Clark 2003 Model Foam Planer, User Manual

HISTORY

We added this section because many people question why Clark Foam is in the power planer

business.  We also think some history might be interesting to a person who uses power plan-

ers to earn their living.

In 1988 the Skil Corporation suddenly announced they were discontinuing production of all

power planers.  Since it was introduced in the 1930’s, the Skil 100 planer had been used for

almost all surfboard shaping.  In 1988 a Rockwell planer was the only other power planer in

use by professional shapers.

While questioning a Skil Vice President in 1988 we were told the following: The planer was

selling well but their tooling was worn out.  The tooling had been built in the 1930’s.  It was

their prediction that the new plastic planers would be cheaper to produce and would eventu-

ally capture the market.  They felt it was not a good investment to retool.  It turned out that

they were right.  The market for surfboard planers is so tiny and specialized that they laughed

at our problem.

Immediately Clark Foam looked at and purchased every type planer then available in the

United States.  We decided a modified Hitachi F-30 would be the best substitute for the Skil

100.  We began modifying the F-30.  At the last minute we included a modified Hitachi F-20 as

a “beginners planer” or “small board” planer.

Much to our surprise the F-20 outsold the F-30 by a huge margin. Modifying the F-30 was

almost a waste of our time.  Hitachi made the decision for us when they discontinued the F-

30 in the early 1990’s.

Looking back we attribute the success of the smaller planers to a combination of availability,

lower cost, and lightweight.  Many believe the lightweight was the most significant factor.

Since the 1988 introduction of the modified F-20 several things have happened.  We made a

few modifications such as the vacuum attachment and several minor design changes.  We

improved our production technique.  Hitachi’s production was moved from Japan to China

resulting in a slight decrease in quality and a decrease in price.  The F-20 was replaced by the

P-20SB.  (The changes were insignificant.)  Computer controlled shaping machines appeared,

decreasing the demand for planers.  And last, but probably most significant, it turned out

there was a large supply of Skill 100 planers around the world.

Despite rumors and some opinions to the contrary, there were no new planers developed

after 1988 that were better suited to shaping surfboards than the modified P-20SB series.