What is a wood planer & What does a planer do?
A wood planer is one of those tools that people don’t often hear about, but it serves an explicit purpose. Best Wood planers are accessible as a useful tool for some things, but knowing how they work and what they are, will decide if you will ever buy it for yourself or not.
A woodworking planer, which can be used for the production of boards of uniform thickness, which is also completely flat on both sides, is known as a wood plainer. There are two chief types of planers, manual planer, electric planer (thick planer, power planer, hand planer) and both works with the same principles but are more suitable for particular tasks.
How does a Planer work?
Step 1: Check the Planer for Readiness
Take a few moments to clean your planer tool thoroughly after the previous job. Inspect the blade and ensure whether it is sharp or blunt. If blunt, swap the blade with a fresh blade to avoid irregular cuts on the wood.
Step 2: Be comfortable at your workbench
Hold the planer machine firmly by its front and back knobs. If you are right-handed, set your portable planer such that your right hand is at the back of the wood planer and your left hand should be in front. Converse the orientation if you are left-handed.
Step 3: Selection of board
Inspect the board carefully before placing it on the power planner. Check for lumps, warps, knots or any signs of dry rot. Choose only those boards which have negligible flaws and straight grains for planing.
Step 4: Place the board on a workbench
Use adjustable locks to secure the board you will plane attached to the worktable. It should not move to and fro, and must not shake from side to side. An appropriately-secured board will plane neatly and efficiently.
Step 4: Choose the place for the first cut
Incline the bench planer a little forward to bring the power planer blade in contact with the board. Push the surface planer with your straight forearms to move the board planer laterally and peel off a fine strip of wood from the board planer. Avoid bending at the waist to prevent pressure on your lower back.
Step 5: After each cut check the board surface
After every cut, run your fingers over the planed surface and inspect it thoroughly to confirm you have planed at the correct place and at the right angle. Carry on planing till you have reached the outlines and surface smoothness you desire. Finish up with resurfacing the board with sandpaper in order to improve the texture.
Points to be considered while buying a wood planer
Cost of Wood Planer
Cost is one of the most important and the prior factor one always consider. The cost of planer machines varies depending on types, the company and the quality of the apparatus. It is worthwhile to buy a woodworking planer that you can afford. The total cost includes the cost of installation (in case of electric hand planer) and successive maintenance. Do not aim to buy the cheapest planer tool as it may be cheap at the moment of purchase but could become extremely expensive later.
Pick the Best Planer Brand
The brand controls the work results to expect. The planer developing companies such as DeWalt and Makita will hardly fail with their planer tool. Hence, choosing one of these will give you a chance to appreciate high-quality services.
Efficiency and convenience
Efficiency and convenience depend on the type of Best Planer used. Hand Planners or electric planer will decide the efficiency. Always go for a power planer which cannot be overawed by a minor intensification of work. Hence, it is always better to anticipate upcoming needs.
Flexibility and ease of use
Never go for a highly complex planer. Go for one which can easily be used by everyone and is efficient, and can also be adopted in an extensive range of situations.
1: DEWALT DW735X 13-Inch Two Speed Best Thickness Planer Review
Features:
The DeWalt DW735X is one of the trusted brands in anything construction and remodeling related. It is more suited to skilled people. The high price of DeWalt DW735X imitates the quality of the product.
Probably the best thing about it is the fact that the speed is adjustable which gives you excellent control over your planning work.
Pros:
- It is well renowned.
- Highly Valued.
- High quality & long-lasting.
- Exceptionally powerful because of the presence of 3 knife cutter head.
- Customer service is great.
- Suggested for the professional users.
Cons:
- The price is high.
- High weight.
- Normal knives don’t last long.
- Additional knives are costly.
- Hearing protection is suggested.
2: WEN 6552 Benchtop Thickness Planer
Features:
WEN 6552 device is a great value portable thickness planer. One can adjust the depth of the device everywhere at any point in time. The fan-supported dust post can eliminate the sawdust from the workplace.
The blades are made up of carbon steel and are double-edged. The granite table provides a very smooth surface.
Pros:
- Half the price of the superior brands and highly efficient.
- Blades can be changed easily.
- It is considered as an improved version of the WEN 6550.
- Perfect for the occasional user.
Cons:
Not made up for industrial use.
