Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Planers - benchtop planers, rigid


Planes boards to a perfectly smooth (nearly mirror) finish. Width of finished board is (as far as I can tell with my precision) dead on. I like the adjustments on the side for repetitive cuts (1/8,1/4, .. etc). The cut depth gague in the front is nice so I accidentally don't try to make it take too much board at once then it can handle. Powerful! This planer seemed to laugh at the 10 inch wide oak boards I sent through it. I cut the boards from a tree with a Alaskan chainsaw portable sawmill. Each board needed numerous passes to get it down to nice smooth usable lumber. The blades lasted quite a long time. Changed blades after 20 boards, 10' long, 10" wide, receiving around 5 (on average) passes per side, I just turned around the blades and continued planing. The double sided blades are nice. I had an old 12" delta and as I used to either have to get the blades re-sharpened or throw them out once the single side had dulled.



As always... love the lifetime warrenty



Cons:

The hex wrench that came with it for changing the blades stripped and was unusable almost immediately. It was stripped before I changed the first blade. I actually find it easier to use a standard hex wrench for the leverage. Just have to be careful....



Dust collection is "ok", but I don't expect perfection from my 5.5hp big box store shopvac... Ridgid R4330 Planer, 13-Inch Thickness

If your going to buy one of these units make sure it's the newer version three blade. At some point in the last year or so the design changed slightly and they added a third blade. Home Depot carries these in both the new three blade version and two blade version. Same model number and SKU#. The older vs has a tool box located on the left side of unit, looking at it from the entry side. The newer version the tool box is located under the exit tray. (Heads up)



We have had one of these for about four years. Only used on a couple of projects. The unit works great as long as you use dry wood. We bought some Premium 2x6's at Home Depot and on the third to fourth pass the motor on this unit fried. The so called Premium wood was still to wet for the two blade version Turns out that Ridgid won't honor the lifetime warranty.



Also the dust collection on the older version clogs too easily, even when your using a commercial shop vac system.

I purchased one of these about 3 1/2 years ago and can't stop emphasizing how good the peformance has been, especially at the price. I am a woodworker that builds just about everything I'm asked to. I've been using this planer consitantly, at least 3-4 hours a week for the last year...I cut my own lumber, joint it, resaw it, and plane it with this item.



I too have never changed the blades...not to say that they can't give better cuts if I did, but the fact that they have performed so well (for so long) to this point amazes me. I plane all kinds of woods...pine, douglas fir, oak, gum, persimmons (white ebony), hickory, and alot of cherry and black walnut. Alot of hardwoods listed!



Other reviews don't speak as high as they should due to processes they shouldn't be doing...wet wood is a no-no on any planer. When properly hooked up to a 4" dust collector system, it works great. Maybe a wrench that arrives to change the blades out is junk...but the planer itself is what this review is on. It may not be as powerful as some may have predicted, but for the cost it's awesome, just take lighter cuts.



Best Bang-for-Buck...and FYI, I'm not an employee of Rigid...I am a constant customer of Home Depot.

I've had my Ridgid 13" planer for several months now.. Run a lot of wood through and it works great. However, blade changing time comes along.. Most of the screws that hold the blades have welded in place.. Apparently, the cutter head is aluminum and the screws ( metric ) are steel. Dis-similar metals corrode and seize.. After ruining the cheap tool they send to remove the screws as well as another hardened wrench, slotting the top of the screw, chilling the screw with dry ice and several other methods, I'm probably going to have to grind the screw heads off, remove the blades and then attempt to get the threaded stud out of the hole.. If that doens't work, you replace the $140 cutterhead. From reading reviews, this seems to be a recurring problem..

I bought Ridgid's newest model thickness planer after I had beat the older model to death with daily use for over a decade. The brushes on the motor finally gave on the old one so I got the new one with plans to have the old one refurbished when I have time.



This newest model has plenty of power for me. I make historic window replicas and use this machine almost daily. I bought both machines, my old one and this new one at Home Depot so I wouldn't ever be without replacement blades, even on a Sunday.



So blade change time came and I went to Home Depot only to find out that my Home Depot only carries the blades for the old machine, even though they haven't sold it for years, and only stock the new machine. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth.



But the part that makes this particular machine not worth the money isn't that. It's the blade changing design. These machines are designed to have the blades changed. No big deal. But you have to be able to get the blades out.



