, 2009 by jmrentis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_player Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Has anyone ever used the Wagner Safe-T Plane? I'm considering buying it to plane down Strat headstocks. Have you considered just setting up a router jig to do it? It would be free and from the sounds of it safer if all your using it for is strat headstocks, could be a little time consuming for other stuff. Well, I never really thought of building a jig to do it because I assumed that the plane worked quite well, but from what I'm reading it's not that great. I'll probably design some kind of jig or system to do this quickly and neatly. I did a headstock today and took a few pics. The jig takes 3 minutes maybe to make, I'm thinking of making a permanent one though since I build one of these like once a week at least. I used to use a jointer for the headstocks but it's too easy for it to chip and this only takes a couple minutes longer. It's also great for backplates and veneers since my planer is a hand feed one it's a lot of work to use it for something this small. I use doublestick to stick the neck down and use a 3/4" bit since it's the biggest I have. http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr266/g...er/IMG_2853.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Same here guitarplayer, this is the type of jig I use most often. I do not own a wagner planer yet, but I've wanted one for a while, though I probably won't use it much. I've used the router jig thing for everything from leveling bodies, cleaning up headstocks, making laminates/veneers for cavity covers and more. I also use a 3/4" straight bit when using the jig and the same router, lol, except with the fixed base on instead, love that router. As a jig it works wonders, quick, easy, leaves a decent surface. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Yep, a good router can do just about anything! I make coffee and popcorn with mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_player Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Same here guitarplayer, this is the type of jig I use most often. I do not own a wagner planer yet, but I've wanted one for a while, though I probably won't use it much. I've used the router jig thing for everything from leveling bodies, cleaning up headstocks, making laminates/veneers for cavity covers and more. I also use a 3/4" straight bit when using the jig and the same router, lol, except with the fixed base on instead, love that router. As a jig it works wonders, quick, easy, leaves a decent surface. J Yeah, the router's great, I have the fixed base mounted in my router table. It's really quiet for a router too, the only thing I don't like is the router is hard to get out of the plunge base. I'm thinking I'll just build a jig like this with bolts so I can move the 2 pieces of wood to adjust to whatever size thing I'm routing down since I'm always trying to find scrap that will work for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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