Official Luthiers Forum!

I spotted an Original Safe-T-Planer, one of the last ones available!
It's item 151045429465 on eBay!

You "spotted" it?

Gotta love that wording!

Or you could post it in the classifieds instead of using this as free advertising. Just saying

Remember guys

"if there is spam just report it"

Oh wait. Now I'm commenting too

I actually have one of the last ones to be available in my tool box right now. It is in the box with the paperwork in like new condition. When I’m dead and gone my wife has already vowed to put it on eBay. So it isn’t "available" right now, but some day (after a quick change ownership) it will be "one of the last ones."

Get one of those engravers and autograph it! That will add enough value to look after all the future Killins!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Hmmm...
I actually wouldn't mind a back up...lol

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DRILL-PRESS ... 19d73f9f77

This looks like a pretty good tool. Anybody tried it? I'm thinking about getting it.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I bought one, but haven't had a chance to try it yet. It looks to be put together pretty well.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I like my saf-t-planer but I don't use it as much as I could because of the massive mess it makes.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

It's a great tool, if kept honed with the honing wheel packed in the box, and if used cautiously at fairly high rpms. If the honing wheel and arbor and the instruction manual are in the box, then I'd say it's probably a fair deal at the entry price. I wouldn't go crazy and bid too high, because others will come along--maybe in better shape. If the honing wheel and instructions are not present, then I would wait. Yes, it makes a wood-chip mess somewhat like a router, but that's nothing that your shop vac can't handle. Or even a broom and a dust pan....

I have a "knock off" that I bought from www.woodworker.com. Use it for rough thicknessing for backs and sides. Works great, but like Tony said it's definitely shop-vac time when you're done. Very fast way to remove a lot of material..... Oh, it was much cheaper than EBay for the original
Mark

Benedetto uses the Wagner quite a bit in his archtop video, I'm wondering if the eBay version is any quality.

It looks like it might be useful for carving Les Paul tops.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

As soon as I get a chance to try it, I'll give it the Ya or Nay.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Alex, I've had the tool for several years. In a previous post earlier in this thread, I cautioned to keep it sharp and use at a fairly high speed. On a project some years ago, I stupidly neglected to speed up the rpms on my drill press, and the tool tended to grab the stock. That's dangerous. But once I regathered my senses and adjusted the speed, it was great. I recently re-honed mine (easy to do) and used it to taper the back of a highly figured curly maple neck. It cut like butter. Wonderful tool. But, yes, lots of chips when you're finished. Give it a try. Shallow passes at a time, just like you'd use a router. Go slow and easy until you get the feel of it. Good luck with it.
Patrick

yes lotsa chips, get over it -we're cutting wood here!

i own one and like it a lot but you do need to keep the rpm up and hold on. another thing common with flycutting tools like the wagner, is that you also need to keep the head perpendicular to the work or you'll find yourself doing significant back cutting and wearing down of the inserts -the machining people on the forum will know what i'm talking about. i use one on my mill and tram the head in with an indicator to make sure.

wouldn't take much to make one of your own. turn down a piece of billet aluminum (wagners are die-cast), mill/drill/tap some pockets, turn some inserts out of a suitable toolsteel, mill out a chip gullet, heat treat, sharpen the inserts, and assemble. or you could make a smaller one with less inserts or a bigger one with more. or stagger the inserts for more depth of cut as well.

don't you own a machine shop Zeke?

Thanks for the heads up, Patrick. My drill press has max. 3000rpm, so I'll make sure I crank it up. I'll rig something to catch most of the shavings with my dust collector, but I'm pretty handy with a broom and dust pan. My shop is in clean mode for another 8-10 days for finish spraying, but after that I can give it a go. Does any one use a jig with the Wagner for thinning bindings? I have an idea for a set-up, but would like to get some first hand knowledge! Thanks!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Patrick, are you referring to the generic version on ebay that they were talking about?

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Pat

I do I do. If this is just a flycutter then that's easy to make. You can buy them pretty readily too, but I'm sure you know that arie. Seems like makin it to accept inserts that are a standard size/shape would be a good idea so then could be easily replaced if they got old or broken.

I don't think I'll need to make one for me though, I've got a pretty good selection already

I honestly would rig up a thickness sander using your drill press, a sanding drum, and a "fence" to thickness your binding. If you get a shop vac rigged up just right there will be absolutely no dust as well! I think it's a lot safer this way because the Wagner (at least in my case) has been known to tear out smaller pieces.

Once I got the jointer I don't seem to be needing that Wagner thing anymore... except for thin pieces like backs and sides...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I use my safe-t-planer to rough carve the top and back plates for my archtops and 335's. Great tool but needs to be kept well honed, I usually touch up the edges after every two sets of tops/backs. A simple jig made from a bent coat hanger that gets chucked up and set to touch drill press table extension at all points of a 360 degree rotation works well for table leveling.

Scott

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http://www.scottsguitars.net

The bent coat hanger was what I was going to use! Wire hangers are getting pretty hard to come by, so whenever I see one, I swipe it!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I thought he was out?

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

I get all the NADA that I can take possibly need, but its the wife type. Wud's NADA probably can't ship to Canada.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

nice bunch of face mills Zeke. they look like they earn their keep. no, a Wagner is a bit different in as much as the heel of the tool has no relief so it actually prevents the wood from lifting:



and there is a lip around the diameter to keep your fingers away from the cut.

i probably wouldn't want to make one unless they really fell off the earth or i had nothing better to do. they are useful and interesting though.