Safe-T-Planer - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, Robbie O’Brien explains how to use the Safe-T-Planer, a popular drill press attachment, for planing guitar sides and backs to the desired thickness.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: How do you thickness your sides by yourself?
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour mailbag. Question comes to us from England. "Dear Robert, I am thicknessing my sides using the drill press and Safe-T-Planer. I'm working alone and having difficulties doing the operation by myself. How do you do it in your shop? Michael, in England."
Well, Michael, to be honest, I usually have at least one or two people in the shop, either taking a class with me, or watching me work. And I put them to work. However, on occasion, I need to thickness a set of sides or backs by myself, and it is possible to do. Now, one of the very first videos I launched on YouTube, way back in 2008, was on this subject, "How to use the safety planer." After I launched the video, I started getting emails from guys all over the world with these elaborate jigs for doing this operation alone. Some had rollers, and bearings, dust extractors. One was even made out of rosewood. So it is possible to come up with a contraption that makes it very easy to do it by yourself. Now, in a minute, you're going to see that my contraption is very easy, and I use it by myself. So let me show you how I do it.
How I thickness sides by myself with the Safe-T-Planer
So Michael, here's my basic Safe-T-Planer set up in my drill press. As you can see, it's just a piece of particle board with Formica glued to the top of it with a fence on back. Nothing fancy. In the backside here, I've just stuffed my dust collection hose into the drill press, so it collects the majority of the dust there. And it's set up and ready to go. So when it comes time to use the Safe-T-Planer, I'm going to put a hold down block on one side. I'm going to push it through there. I'm going to stop, I'm going to walk around, and I'm going to pull it out. It's that simple.
[Robert holds the hold down block with his right hand and feeds the wood side through the planer with his left hand. He then walks over to the other side of the planner and holds the hold down block with his left hand and holds the wood side with his right hand.]
So Michael, as you can see, it's really quite simple. Feed the side or the back end, walk around, pull the side or the back out. Doesn't get much easier than that.
Safe-T-Planer tips
Now here are a couple tips for you. First of all, you notice I didn't get my hand in there on the second pass to clean out the debris. I used a piece of the side. Just take the side in there. Use that. Don't get your hands anywhere near the tool. They call it a Safe-T-Planer, but it could bite you still. So keep your hands away from the tool.
Another little tip is that when it comes time to thickness your sides, thickness them from the same side in the book match position. Don't do one here and one here or vice versa. Occasionally, you'll get in there, and some really nice color, or flame, or something in there that if you come in from one side and then do it on the other side, on the other piece, you may not get symmetry in the color. So Michael in England, I hope this has been helpful for you. And with a little practice, you will be able to thickness the sides all by yourself using the safety planer.
[on-screen text reads: More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instruction available.]
