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Amos Dirks Posted: Jan 29, 2011 02:04 AM	Foam Planers Hey there, Just wondering what kind of Planers people are using on OC foam. Anybody running the CI Cutter? Is it as fast as it looks?
Cory Boehs Posted: Jan 29, 2011 04:26 PM	CI Cutter is the way to go! It is heavy, but you gotta use the weight to help out.
Amos Dirks Posted: Jan 29, 2011 07:44 PM	Thats good to know! It has a 27" head on it, wonder if that is a problem in closets and tight spots. Maybe they will make a narrow head too.? I suppose the wide head is nice for a lot of things though. :)
Cory Boehs Posted: Jan 30, 2011 01:21 PM	If you buy it direct from them, they will send you an attachment for a drill that is machined the same as the 27" roller. It works great for tight spots.
Amos Dirks Posted: Feb 05, 2011 02:09 AM	Check it out! Schmidt & Dirks are offering a 21.5 inch head on the CI Cutter now.
swfoam Posted: Feb 06, 2011 11:25 AM	I am wondering how clean this machine leaves the studs. I have a metal brush scraper I built and it leaves the studs looking like new. Does this machine leave the studs looking clean or "fuzzy"? Also how does it do in corners? And from looking at the video it looks like it could destroy light and electrical boxes. Anybody have experience with these issues? Thanks
Amos Dirks Posted: Feb 06, 2011 08:15 PM	Ok, I am actually part owner in Schmidt & Dirks Designs. I personally use the C I Cutter and build it. It leaves the studs clean and ready for Dry wall. It does not tear them up either. It cuts the corners out cleanly and easily also. As far as electrical boxes, it does not hurt them unless you put a lot of pressure directly on them with the cutter and try to plane them down. I know the head on this planer looks aggressive, and it is to foam. But the teeth are aluminum and have the cutting edge slightly dulled so they do not tear up studs and outlet boxes. I assure you this is the best planer you will find today!
Lynn Mether Posted: Feb 11, 2011 11:24 PM	Just ordered a CI cutter today hope it works as good as everyone says. On a side note anyone try the plane easy by calman industries, I'm wondering if it is the way to go for closed cell or go for the quickplane? by the way i have a "Foam Saw"with the ingersol rand motor for sell if the CI cutter works good
Amos Dirks Posted: Feb 12, 2011 02:12 AM	Howdy Midwesterner. I built your Cutter for you today and we will ship it out Monday. I'm thinkin you can go ahead and sell the Foam Saw. :) Let us all know how the Cutter works for you, okay? We would love to hear if people have ideas on how to improve our products. Our vacuum system will be ready soon so keep your eye out for it.
Lynn Mether Posted: Mar 05, 2011 08:03 PM	Sorry to bring back an old topic but I used the CI cutter this week for the first time and it kicks ass!!! Best Trimmer hands down-little messy though but I expected that. Great customer service too.
Amos Dirks Posted: Mar 06, 2011 10:38 AM	Thanks for the kind words, glad you're likin it! We are currently testing a new head for closed cell foam. We are going to use it on a open cell job Monday and see how it works there also. The teeth on it are much stronger so we may use them for both applications. :)
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Mar 09, 2011 02:23 PM	We have the Calman planer and a Gusmer QuickPlane, and an old 16" spiral ribbon blade model. The Calman works well. The Quickplane can eat wood as well as foam. How does the CI shaver work on 2# ? have fun, G
Amos Dirks Posted: Mar 09, 2011 05:48 PM	Olger, we are testing a new tooth design right now for the 2 pound foam. We are pretty sure we can have it cutting the close cell quite well shortly. The trick of course is to cut the foam and not the wood! I will try to keep you all up to date on this. We tested one set of teeth last week and are changing things just a bit on them and will hopefully have the new ones by the end of this week. Check out the latest video I just put on U-tube of my partner trimming under the stair case. Kind of gives you an idea bout some of the advantages to the C I Cutter!
steven argus Posted: Mar 09, 2011 06:21 PM	How much does it weigh?
Amos Dirks Posted: Mar 09, 2011 09:40 PM	I think the 27.5" Cutter weighs about 16-18 pounds and the 20.5" would be some lighter. We haven't actually weighed them since we put a lighter but stronger hollow axle shaft in them. The neat thing you will notice when you use them is they feed up the wall if you let them. Then you just ease them back down the wall and it is clean. You will see how it works in the videos. I think you will find it is easier on a person then much lighter planers because you use its balance and weight to work for you.
steven argus Posted: Mar 10, 2011 01:56 PM	We own the OC planer from Calman Ind. Works great. It has the nylon bristles and won't harm electrical boxes or wires. Problem is, it's very heavy (or my guys are just sisies) If you use it all day, you're taking advil for the next three. The foam shavings are just like the shavings from your machine, very easy to vacum up. Those shavings are a pain though, you end up looking tared and feathered. It looks like your using dryer sheets on your mask too. They accually do work. I'm certainly not bashing your trimmer at all. Looks like it should work. I'm just looking for the perfect trimmer. Cheap and light. The foams all is 1 third the price of yours.
