Soap planer questions for owners

[Lin]

Ok, so I asked my dad to make me a soap planer and sent him loads of loads of information, various plans, youtube videos, and photos. Then the other day I got an email where he jokingly said he'd finished the planer, and attached an amazon invoice for a soap planer being sent to me. I super appreciate it, but I'm also kind of upset that he didn't say he was just going to buy me one because I would NOT have chosen the one he did AND I could have saved him up to $13 if he had asked me. And money is almost as tight for him as it is for me.

But now... It arrived today, and there are some things that have me concerned. I'm wondering if they're normal, or defects. If they are defects I'm really upset because for the price he paid he/I could have gotten the best quality one thats on etsy.

Here is the whole thing


When you look at the opening where the blade is, the space is larger on one side. I was wondering if this might result in uneven planing, as the soap could push further down on the wider side to take more off..


One of the bevel guides starts narrow at the edge, gets super narrower, and then widens to what seems identical to the wider bevel guide


And then I just wonder if these are signs of shoddy quality in general, but its put together with staples and on the bottom there's a spot where a staple caused a small split that is sticking up. Hard to see in the photo:

 

[soap_rat]

I think if the gap between the blade and the soap is even, the planing will be even. So if the unevenness is "behind" it, that should still work. The grooves being inconsistent is not impressive. Glue and staples is a great way to build something, but the split is a problem if it's where your soap has to slide. If it is not, then I would not worry. Maybe let your dad know that internet/forum reviews of that maker's stuff aren't very good, and the one you got ties in with those reviews, so you'd like to exchange it for the etsy one? You'll send it back to Amazon, he gets the money back, then hopefully buys you the right one.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

are there any adjustments that can be made to the blade to straighten it?

 

[Lin]

The blade is straight, the wood it's attached to isn't. There is no way to adjust it. Does anyone else have an uneven gap like that? And I know the bevel guide is a defect, no way that's normal. The other stuff I don't know. The split is on the underside so it won't cut the soap at least. But for the price I don't think it should have been sent out the way I'm seeing it... I'm concerned about my dad losing shipping money (plus me having to pay to ship it) so before returning it I want to make sure these things aren't normal....

 

[roseb]

I have a very similar planer and there is a gap where the blade is just like yours. I think that as long as the top is even with the blade the gap isn't a problem. However, my grooves are even and straight. Mine is glued, nailed and the wood looks like it's oak (nice and hard). I purchased mine from an gentleman on etsy and love it. I get very professional results using my planer. Have you used it?

 

[Lin]

I haven't used it because I don't want to have already used it if I have to return it.

I know there's supposed to be a gap there, thats how it cuts and allows the soap to fall under the planer. So are you saying your gap is uneven, much wider on one side like mine?

On the funky bevel guide, if you look close it also isn't smooth, like you can see tiny bits of wood sticking up. I don't think it would be enough to damage the soap, they're soft to feel and move back and forth so I could sandpaper that smooth I'm thinking. But then again, considering the guide at the cutter is identical to the one on the other side, and the funky narrowing, I don't see how I would WANT to use that bevel guide. Typically there are two because they're differently sized.

Also, those of you with planers how long is the blade? When I sent instructions to my dad, I said I needed a 4 inch long blade. Because for my molds, I'm going to have some 4x4 square bars. This planer is only 3 1/2 inches at the blade. I could have sworn one that I looked at on etsy was 4 inches, but I don't know if maybe the blades don't even come in 4 inches long... I'm not sure what to do about that part, if there is a solution or not (other than different sized bars, because that would upset a lot of my plans and increase the cost of my molds)

ETA: There are also bevel guides on the bottom of the planer, is that normal? I was wondering if they were supposed to be there or not. Because interestingly one of those bevel guides narrows at one edge as well, but less so than the one on the top of the planer. However the edge of the wood on that bottom is slightly chewed up. So I wondered if maybe that was originally supposed to be the top of the planer, but due to the poor edge the piece was flipped around and new bevel guides made.

I've caught my finger on the little wood split sticking up from the staple, so if I keep the guide I'll have to do something about that. I went to compare it to the ones I had looked at on etsy, and actually saw the same seller it came from. Toughtimbers is the name that was on the package, does anyone have planers from them? Maybe I got a dud.

 

[Lin]

Sorry for babbling on so much. I should have just made my ETA above into a new post anyhow. I'm just really disappointed over this so far, when I was thrilled just the other day about getting a planer! Its like when you've been craving food at your favorite restaurant for months, finally go, and the dish craved doesn't taste how you wanted.

I took a picture at a better angle to show the tiny split and the bevel guide on the bottom. It really is tiny, I'm admittedly being super nitpicky on that one but its because of the other stuff. If it was that alone, I wouldn't give a crap. But when you start adding things up it makes me more sad the more little things I notice. I also wonder if I'm just being too much of a perfectionist (because I am) and thats why I want to get input from everyone who has planers. This being my first and all.

