Safe-T Planer

[JLT]

When they were last on sale, I got one of these from Stew-Mac:



but I didn't actually get around to using it until a few days ago, when my repaired shoulder allowed me to get to building again.

My initial reaction was: Why didn't I buy one of these years ago? It's a versatile tool that takes most of the effort away from thicknessing, which I used to do with hand planes because I don't build enough to justify buying a thickness sander.

Its only real disadvantage is that you have to thickness the half-plates before joining them, since six inches seems to be the limit with my drill press (although it could be a bit more if a drill press had more distance between the bit and the pillar on which the motor rests). But I can get it close, join the plates, and finish with hand planes.

And, as Dan Erlenwine demonstates on his videos, you can do a lot more than just thickness plates. You can shave down bridges and bridge plates with precision, and put tapers on peg heads.

It is a bit pricy at sixty bucks, but it's one of the few tools I've bought new where I really feel I got my money's worth. I do see them used from time to time, built by another manufacturer, but the Stew-Mac one has replaceable bits that may not fit the other ones.

Their url is:

https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/T ... laner.html

[tippie53]

with this you must be careful of feed direction
so people GUYS ESPECIALLY
READ THE INSTRUCTIONS
it is better than a trip to the ER

[Stray Feathers]

Yes to both posts: It's a very useful tool, but as John says, it can really grab a piece of wood not held securely. In particular, using it as in the photo thinning a headstock, it is too easy to tip the neck just a little, allowing the planer bits to bite into the wood and chew it up. I bought one and have used it, but VERY gingerly. And S-M has had it on sale a lot recently. I think I read somewhere theirs is Chinese made, and the bits apparently don't fit the original American made tool. I have also made a sanding disc that does the same thing in a drill press. It's more forgiving, but of course also a lot slower.

[JLT]

Yes to both posts: It's a very useful tool, but as John says, it can really grab a piece of wood not held securely.

Thanks for the heads-up, folks. Like any power tool, it has to be treated with respect, intelligence, and fore-knowledge, which is what the instructions are for. Don Erlinwine has posted a video on thinning headstock which should be viewed before you try it yourself.

And, as is true with many sorts of planers, router bits, and such, much of the grief comes when you're trying to take too much of a bite on the work. We guitar builders should be cognizant about the importance of working in fractions of a millimeter, but when the tool is so efficient at taking the stock off in small increments, we are tempted to see what it can do. Usually to our grief.

[Bob Gleason]

The Safety Planer is one of those tools that I never think to use.It just sits on the shelf. I think I have just not used it enough to be comfortable with it. I need to use it more. Chips are still messy, but a lot better than fine dust. I'm never going to be doing plate thicknessing with one, but seems very fast and adaptable for smaller items.Interested to hear if anyone is consistently using one for projects and what those projects are.

[ruby@magpage.com]

I bought one on sale a couple of years ago and haven't used it yet. I have taken it out a couple of times, even installed it in the drill press, but it makes me uncomfortable just looking at it. So I revert to the sanding thicknessing jig I made for my little belt sander, or a hand plane.

Ed

[ruby@magpage.com]

Duplicate

[ruby@magpage.com]

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Ed

[Stray Feathers]

Synchronicity can be a lovely thing. I wandered in to a friend's antiques/refurbished old things shop today, and of course had to check out the tools. There to my delight was an original Wagner Safe-T-Planer, in its original box, and at a great price. So I bought it and brought it home to compare it with my Stew-Mac version. I initially thought the S-M version was smaller, but no. The design is obviously a near exact copy, with some exceptions. One is that the S-M version has teeth with two cutting faces, which can be reversed to extend the cutting life. But the Wagner comes with a sharpening wheel, and istructions on how to use it. It's been said that the cutting teeth are not interchangeable, and even apart from the different number of teeth, they have a slightly different shape; I have not taken them off to compare side by side, or try to cross-fit them. S-M says not to use theirs above 3000 RPM; there is no speed advisory on the Wagner. In fact, the Wagner instructions include information for another variant designed to be used on a radial arm saw, which must be faster than 3000 RPM? On the Wagner box it says clearly and boldly: "ABSOLUTELY SAFE! IMPOSSIBLE TO GRAB OR KICKBACK". Unless it is very different than the S-M tool, I wonder about that. When I have a chance I will try to do a comparison test and report back.

[Bob Gleason]

I bought one off eBay, also in the original box and never used. Seems that is the fate of these things, not to be used!-Bob