I have for sale a modified Hitachi Clark Foam Planer for sale!! The planer is in great shape and I just installed brand new blades, which haven't touched any foam yet. This planer has a lot of boards left to shape and maybe you could be the one to use it. I am selling it for $275 firm.I am located in Lewes, DE
Wish I had the bones to throw down for that... nice tool. And about a $100 bucks cheaper than a new one.
Aaargh! I just got a new one in the mail from Foam EZ yesterday!!! $379 plus shipping. Where were you last week ? Anyway, I just mowed my first blank with it and it was sweeeet.... I'm sure you'll find a buyer quick. Post on Swaylocks if you haven't already.
Geeze me too. Been watching ebay for one of these and finally gave up. Just got a new one from Surf Source about a month ago. Shaped 3 board already with it. I like my Skil much better on the flats and bottom, but the Hitachi is great for rails and up by the nose. A Skil with a chopped base is probably the ultimate tool for me, but they cost too much, are too unreliable, and the parts are hard to come by. Hitachi is the best solution now for a newbie. Great price on this one too.
The Bosch 1594K is another good choice for a backyarder without a lot of money to invest. That model has a two-blade barrel and a 6 or 6.5 Amp motor. Decent planer for the price... about 150 bucks. Take care of them and they'll last for years. Mine's like 5 or 6 years old and still works like it's brand new.
I had the Bosch 1549K as my first planer and it did me good starting off. After a while the belt broke on it and although a cheap/easy fix, i used that as an excuse to get a clark modified hitachi. It was such a good buy, in my opinion. Shaping boards became so much easier and faster using the modified hitachi. Well worth the money for anyone who plans on shaping more than a few boards.
Same exact story for me as Antide. Did the first 10 boards with a Bosch 1594 and then made the upgrade. The smooth, easy depth adjustment is worth the price of admission alone. I noticed on your pictures that your handle doesn't appear to have the mod (mine is cut and re-bolted to the planer with the trigger more vertical like a gun). Anyway, this thing will sell on sways in a heartbeat. I was also looking for months for a used one before I bit the bullet on a new one.
Funny story. I had my modified "Hitachi" Clark foam planner professionally repaired. The place that repaired it specialized in Hitachi tools and have direct link to Hitachidistribution. They said "We can fix it but it's not a Hitachi." It's a Chinese knockoff. So you should change the posting title to "modified Clark foam planner" and take out the word Hitachi.
