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I have been working on improving the safe-t-planer. The cutter really doesn’t star sharp because either the Taiwanese clone cutter is using poor quality HSS cutter, or because the steel burns at the slightest hesitation that the cutter has to be sharpened after every cut. So I said, I had enough. I took the cutters and enlarged the slot so I can fit a CCMT insert into it. I would then braze the insert on. Right now I haven’t had any luck with borax so the insert held poorly (braze fuller would not wet even though both surfaces are clean), so I ordered some black flux and will try again. Initial testing shows the carbide infused cutter cuts wood like it’s not even there, even with some heavy cut. And the carbide won’t dull. If it does dull I just use a diamond wheel to sharpen it.

Why won’t they use carbide for this?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

The safety planer is basically a "gadget" and if you make it too expensive people will buy the proper tool instead.

I shouldn't be.

It allows people who doesn't have money or space for a thickness sander to thin down acoustic guitar boards where otherwise they couldn't do it easily. Not everyone has the ability to have a thickness sander.

This is what the cutter look like right now. I just need something other than borax as flux, because borax isn't working (and it's the flux, I tested the brazing rod on a piece of mild steel to medium carbon steel, same thing, metal will not wet and a light tap with a hammer dislodges it).

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Hey Tai,
Since you have a milling machine, instead of trying to modify a safety planer device why not make a cutter head that will accept the screw on insert tooling 4 sided cutters the helical head planers use. This might also be a good tool for Chris Ensor to make.

https://ballewsaw.com/amana-a-12-12mm-x ... xwQAvD_BwE

Or indeed you could have a side line of supplying replacement/upgraded cutters for the original Wagner safe-t planer which are unobtainable.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

How do you braze to Aluminum?

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I don't really want to modify the head, but I can't drill and tap HSS either...

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I finally got the carbide insert brazed on. I used a flux called "Brazetec" or something, probably similar to Stay Silv white flux. It worked and now my safety planer is working 10 times better. It will cut anything, purpleheart, maple, mahogany all without burning, dragging, or going dull after 5 minutes of use.

Someone should make brazed carbide cutter or adapters to take CCMT inserts for this. The downside though is there are less protection should the piece be sucked up... the carbide will chew through it like it's not even there. So definitely use it to get your wood close to size and use a thickness sander to arrive at the final thickness.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Since you make stuff, why don't you make them?