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How does a power planer work?
Like a hand plane, the power hand planer (or electric planer) rides on a shoe, or sole plate (Fig. A). Like a jointer, the planer has blades mounted on a cutter head or drum that spins at 20,000 rpm, removing wood equal to the difference in elevation between the front and rear shoes.
When would you use a planer?
Woodworking jointers and planers are used to mill wood so they can be used to build furniture and other projects to correct dimensions. If your workshop doesn’t have a jointer to square up an edge or your wood piece is too large to fit through, you can use your planer to flatten both pieces of wood.
Are electric planers any good?
They’re frequently used to plane doors (for fitment), they’re much faster than sanding, and don’t require the precise setting up needed to trim with a circular saw. The finish they leave is not incredible, but not bad to get prettied up.
Do you need to sand after planing?
All it takes is a light sanding to open up the pores of the wood. Anything higher than an 80 grit will begin to reseal the wood and the stain will not penetrate. Mill glaze is the effect that happens when the knives of the planer get hot during the planing process.
Can you run pressure treated wood through a planer?
There should be no issue running pressure-treated boards through a planer, however, if you do a little housekeeping afterward. Give the planer a good blasting off with an air hose after you finish for the day to reduce the amount of PT sawdust left in the machine.
How short of a piece of wood can you run through the planer?
Most planer manufacturers advise against planing pieces shorter than 12″.
Will a planer fix warped boards?
In order to flatten a warped, twisted, or cupped board, a common approach is to first use a jointer to create one perfectly flat face. Then you run the board through a thickness planer with the flat face downward, and the planer makes the top face parallel to the bottom.
Can you plane both sides of a board?
You can’t make both sides parallel by running both sides across the jointer. Your process is correct. If I’m doing a panel glue up I joint both edges, but I joint the second side after it has been ripped parallel.
Can you Plane wide boards with electric hand planer?
Power-plane by hand For really wide boards, you’ll have to abandon stationary machines. A handheld power planer is the key to this technique. First, you need a flat surface larger than the board. Shim the board under the high spots so it won’t rock.
What do I use a planer for?
A planer is used to shave wood from the surface of boards. Imagine scraping a knife across the top of a block of butter. That’s pretty much the action with a planer – though you might need a bit more muscle power! They’re used to make a rough surface flat and smooth, or to reduce its thickness.
What is a power planer used for?
A power planer’s primary function is to smooth the surface of wood, but it can also be used to smooth wood’s rough end grain. It’s also used for tapering wood. If a door is too wide, for instance, make passes with a power planer over the side of the door, adjusting the depth gauge to give a cut of the desired depth.
Can you use a planer to remove old finish?
You could plane off an old finish, but it’s not worth the risk. Planer cutterheads can generate sufficient friction to soften such finishes as polyurethane, gumming up their knives. Instead, use a belt sander set to about half its maximum speed and an 80- or 100-grit belt to remove the old film finish, as shown above.
Can you joint with an electric planer?
The electric hand planer usually comes with an edge guide for jointing. Truthfully, jointing is what these machines do best. Once you learn to set up your planer properly, you can easily get a glue-ready edge on any sized board. This method has its advantages over using a bench top jointer.
Will a planer remove paint?
Can a planer be used to remove paint? A planer can be used to remove paint. Although running it gently along the surface may not do the trick, you can achieve this effect with a deeper blade setting. You need to set your blades, so they dig deep enough to get under the layer or layers of paint you wish to remove.
How much can an electric planer take off?
An electric (hand) planer is a tool used to take off small amounts wood by shaving it off in increments. They usually have two or three blades to achieve this and the maximum amount of material that can be removed in a single pass is usually around 1/8″ (3/32″ typically).
Is planing better than sanding?
Whereas sanders are used to alter the finish of wood, a wood planer is used to even out wood to an exact thickness. With a planer you can smooth rough lumber, clean up sawn edges and give new life to old wood. Each planed piece of wood can be used by itself or glued to other planed pieces for a thicker board or block.
Does a planer make wood smooth?
Smooth rough-cut wood stock with a planer. The planer is a tool for woodworkers who require large quantities of planed stock and who elect to buy it rough cut. It, too, cuts with a cutterhead, but the planer smooths the face of much wider stock.
Can you use a planer on plastic?
From my experience, plastic doesn’t work well going through a planer or jointer. The table saw works much better using a combination blade. A rip blade would work even better. The larger the gullets the better.
