On the rather opposite of a precise job.. a slightly drowned MFT/3 and an EHL 65

FestitaMakool

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2019
Messages
1,491
Lucky I was, finding some highly sought after items did also bring a MFT/3 which had drunk a lot of water..
Last time I refurbished a Kapex MFT I only used my Bosch turbo sander with great success.
This time, well there was some really different thicknesses on the board and wavy patterns going on. 3 sides had soaked water to make a large portion from the edge and inwards swell unevenly, and every hole was raised by water. There was not much to reference on. Sooo, out came the handheld EHL 65 EQ. Had to start in the center and work my way outwards..

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

And boy the planer worked, not too well to my liking though, It skewed - deep to the right, mostly (and there was these “mountains” on each hole..to make things worse) So after nearly half ruin the MFT top, I started dismantling the planer instead.. checking both soles and the knife, everything was wrong [mad]. Knife was set in slightly skewed, main (rear) sole is slightly convex and skewed.. no way to adjust either. Knife was remounted and seated properly, and rear sole was screwed sequential to leave the lowest point at its best high position by not tightening this screw to much. Back to planing the MFT and results was much better. But really, the planer is just not good enough.. I hadn’t really noticed this before as it was used for slight correction of timber and skinning back of mouldings where one don’t notice.

[attachimg=3]

[attachimg=4]

Anyway, the MFT top are now pretty flat, albeit a bit skinnier  [big grin. There’s obviously very visible motorway wear marks in the photos, but I believe strongly that the Bosch turbo (Rotex) will even this to a very workable worktop. The flip side only has slight mountains around the holes and these will be gone with a 40/60/120/180/240 grit sequence.
I’ve checked with a straight edge, and apart from (less now) the usual sag, it is remarkably flat [blink]

In the end I’ll have a second, incredibly cheap MFT/3 with mint frame and legs, and a top that almost looks and does just the same as as a new. So it is worthwhile saving a top, even in this bad state and on top of that attacking it with a poor tool and a tight time frame  [big grin] [big grin]

Review of the EHL 65 EQ; There are some quality components (after examining its inner) but they are poorly put together, and is cheaply made where it should have been a lot better. It’s quiet, dc is extremely good (Almost zero ero dust coupled to a CT-SYS), leaves a good finish, nice to hold and it’s lightweight. I’m considering a Makita battery planer.. leaving this in its bench unit as a small jointer.
 

Attachments

  • 9BCEB2F3-C2A1-4F92-9481-D7AAB1535341.jpeg
    9BCEB2F3-C2A1-4F92-9481-D7AAB1535341.jpeg
    155.6 KB · Views: 439
  • 287A4BD2-B8CA-47BA-8918-ECD7E7AB4D93.jpeg
    287A4BD2-B8CA-47BA-8918-ECD7E7AB4D93.jpeg
    304.8 KB · Views: 476
  • C6C46D94-FD59-468C-9FA1-FB7DF6AB2015.jpeg
    C6C46D94-FD59-468C-9FA1-FB7DF6AB2015.jpeg
    107 KB · Views: 438
  • CD1AAFAB-99B7-48A7-B635-8C3FA2EBF4EF.jpeg
    CD1AAFAB-99B7-48A7-B635-8C3FA2EBF4EF.jpeg
    76.6 KB · Views: 430
If the ends of your knives are square they can leave tracks like you have on your MFT Top, even if set perfectly parallel with the sole of the planer. And worse if the knives are not parallel to the sole of the plane.

Watch Lou explain how he tweaks a cheap Ryobi planer to do his bidding. Totally not what you are doing. But he explains what I am talking about with the ends of the knives and shows how he sets up the blades.

He uses the handheld planer in his boat building in a much different than what you are wanting to accomplish.
=368
 
Interesting but man, I would never use even a crappy planer on MDF. A replacement top is only like $100...wouldn't be worth the time and wear/tear on tools to try and resurface one that has water damage
 
benz240 said:
Interesting but man, I would never use even a crappy planer on MDF. A replacement top is only like $100...wouldn't be worth the time and wear/tear on tools to try and resurface one that has water damage

Make that 250, and the planer a 100 more.. and it’s kinda fun [big grin]
and yesterday i passed on a rare opportunity to get a HL 850 with all the bells and whistles in accessories, for 450.. I figured I did only need a handheld planer..
Anyhow, i spent half an hour and maybe an hour sanding later to get a fully functional top.
When this table is freed from carpentry tasks at my gf’s house I’ll make or buy a new top.

Thanks for the link and tip Bob D.
I’ll look into it!
 
Nice find!  It's a good thing you discovered the issue with the planer blades on a sacrificial work top rather than some nice cherry or walnut.
 
Back
Top