The old model used hex head bolts to fix the blades in place. That was a good idea. The new model uses allen head bolts that are rounded over on top. You use an allen wrench to get the blades out. That was a bad idea. Bad idea because if one of the bolts strip out, like four have done on mine, they are impossible to get out and change your blades. I can't get a wrench around it to turn it or anything, not even needle nose vise grips. Such a shame.



Now I have to remove it from the stand and take it in to get serviced, which means serious down time. Oh well. You live and learn. I guess next time I know what else to look for when I buy one of these machines. - Rigid - Benchtop Planers - Planers - Planer'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Planers - benchtop planers, rigid benchtop planers Planers - benchtop planers, rigid

Parker - parker


Since I was young, I had awful handwriting. No matter how I tried, nor what writing instrument I used, my handwriting was terrible. My teachers, parents and even my classmates and friends would comment and lecture me on how very difficult if not impossible it was to comprehend my scribble. To make matters worse, I write left handed and often I would smear my words with my left pinky making my bad writing even worse. It was the story of my life and I simply accepted my fate of illegible handwriting and even printing.



Then a miracle happened. For my birthday, a great friend of mine sent me this Parker Sonnet fountain pen with a fine nib. Hah!!! I can't even use a pencil legibly and now a fountain pen? Well it worked! For some reason, my handwriting improved using this pen! Maybe it is because I do not have to exert much pressure on the nib as I have to with a ballpoint or pencil. Maybe it is because the nib "grabs" the paper. Maybe it forces me to slow down. I am not sure but I know that my handwriting has improved. Now, Thomas Edison's reputation (ever see his beautiful handwriting?) has nothing to fear but at least my handwriting isn't an illegible embarrassment anymore.



Also, Parker pens come with their brand of ink called Quink. It dries into the paper so fast, that my pinky does not smear the ink like a ballpoint or pencil. Amazing!!! Now my pinky does not appear to have the beginnings of gangrene.



This pen is also a good looking, classy instrument. With it's shiny black finish and gold accents and nib, it catches eyes whenever I use it. The finish is very durable and after a couple of months of fairly heavy daily use, there are no scratches to be seen. It seems to be very well made. The cap fits on securely and the details of the pen are sharp and clear.



I use the refillable ink reservoir every few days to fill my pen with Quink blue/black ink. I found that the blue ink, while beautiful in color, does not duplicate on at least my office's copier machine well if at all.



My son does not have the greatest handwriting either (the apple does not fall far from the tree). For the upcoming school year, he gets a fountain pen. When he is older, I'll get him a Sonnet too. Parker Sonnet Lacquer Fine Point Fountain Pen with Golden Trim, Black (1743579)

While it's not quite the MkI Sonnet of 15 years ago it is 1/3 the price. And while the S/S nib isn't quite the pleasure that the 18k unit is, it is a solid pen and a very good value. Highly recommended. - Parker'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Parker - parker parker Parker - parker

Sansa Fuze Cable - sandisk, mp3 accessories


I had lost my Sansa USB cable, did not know which one to buy as people often complained that connectors don't fit... Well this one is excellent replacement for original, maybe even better... Works prefect. A+ USB Cable for Sandisk Sansa

It does fit my Sansa, but there was no product name on the cable as in the photo above. The quality is not as good as the factory cable, but I've misplaced my original. Until I can find it, this will do nicely.

Good inexpensive cable. Of course, its annoying that Sandisk chose to use a cable with such an unusual connector. I didn't want to have to carry a cable with me everywhere in case the battery in my Sansa ran down, and I didn't want to be left without a cable should I lose the one and only copy of this strange cable. Fortunately, this one fit perfectly. Highly recommended for anyone in the same situation.

I lost my MP3 player data cable on a mission trip to Guatemala. And without it the player becomes obsolete next time I need to load a song! I found the replacement cable for $15 plus shipping. Very steep considering the player cost only $30. So I looked in Amazon and found this replacement cord for less than $3, including shipping. I works perfectly and I could not be more satisfied. - Sandisk - Charger - Usb Cables - Mp3 Accessories'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Sansa Fuze Cable - sandisk, mp3 accessories mp3 accessories Sansa Fuze Cable - sandisk, mp3 accessories