So yea, heres the tiny split. I don't want to do anything now, but I'll remove the chip or maybe fill in around it with wood glue. It does hurt to catch your finger lol.

 

[soap_rat]

Well I just looked up the price, and I don't think it should have all those problems for $32. It does appear that you'd lose $ in shipping it back for a return, but it seems like you just don't want this one because the blade isn't wide enough, even if the seller would exchange it without you paying any shipping.

I think it might be good to contact the seller, list your concerns--how you think they'll affect the soap negatively, and how you've scraped yourself on the split edge--and see what they say. The seller might be fine with you trying it out to see if it works well enough, or indeed may prefer that you not do so if you want a refund.

I've modeled it in my mind--and sort-of with stuff in my hands--and I believe that the gap being crooked will not affect the way it planes your soap. Your soap will be sliding on the flat of the tool and will encounter the blade evenly; that gap won't make part of it sink down farther than the other. The thing that would cause a thickness difference would be the blade being higher on one side than another. So the uneven gap is cause by shoddy workmanship, and the seller doesn't seem to mind. If I'd bought that for $10 or $15 I wouldn't mind, but for $32 I'd want good attention to detail.

 

[JusDin]

I have the planer/beveler by Coeur d'Alene Soap Works and it is very good quality workmanship. Nicely put together and finished. The blade is exactly 4" long, partly obscured by the slanted beveler guide which is easily removeable. Truthfully I don't use the guide so I've removed mine. I don't blame you for wanting the longest possible blade. I've learned that it is much easier to plane a soap starting at a corner rather than a straight side--so when you think about it, you're planing somewhat diagonally. A longer blade makes this much easier.

I don't think you're being nitpicky considering all the issues you've listed and I can certainly understand your disappointment, considering the better quality piece is only $7 more. I agree with soap_rat, it shouldn't have all those issues for that price. Hope you're able to get it worked out to your satisfaction.

 

[Lin]

The Coeur d'Alene soap planer was my first choice if I had the money, and I sent photos and a video of it to my dad so he could make one in the same style.

I sent a message to the seller through etsy, I mentioned though that I had received the planer from an amazon purchase. I also mentioned having started a thread here to ask questions prior to having contacted them. I'll let you guys know what I hear back. Hopefully they are helpful, otherwise this won't be such good publicity. I'm really hoping I just got an accidental dud. I also found it very interesting in that the etsy listing claims the blade is 4 inches long, so I asked if he has more than one model of planer (he could have had more than one planer listing on amazon) since mine is only 3 1/2. I actually forgot about how planing at an angle works best. But with a 4x4 bar I'd still need at least 4 inches wide to plane the entire surface in one run. And I assume more than one run would not leave it smooth, going against the whole reason for planing!

Yea, for the price it should NOT have all these issues! There was one on etsy coming from Korea for only $20 including shipping that I was considering because it was the cheapest wood planer I could find. Now if THAT one had been purchased (which is also what I meant about how I could have saved my dad up to $13 if he'd consulted with me) I'd chalk all this up to you get what you pay for. But for one of the most expensive wood planers, I really don't think this is acceptable...

 

[jblaney]

Lin,

I have many planers and have had two custom one's made. My favorite one that was already made is from Nizzy's http://nizzymoulds.com/Planer.htm I liked it and I believe the blade is 4". It's expensive though and I believe Terry is in Australia so the shipping was a bit expensive.

I have one I bought on ebay, it think the one from Korea, but I don't recommend it at all. The blade is hand made and too thick.

I also have the one you have too. I liked it, but it was poorly made and it needed to be sealed since you will want to wipe it down after planing and since it's not sealed, that's not a good idea. I ruined it by trying to seal it.

All of my soaps need to be planed so I invested in some custom ones since I could not find what I wanted. You may want to try the one form Soap Making Resource. It's pretty good, but I'm not sure it's 4".

 

[Lin]

Thanks for the suggestions but I don't have any money for a planer. That's why I had asked my dad to make me one. The Korean one I spoke of is on etsy not eBay, only Korean one I saw on eBay was plastic.

 

[jblaney]

Sorry, I meant Etsy.

 

[jblaney]

Lin,

If your dad still wants to make you one I would be happy to send you one of my custom blades I had made. I think it's 7" long. Can't remember and it's downstairs, but it's longer than anything you can purchase and it has notches in it for screws. LMK

 

[CherylS]

what ever came of the planner and your dad?
did you send it back or keep it?

where is the lady in Australia web site? the planner comes up but i don't see where her page begins?

 

[CherylS]

those people that try to copy the original are bad and out for money because she's not available now

 

[jblaney]

http://nizzymoulds.com/

 

[CherylS]

I'm sorry and thank you for posting that. it would cost close to $60 to get it here. we will just do without that piece of work won't we. :lolno: