Which Planer? New EHL 65 E or HL 850 E?

[maxtool]

I have a very small, mainly Festool shop and lack a jointer/planer (well, I have a thickness planer in my garage but using it means moving cars, moving it, connecting shop vac, etc.). What I really need to do is accurately edge joint boards for glue up. I often work with curly or birds-eye maple.
The TS55 almost cuts well enough for glue up - but just not quite.

I really appreciate your advice.

mac

 

[fortrout]

;D  I have the HL850E planer.  If you are going to be using this tool mainly as a jointer, the accessory stand which inverts the machine works really well.  It is also heavy enough to balance with the auxiliary fence when planing at the workbench.  The new planer, the EHL65 E is a smaller lighter tool.

 

[tbellemare]

How big are the pieces you want to joint?

Tom

 

[Tom Ryan]

How about using a hand plane?  Just one pass with a very sharp plane should take off about .001 and do the job.
It doesn't need to be a long joiner plane -- a smoother or even a block plane would do it, since the edge is essentially straight.

Tom in SE Pennsylvania

 

[maxtool]

Thanks to all who replied. This is a big help.

I typically glue up small pieces - 24 to 36" - occasionally larger.

As far as a hand plane goes I haven't used one for quite a while and never managed to get good results except with my small block plane. I'm just about to start a project so  maybe I'll dig it out, sharpen it and give it a go. I've been reading up on this and my guess is that I never had a really sharp edge and I've always had cheap planes. 

If I were to go the hand planer route - my reservation is with keeping it sharp. Not sure I have the skill/equipment to get it right.

I looked at the 850 and accessory table - that looks pretty interesting too. Although I wonder about whether something so small will do it for me I also have to considert that my workshop is TINY!! (Hence the festools - and no table saw or other big equipment.

mac

 

[Woodenfish]

WSD to the rescue?

Much better results and more versitile IMHO for the small shop.

 

[Jimhart]

The larger planer with the stand that inverts it would do an excellent job on what you're trying to do.
It would also be the most grossly overpriced way to handle your situation I can possible imagine.

Unless you're fitting doors in the field pretty often, you're not going to get value from the Festool planer.

The router table suggestion in another post is an excellent solution. So is the hand plane suggestion. You might want to post on various woodworking groups and try to find someone local to you who can help you learn to sharpen and tune a plane. No time better then now and you'll be very glad you did.

Have fun,

Jim

 

[tvogel400]

As a rule of thumb-

You can only accurately straighten a board that is less that twice the length of both jointer tables.

Although I was taught that the best solid wood edge-to-edge joints should be slightly sprung i.e. touching on the ends and ever so slightly hollow in the

middle.

T-bone

 

[Pete Pedisich]

As a rule of thumb-

You can only accurately straighten a board that is less that twice the length of both jointer tables.

Although I was taught that the best solid wood edge-to-edge joints should be slightly sprung i.e. touching on the ends and ever so slightly hollow in the

middle.

T-bone

T-bone, why is that? so the ends don't split?

-pete

 

[Jimhart]

As a rule of thumb-

You can only accurately straighten a board that is less that twice the length of both jointer tables.

Although I was taught that the best solid wood edge-to-edge joints should be slightly sprung i.e. touching on the ends and ever so slightly hollow in the

middle.

T-bone

T-bone

I think that rule of thumb sounds reasonable for a board that hasn't been straight line ripped.

I would think if you used a rail saw to rip it straight, you could use the planer to create a glue joint.

My old Bedrock 607 plane is about 22" long and it can create a stright edge on a board 20 feet long.

It's a hell of a lot easier if I straight line rip it first.

Jim

 

[tvogel400]

Pete,

yes it is to help keep that fatal split from happening overtime.

Jim,

I agree, one of my favorite things is to straight line lumber with the 55. More often than not I will glue up right off the saw.

Years of production have taught me that if you have your joint at say 90-95% perfection you should just go with it particularly if it is long or you have

several  to do. Most woodworkers have a very discerning "eye" our 80% perfection is most peoples 100%.

Once you have the clamps on in dry fit and it looks good-nice and consistent, chances are that "oh' one more swipe with the plane wouldn't hurt" usually

does. Ask me how I know

I really want a 850 with the moulding heads-I'm waiting till I have a need for it. But as a jointer I am skeptical, I do think it would be good for smaller peices

though.

T-bone

 

[richard.selwyn]

I am surprised that you can't get a good enough edge with the Festool saw.  I just glued two cheap doors together for a client to make one.  After trying various methods unsuccessfully (the piece was too big and unwieldy on the shaper and I didn't like the result with the HL850, I just put a newly sharpened blade on the 55 saw and ripped both edges.  Glued up fine (I used 20 of the largest dominos as well)  Don't know how long it will last, but he didn't want to spend any money.  I also echo the comments about hand planes - I never could use one till I bought a Veritas - worked straight out of the box - works even better since I resharpened the blade.  Now I want a Lie Nielson 

 

[JJ Wavra]

If you are having trouble sharpening I would say look at the worksharp. The top model now has a jig that attaches for bigger blades on the back of the machine.  I sharpen all of my carving tools and plane blades on it.  I do them freehand, I'm used to sharpening carving tools so a plane blade is not too bad.  I like it also because of the cost is about $200 dollars you are ready to go and it is a dry system so very little clean up.

JJ

 

[maxtool]

It is GREAT to have this community giving me quick and excellent advice.

The TS55 and mft/3 give me an edge that is close, but not quite what I'm looking for as an edge (not really sure if I'm being too picky or not).
I do have a router table and looked at the method used above - that is easiest with my current set up.
AND, several of the commenters have given me the urge to try out another hand plane - although this time I'll stay away from the low-end tool "specials".

The worksharp 3000 looks pretty versatile - and I have a coupon for Rockler that would cut the price by 15%.  If only it came with a systainer....

maxtool

 

[JJ Wavra]

It is GREAT to have this community giving me quick and excellent advice.

The TS55 and mft/3 give me an edge that is close, but not quite what I'm looking for as an edge (not really sure if I'm being too picky or not).
I do have a router table and looked at the method used above - that is easiest with my current set up.
AND, several of the commenters have given me the urge to try out another hand plane - although this time I'll stay away from the low-end tool "specials".

The worksharp 3000 looks pretty versatile - and I have a coupon for Rockler that would cut the price by 15%.  If only it came with a systainer....

maxtool

I put mine in a systainer 4 when I take a carving lesson and want to bring it along.

Oh and I forgot to mention I just started recently buying and "Hand" tools and went with lie nielsen and all I did was sharpen the blade.

JJ

 

[Deke]

I don't want to prevent a Festool sale, but I have a Veritas low angle joiner plane and their matching jack plane and they are awesome for just this purpose (and more). However, you need a sturdy bench.