3: Makita 2012NB Wood Thickness Planer
Features:
Makita 2012NB is one of the best brands in the industry, and one can never go wrong with their products. It is an automated head clamp. The great thing about it is the low noise levels (83dB).
This makes the operation contented. Apart from this, there is the internal-lock option which prevents sniping. The blades can be easily changed and disposable blades are accessible. Another feature is that it consists of an optional dust collector.
Pros:
- Better portability.
- Easy to use.
- Highly rated.
- One of the most silent models.
- A worthy alternative to the Dewalt DW735.
Cons:
- Price
- Dust collection hood is sold separately.
- Dust collection hood is an odd size & does not fit many models.
- Blade change can be problematic.
4: Delta 22-555 Portable Thickness Planer
Features:
The Delta Power Tools 22-555 is a portable planer is a mid-ranged benchtop planer. The portable thickness planner can meet the demands of users for numerous projects for smooth and precise planning.
The motor efficiency is improved with the help of a stainless steel bed which decreases friction. Due to its four-column design, it is very stable.
Pros:
- Great value,
- Incredible warranty
- Very accurate
- Solid build
- Produces very less snipe
- Blade changes with ease
- highly recommended for the casual user
Cons:
- Not so great with tough woods
- Not powerful enough for the professional user
Conclusion:
Doing your research work is important before buying any product. Just going by the look will not help you in this situation. A planer is a product that must be chosen giving specific requests from the person who will use it.
Failure to comply with these requirements does not mean that the product was defective, but that you did not choose the right machine for the type of activity. Choosing the right item for your first project could open your hunger for similar future projects.
Furthermore, an easy to use planer tool will guide you on how to use it better and improve it. Unfortunately, things can also go the other way.
Do I need a planer?
Save money for one. If you are really interested in woodworking planer, a thick planer is worth the cost. Once you have it, you will never regret the expense, as you will have control over the thickness of your inventory like never before. Combine it with a jointer planer and any board you use can be straight, flat, and of any thickness.
Chances are that you can find a thick planer used for a great price by checking in your area or you can try online. There are reasonable planers available for Rs. 10000 or maybe even less. If it is still is not affordable, see if there is a woodworking corporation in your city or town and join it.
Will a planer flatten wood?
Yes, you can definitely flatten wood by a wood planer. A planer is used to plane woods and to modify an into various things. It can be achieved by flattening the dry and rough wood.
You will end up with perfectly flat and straight boards, which is rare with tables purchased in the store. Although it takes an investment to flatten the wood, this operation cannot be performed without a jointer planer, a planer, and a circular saw.
Can a planer square wood?
Yes, you can easily square wood by using the best wood planer. Jointers are used to make the wood square so that they can be used to construct furniture and other projects to correct the dimensions. If your lab does not have a planer jointer, the planer machines can be used.
Woodworking planer can be easily converted into a jointer planer and hence the wood can be squared. To recompense for an edge which is too large to fit; you can use the planer to flatten both pieces of wood.
How does a wood thickness planer work?
A woodworking machine that allows planning and sanding of huge sections of wood to the exact dimensions needed for a project is known as a thickness planer. Normally there are three parts in the thickness of the planer:
- Drum cutting blade
- Insert the feed rollers
- Adjustable platform to keep the wood at the right distance from the drum blade for cutting to the required thickness.
In DIY Planer, the smaller models will have the stage as a fixed constant and the drum blade will be the variable part of the planer machine. To create the necessary thickness, this will have to be done physically by the machine operator. A drum blade is a metal cylinder that has blades that rotate at high speeds to plan the wood (typically 2 blades are there). This type of blade is found in a power planner. When the thickness of a long section of wood is altered, the lamination supports can be located before and after the Best Planer to support the wooden table at its entry and exit from the planer machines making the process harmless.
When planning a length of wood, it is desirable not to try to cut the necessary thickness in one go, as this could tear and give the Best Planer an uneven and wavy surface. Smooth in small extents until the finished thickness is reached. Also, in order to get a smooth plane on one side of the wood, the other side must also be flat in itself.
If the electric wood planer you are using does not have a self-feeding feature, make sure you have that small piece of wood handy to finish pushing the length of the wood so that your hands are not open to the wounding blades.
As always with machinery that produces dust, debris, and DIY sharp constituents, therefore, do not forget to use gloves, dust masks, and eye protection. When using planer machines that can handle lengths of wood to work, it is always desirable to have two people using this machine, as it makes better sense.