Amos Dirks Posted: Mar 10, 2011 06:06 PM	Not to be biased but our Cutter cuts 3 times faster is why! I guarantee your guys would be smiling after a day using our Cutter. Like I said, it pulls itself up the wall and works with you! Good luck if you are looking for something cheaper and better. It's just not out there!!!
steven argus Posted: Mar 10, 2011 06:27 PM	Is that a money back guarantee?
Amos Dirks Posted: Mar 10, 2011 07:35 PM	Well, we don't really feel we need to make "money back guarantees". I just know that the reason we built the C I Cutter was because of what your guys are complaining about. We trim behind a man spraying steady all day and are not worn out after 8 or 9 hours. Partly because 1 man trimming can trim 3-4 times what 1 man can spray. I would like to hear more from people who are using are Cutter. We would like any feed-back we can get! Our goal is to make the best tools out there for you guys so let us know if you got any ideas. :)
steven argus Posted: Mar 10, 2011 10:27 PM	So what kind of guarantee is it? "I guarantee your guys will be smiling" is a very bold statement. How do you back it up? 1700 bucks is a lot of dough.
steven argus Posted: Mar 10, 2011 10:45 PM	TD, I don't mean to hassel you. It's just that we have tried literally every planer made and the biggest complaint is it's too heavy. Maybe we should be wearing skirts instead of Tyvek suits. I'm also tired of salesmen making claims about their products and not backing them up. (I'm not impling that you are a typical "salesman") And why in the hell does everything in our industry have to be so expensive? Have you thought about offering the planer for less money? Ya, Ya. I know there's alot of R&D involved, but come on. Again, I'm sorry to hassel you and I'm not at all saying anything negative about your planer. All I am saying is, if you're that confident about you're planer, offer to buy it back.
Amos Dirks Posted: Mar 11, 2011 09:22 AM	Come on, Guiness, are you just wanting to argue or what? I'm just saying that we have did our research. We know what the other planers do and how they work. We do spray foam and trim it just like you! Have you watched the last video I put on U-tube? What I mean by your guys smiling, is that I am confident that the C I Cutter is much more user friendly than your planer is. You may want to consider the fact that our planer cuts 27.5" of foam every pass down the wall and is trimming the whole width clean! plus the corners are as simple as the rest of the wall with just a straight pass down and they are done! You can complain about the price all day but it all comes down to if you want to compete or not! So far I haven't had anybody buy it and say it was a bad decision and YES, we have repeat customers.
steven argus Posted: Mar 11, 2011 12:00 PM	Just so I'm clear... no guarantee. I shell out 1700 bucks, try it and don't like it. I'm out 1700 bucks, have yet another foam planer hanging on the shop wall... nobody is smiling, especially me. All I'm saying is, if it's such a great planer and your that confident that I will like it, you should back it up.
Amos Dirks Posted: Mar 11, 2011 02:17 PM	Guiness, I sent you an E-mail about the guarantee. Don't need to argue on here about it. Thanks
steven argus Posted: Mar 11, 2011 02:39 PM	TD, email recieved. Issue resolved. Thank you.
jimcoler I have over 10 years of experience specifying and installing open and closed cell spray foam. I've sold my business but I'm still selling for the new owners and consulting on large and custom specific jobs. I've expanded my knowledge into t Posted: Mar 12, 2011 04:00 PM	So, Guiness... Are you buying one? What's your decision after your offline discussions? Jim
Circle-D Posted: Nov 13, 2011 10:04 PM	Well Guiness, did you or didn't you? Worth it or not.
Circle-D Posted: Nov 13, 2011 10:13 PM	Midwesterner, 8 months later, does it still kick ass? Has it been a worthwhile investment? Most importantly, if it died tomorrow would you buy another one?
Posted: Nov 14, 2011 02:44 PM	I shelled out the $1700.00 for the CI Cutter a couple of months ago and like it a lot. It is a little heavy and would love to see it lighter, but that would probably mean that you would have to apply more force to push to the studs rather than just letting it ride down. I will probably purchase the vacuum next month once we get off of our last big Spray Foam roof for the year. Good machine, good investment. Beats the hell out of an iso knife!
steven argus Posted: Nov 14, 2011 04:40 PM	Skip, we use the Bosch flush cut saw for CC and the foamzall for OC. We really don't trim much foam these days. We rarely do a full cavity fill w/ OC. And we never do a full cavity fill w/ CC. $1700 clams is a lot of $$$. I have never tried the CI cutter.
Lynn Mether Posted: Nov 14, 2011 10:25 PM	Sorry, been a little busy. But yeah it still kicks ass and I dont go anywhere without it.(In fact I get a little upset if one of the guys sets it outside the trailer cause they have been known to forget their heads on occasion) I would buy one again in a heartbeat. I also bought the closed cell cutter and it works well.