Boral
Oud Maniac
Posts: 92
Registered: 7-5-2007
Location: Portugal
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Mood: Nahawand
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electric planers
Has anyone tried ?.
In a few weeks I will start my first oud and I would like to know if any of the members has any experience with this type of electric machine.
I have little experience with hand planes so I am wandering if it could be a good idea to use the electric plane to bring the soundboard and ribs to
the desired thickness.
Thank you
Antonio
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GeorgeK
Oud Addict
Posts: 46
Registered: 7-16-2008
Location: Canada
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I have one that I'm just now trying to use for the rib thickness.
My first attempt using this device was a disaster. I had set it to minimum shavings and it basically did somewhat of a good job near the middle
section of the rib but chewed up the ends rendering the rib useless. In my second attempt I set it to zero shavings. In this setting it did a pretty
good job, it took of a very thin slice from the top of the rib and left a smooth finish, however the finish was not continuous.
In parallel to this effort, I've also purchased and am learning to use a hand plane. I think the hand plane is
much harder to use, but the finish was smoother and more continuous than the electric plane.
I'll qualify the above by saying that I've only spent about 1 hour using the electric planer and a bit longer using the hand planer...hence my level
of experience would be pure novice. I'm hoping to spend more
time around Christmas time and I'll probably post some pictures at that point.
Regards,
George
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carpenter
Oud Junkie
Posts: 248
Registered: 8-30-2005
Location: Eugene OR
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Mood: brimming with hope
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Are you using a hand-held power planer, or a floor model thicknesser?
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GeorgeK
Oud Addict
Posts: 46
Registered: 7-16-2008
Location: Canada
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I'm using a hand-held planer and I think its outa alignment. It has 2 blades that rotate to remove the material being planned. When I set it to zero
height, presumably it should not take any material away, however it does remove a very small amount. I flipped it over and took a straight edge to it,
I discovered that, when I manually rotated the blades by hand, one of the blades missed the straight edge while the other would take a small cut (my
straight edge was a pencil). My next step, if I ever get the time, is to re-align the blades and repeat my experiments.
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Boral
Oud Maniac
Posts: 92
Registered: 7-5-2007
Location: Portugal
Member Is Offline
Mood: Nahawand
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Thank you for your answers.
I have not decided yet but I think I will decide for a hand plane.
IMO, one has more control. I have already worked with a hand plane in the past but not within such thin limits
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Boral
Oud Maniac
Posts: 92
Registered: 7-5-2007
Location: Portugal
Member Is Offline
Mood: Nahawand
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George,
I will post my results later (maybe next month).
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carpenter
Oud Junkie
Posts: 248
Registered: 8-30-2005
Location: Eugene OR
Member Is Offline
Mood: brimming with hope
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Yeah, that would be a problem. Also you need to make sure both blades are set to the same height; otherwise only one will be doing the cutting. The
things usually come with a little setup gauge when new, but you can figure it out. I use a dial indicator.
Without seeing the work, it sounds to me like the tearing out might be a grain direction/feed direction problem, or a too-thick cut issue. Figured
wood? Another area for concern - every curl is rising grain. It's possible, even likely, to have grain direction changes in a board, just keep an eye
on your attack.
The non-continuous finish sounds like the sole of the planer is riding on the tops of the "hills" of the surface - a few more passes should even
things out. The shorter the plane sole, the more it will follow the hills and valleys on the wood; that's why jointer planes are so long, if you think
about it. Since the tool is only referencing the work surface of the wood, you've really got to be on top of things to achieve parallel. That's where
a thicknesser shines, parallelism.
That said, I always finish up with a nicely-tuned hand plane and/or scraper. The power tools leave a washboard surface no matter how subtle. I believe
mine's coming in at around 50 cuts per inch; raking light shows it.
Maybe this is some help - good luck!
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