I have been mentioning for awhile that I needed a planer, so my wife went out and bought me a Ryobi electric hand planer. Not exactly what I was talking about, but her intentions were good.
My question is, what can I use this for? Or should I return it?
Get some aromatic cedar. Plane it down to nothing. Put the shavings/chips in a loose weave bag. Hang the bag it the closet.
Or return it and just buy the cedar already in a bag. And take that dear woman, whom I love dearly, out to dinner. Any woman who buys you tools is worth gold. After diner take her to the tool store and show her a planer and start begging. Expain how important it is to make
3-4 garbage bags of shavings a week.I too have a hand held planer. Doesn't get much use unless I'm doing rough work or need something to bang a paint can closed. If I ever buy a small boat, I'll use it as an anchor.
Pete
Tread carefully here.
Most women have a gene that prevents them from buying anything useful for the shop. But they need to buy something. So they buy some strange stuff. And the gift is always given with some sort of maddenly bizzare logic behind the gift selection.
Her heart was in the right place. Be gentle with her. But get rid of this generally useless tool and buy something that you will actually use.
I own a Ryobi hand power planer also. I use it to bevel the striker side of doors. I made a dedicated jig to hold it at the appropriate angle. It can also be used to plane a small amount off door bottoms when thick carpet is installed. Mine has served for many years without complaint but I admit it has not been used that frequently. I don't recommend you return it however, since, after you do, you will definitely find a use for it. It's the irony of things. Joe G
Sorry about you guys! My wife bought me a Unisaw for my birthday a couple of years ago and a Lee Valley Rabbit plane about a year ago and some other similar tools along the way.
You need to train her by showing here a bedroom full of beautiful Stickley Craftsman furniture that you could never afford and then building a bedroom full of that furniture.
Wait....
I did say train her, didn't I?
Not a unisaw, but I did get an LV shoulder plane for christmas...
Chris
I have one. Not a bad tool for casual use. But this isn't about the tool, is it? This is a drive-by gloat that you are married to a woman who buys you tools...ANY tools.
You should worship the ground she walks on, bro'.
And keep that tool displayed, all clean and shiny in plain view...'cuz this ain't no tool.. it's a trophy.
So lose the thought about returning it. The tool is good enough for what it is supposed to do... and you sure as heck don't want to hurt the feelings of a tool-buying woman. They're extremely rare.
r
You should be sure the Rockler/Lee Valley/whatever catalog is always visible, with pages conveniently dog-eared and items circled with a broad marker ;-)
My Christmas wish list last year had "table saw" on it - I got gift cards from both daughters.
John
First of all, count your blessings.
Take the lady to dinner and celebrate the moment.
As far a making use of this widget, it is great if you are fitting and hanging doors.
It is also a great gadget if you are making 12:1 scarf joints for battens for a male mold for a boat.
I used one to make at least 500 scarf joints.
After that, you are on your own.
BTW, it would make a lousy boat anchor.
Have fun.
Lew
Keep it, give her a big hug, saying it's exactly what you needed!
Next time you have a sticky door or window, you will have the tool that you need to do the job. Until then, never let on, and we'll keep your secret ... you never know when you might need one, and now you don't have to worry when you do, or make one more trip to the hardware store to finish some future job.
You're a lucky man!
Ryobi's a good brand. Cheap, works well enough. An electric hand planer is handy for taking severe cupping from boards before you thickness them, just so long as you don't spend the money for a real high quality one.
Imagine if she'd bought you a Festool. Now that would have been a waste.
An awesome finish carpentry tool, very useful for planing doors, and especially jamb edges. Also useful for tuning bad framing, and shaping edges to a scribed line. You can use it in tight spots, precisely start and stop at marks, and you don't need the hold-downs, vises, etc... as with a hand plane.
I've never used mine for fine woodworking.
Locutus, wrote the following at or about 4/19/2007 10:52 AM:
Two things come to mind - after you give her a big hug and a kiss:
1) Grab a hammer, drill, etc. and hang out your shingle as "Locutus - Doors hung cheap and quick!" 2) go with your instinct and return it.Mine's "trained", she just doesn't realize it ... the mark of a 'master hand' in these matters. :)
She never comes out to the shop without asking, and only then if permission is granted; never questions _any_ shop related expenditures; and buys only her own tools, freely dispensing "gift cards" in appropriate amounts, and at appropriate times.
The price: A house _full_ of custom made furniture, with every piece designed for the specific location. (For some reason the latter scores big points and further insures that said training is retained).
I don't wanna know anything else about it ...
Why? ... cuz it makes you wonder who really wields the 'master hand' in these matters.
Thu, Apr 19, 2007, 11:52am locutus snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Locutus) doth ungratefully mumble: I have been mentioning for awhile that I needed a planer, so my wife went out and bought me a Ryobi electric hand planer. Not exactly what I was talking about, but her intentions were good. My question is, what can I use this for? Or should I return it?
Send it to me. If for nothing else, I've found mine absolutely great for rounding off rough stock in the wood lathe - while the stock is turning.
JOAT I have anal glaucoma. I can't see my ass going to work today.
It good for construction work (ie smoothing cuts for window sills) beveling a door, but use it somewhere that is easy to clean makes a lot of small chips fast. Snipe can be a problem at the end of a run too.
Mark
Thanks for feedback guys! The obvious use is using it for doors. Was curious if there was any use for it beyond that, doesn't sound like it. :)
I will keep the tool for occasion when I need it.
Hah! I figured the link was still out there.
You guys "really" need to start working on your imaginations. Getting one that is.
Hmm, I think this is going to wind up being posted twice. That's OK, because probably most of you didn't pay attention the first time.
Hah! I figured the link was still out there.
You guys "really" need to start working on your imaginations. Getting one that is.
I have an electric hand planer. I seldom use it. I have use it to flatten my work bench, to create a flat side of a log, outdoor projects. It is good for large pieces that can not be lifted onto a jointer. A large hand plane is a preferred tool, and much quieter.
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