Safe T Planer and neck blanks - Guitar Building Tricks and Tips

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

Boo — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:27:39 +0000

I think I'll chalk this up as one of those 'wish I hadn't bothered posting' threads.....

🤣 I think it’s probably best James. Having said that, it’s raised an important issue so it’s not waisted really. 👍

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

tv1 — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:23:43 +0000

A couple of years ago @darrenking - so I was plenty old enough to have known better!

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

darrenking — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:14:17 +0000

@tv101 Shit TV!, was this a recent learning experience?!!

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

James — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 15:39:25 +0000

I think I'll chalk this up as one of those 'wish I hadn't bothered posting' threads.....

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

tv1 — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 13:50:53 +0000

but I've had one sitting in the shed unused for a couple of years.

I've got one sitting unused in my workshop.

It'll probably stay sat!

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

tv1 — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 13:50:07 +0000

For example with a bandsaw you always need to makes sure that you hands are never pushing directly towards the blade but rather to either side of it. That way if the wood suddenly splits or the blade breaks your hands are naturally moving towards a safe area.

Another thing not to do is ...

leave the blade guard up high on the bandsaw, rather than lowering it as far as possible
spend an hour using an old (and getting quite blunt) bandsaw blade to rip some old doors into kindling sized pieces.
get quite bored doing that after the hour, and possibly not being paying complete attention
start having to push the wood quite forcefully as the blade got even blunter
turn round to pick up the next piece of wood whilst still pushing another piece through the blade
allow hand to slip from the pushing position, towards the blade ...

It was a bit "ouchy".

Luckily, my knuckle bore the main impact, and, with the blade being blunt, it didn't cut through the bone.

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

Anonymous 14552 — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 11:25:35 +0000

Can't sit on the fence either, I'm a toolmaker by trade but wood is a new material for me, it was me who mentioned the jigsaw on the live feed! Taper's are wonderfull things and used correctly tend to tighten but a side load on a morse WILL have a tendency to loosen. There's a daft lad on utube trying to demo the grab on a table saw, scary. Please be careful James, use a draw bolt, it can't work loose then.

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

mattbeels — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 14:27:58 +0000

I used a Safe T Planer once years ago at Lutherie school. I had made a neck through Explorer and used it to thickness the top and back of the body to match the neck cre after everything was glued up. It worked great and I don’t really remember doing it much but it was awkward and a bit scary.

Not nearly as scary as when I was cutting out pieces for a Neck Jig on the table saw. I don’t know what happened but it caught the wood and threw it at me, I blocked it and it fell back onto the table and then threw it in another direction across the shop. I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared as that, before or after and I have kids!

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

James — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 14:24:30 +0000

I have seen accidents happen before, which I could have helped prevent but didn't, and it is a truly sickening feeling and one I never want to experience again.

Totally appreciate your concern mate and will heed your advice...... but they are some seriously smooth flat pieces of wood 🤣👌😀

RE: Safe T Planer and neck blanks

darrenking — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 14:02:06 +0000

Hi James,

It's more about where your hands are in relation to the dangerous thing and where they may end up if something goes wrong.

The chuck could loosen and drop out when you remove the material but whilst still spinning.

Look, I'm not saying that this tool will kill you, you may use it for years and it end up being your favorite bit of kit, but I have seen accidents happen before, which I could have helped prevent but didn't, and it is a truly sickening feeling and one I never want to experience again.

I just wanted to say that even bits of kit that look relatively safe (especially ones with the word 'safe' in their name) can be surprisingly hairy in use.

Cheers

Darren

PS The Django thing. He was really a pretty good guitarist prior to losing the use of his fingers. I don't think even he would have recommended it as a career move! 🤣