Festool Junkie Blog

CAUTIONS: Using Planer with Rustic Cutting Drums

The Festool HL 850 E planer is capable of doing more than ordinary flat planing. Various decorative patterns can be produced when using the special rustic drums or Festool Ungulating / Adz style Planer Head. The cutting blades on these drums are fully exposed below the foot of the planer when the depth control is set at “zero”, and special attention is needed when operating the machine with these drums in place.

When removing the normal drum from the planer, be sure to transfer all of the fastening hardware over to the rustic drum.
This includes a screw, a small washer AND a larger keyed metal disk a little bigger than a quarter. This disk is keyed to the arbor shaft when installed and is the only thing that will secure the drum to the shaft properly.

When the rustic drum is installed, there is a chance that a loose piece of material can be forced up into the planer and crack the housing.
Please use the following guidelines to lessen the possibility of damage to the planer:
Set the depth of cut at “P” to “0”…. Never any deeper. The rustic drum is now packaged with a special bracket that mounts to the side of the front foot to prevent the foot from moving beyond the zero point. This should always be installed when using the rustic drum. Be careful at knots… either avoid altogether or cut across them very slowly. Ideally, the knots should be ground down with a 4” grinder before using the planer. The Festool RAS115 is well suited for this.

Avoid cutting directly across the grain… especially off the edge of the beam.
Avoid cutting beyond the edge of the beam at all, either with or against the grain.
Don’t let the machine bog down… cut slowly enough so that the machine runs well.

USE A SHARP BLADE!
A dull blade greatly increases the potential for trouble. Imagine how new Douglas fir does not split cleanly, but tears with long, tough, tenacious fibers still attached to both pieces. A dull blade that is not cutting well will grab these fibers and pull them into the machine.