Cracking on with the first planking. This is as far as I will go for now as the base bracket I fitted is pretty solid, so I will now turn it over and work on the decks to get them shaped and sanded -
Still a while until Santa comes, so I got myself a plank cutter. I usually use a small chisel, but a hand injury makes this sometimes difficult.
It's an Amati bit of kit but there were a couple of problems with it -
1. The inset base was set too far back with no adjustment available, so cutting short lengths was impossible to get square. I sanded the front edge to pull it forward, scrapped the securing screws underneath and the glued it in place.
2. The handle is somewhat wobbly with too much lateral movement. This was addressed by adding large washers to the pivot bolt.
It cuts square now, but is several degrees off compared to the guide marks moulded on the base.
I am happy with it now and it cuts well, but it could have been a lot better out of the box. Maybe I just got a bad one.
Still a while until Santa comes, so I got myself a plank cutter. I usually use a small chisel, but a hand injury makes this sometimes difficult.
It's an Amati bit of kit but there were a couple of problems with it -
1. The inset base was set too far back with no adjustment available, so cutting short lengths was impossible to get square. I sanded the front edge to pull it forward, scrapped the securing screws underneath and the glued it in place.
2. The handle is somewhat wobbly with too much lateral movement. This was addressed by adding large washers to the pivot bolt.
It cuts square now, but is several degrees off compared to the guide marks moulded on the base.
I am happy with it now and it cuts well, but it could have been a lot better out of the box. Maybe I just got a bad one.