Electric Planer
Goodness knows there are all sorts of power tools and electric tools on the market these days…so much so it can be hard to understand what tool does what, and why you should own one. One such tool is the electric planer.
I am sure the majority of people reading this will have used a plane to cut wood before, shaving off excess wood to create a smooth, even finish. That being the case; what does an electric planer add that you are unable to get with a normal planer? What does it do and is it efficient in doing it?
What is an Electric Planer Used For?
Electric planers come in a huge range of sizes, from compact ones that can be sued for small sections with more accuracy, to large planers that allow you to cover huge areas of wood very quickly. But what is it they do specifically?
- Removes excess wood that you don’t want on your finished product.
- Smooths our rough areas of wood, by removing the problem area ? giving you a flat finish
- Allows a way of cutting wood that only removes a thin section at a time
- Even up glue joints by removing the rough section
- Make long tapers and bevels
As you can see the electric planer is a versatile system.
Electric vs Manual Planer
A manual planer is a hand held system that has a sharp blade allowing thin strips to be cut and removed from areas of wood. The more modern electric planer follows the same method, but by using electrical power it is able to cut through at faster speeds and to a more accurate cut.
This means that if you want to cut down on elbow grease, or you would prefer a more accurate cut, then you should be looking to use an electric planer rather than a manual one.
The Bosch 1549K electric planer
Features of an Electric Planer
Obviously every electrical planer has slightly different features as well as pros and cons, there would be little point in numerous brands otherwise. Which means that you should consider each brand and model of electric planer on it’s own merits. But the majority will have these useful features.
- Adjustable depth. Being able to adjust the depth of the cut that the planer is making into the wood is very valuable. You can have better control over where and when you are cutting, removing wood and making grooves at varying depths gives you a lot more versatility in your projects.
- Less sawdust. By planing the wood you are far less likely to be creating large amounts of saw dust vs other power tools. Because the wood is coming off as a ‘plane’ rather than as dust you can save yourself a lot of tidying up! It is not 100% sawdust free, but it does create very little.
- Rotating blade. This is how electric planers are able to be more powerful than manual ones. There is a rotating blade within the electric planer that cuts through the wood far quicker than a manual wood would. Consider the rotations per minute aspect when you are looking to buy an electric planer.
- Platern, also known as the rear shoe, is found (not surprisingly) at the back/base of the planer. This is there to help increase the stability of the planer, which may otherwise suffer because of the actions of the rotating cutting blade.
- Easy to repair. There are a number of moving parts within any electric planer, so you are going to want easy access to them to repair and replace if needed. Whilst not all electric planers are easy to take apart and repair, the odds are you should look for one that is ? in the long run it could save you a lot of money!
- The majority of planers these days use tungsten blades. This is important as it means that they can go much, much longer without needing to be sharpened/replaced. Saving time, effort and money!
- Fence guide. To help with accurate cutting many electric planers will come with a fence guide to help ensure that you are cutting exactly what you want to be cutting. No more miss cuts please!
Dangers of an Electric Planer
As with any power tool there are a number of dangers that you could be exposing yourself to when you use it. This is no more than you would find in any power tool, and even has some safety features that you wouldn’t find in a manual planer.
That being said it is still important that you know what to beware of it you are going to invest in an electric planer for your own projects.
Dangers
The electric planer can make a fair bit of noise. So to protect your hearing it is recommended that you use some sort of ear protection.
- Goggles. Whilst there is less sawdust or wood chippings than there are with many other powertools, the threat is still there. So to protect your sight ensure you wear goggles when using an electric planer.
- Mouth mask. Specifically look to use a mouth mask as sawdust can be dangerous when it gets into your lungs.
- Vibrations from the rotating blade located inside the electric planer can cause the wood to move. This can be a problem for the cutting accuracy and for your fingers, so make sure you are using a secure clamp when ever you decide to use an electric planer.
Electric planers are very safe to use as long as you know what you are doing ? and they are VERY useful tools that no one who is serious about a woodworking project should be without. Certainly you should be looking at including one in your own box of tools and tricks!