Thread: Which Power Planer?

Hand power planers are a really good way to remove a LOT of stock very quickly, but as a precision tool they leave a fair bit to be desired. They are great in the building industry where tolerances are measured to the nearest car-park. Oh, and quickly throwing one along a freshly machines and sanded flat surface gives that "rustic" look so favoured amongst contemporary furniture producers. Apparently.

They can be used to dress rough sawn boards in both length and width but be prepared to lose about 6 inches off each end due to snipe. And you'll need to finish off with either a hand plane or a sander.

As for brands, as ever you get what you pay for. I have a couple of De Walt's; before them I had an "Einhill". The De Walt's will reduce the amount of follow on work.

Lastly; this is a tool that demands respect. The mass of the cutter block spinning away gives a gyroscopic effect that you don't initially anticipate so it feels a bit weird in use and you have to wait until it stops before you dare put it back on the bench; even the ones with the little spring loaded finger at the heel that are supposed to keep the sole off the ground. Lastly, I have a friend who lost the tip of his right index finger to one; although this was due to absolute stupidity and not the fault of the tool in any shape or form.

Perhaps you could borrow one to try it out?

They are a good tool for a lot of jobs when used right. As has been said they can remove a lot of wood fast but they can also be set to take a light skim. They have to be treated with respect as they can bite. I have a makita I have had for over 20 years but dont know how the new ones are. I have also worked with a $30 cheepie and it worked equally well but I would not expect it to last long. For a small job a sub $100 plane will do. I mostly use mine to clean up recycled wood but it is good for many jobs. I would advise some practice first if you have not used one before.
Regards
John

I love power planers, I have several, including my original Makita which is over 30years old. The result you get really depends on the skill you develop. You will still need to hand plane and sand on occasions. PAUL.

Definitely a useful tool and it's worth taking the time to learn how to use it properly. A cheap one will do the job, but if you're planning/expecting to use it fairly often, get something decent; the current Makitas are well worth the money (I like my Festool, but I could claim it on tax).

As with any power tool an electric plane needs to be treated with respect and proper PPE used.
I have a Makita and use it to trim down doors. Have destroyed a few blades in the process from hitting nails and locks.
They throw out lots of shavings and dust and I try not to use mine unless it is connected to a dust extractor, or dust bag. While these are not perfect, they save a heap of clean up.
Practice does improve the results so they can be well worth having in the kit.

I do not know if I would be using a plane to finish a floor sanding job.
Understand the limitations of the tool as you need room for the tool before you get to the blade.

I was asked to use a plane to straighten part of door jamb that had been damaged. A plane would only remove material and not get to the last few inches above the floor that needed the most work. Fearing I could do more damage than good I refused to use the tool. (I ended up filling the damaged parts with a filler for a respectable finish prior to painting.

I bought an Aldi Taurus!!

Just wanted to do rough work and it is fine for that, but I think if you took your time you could do a good job
on most things.

Th one real disadvantage with the machine is not being able to get close to an internal corner.

My Makita is about twenty years old and is still going strong.
I wouldn't be keen on planing after sanding anyway just in case some abrasive was left in the wood.

A Mawson will buy you an East Asian plane only. As they're a rough tool anyway I wouldn't be too perturbed about this.

What does "good" mean anyway? It's a purely subjective measure of worth. All planers are "good" if they perform as expected: expensive ones should perform better than cheap ones, but as all perform the same basic function a higher price point doesn't necessarily mean greater utility.

All my own planers are old, and all are "good", all (except the Festool) are long since discontinued too. The F'tool is just an extremely old fashioned (30 YO?) design still currently produced.

None are really measureably better (to a hobbyist) than modern designs. Like electric drills, the basic design has remained unchanged for decades, and there's little really to differentiate between any of them in their functions.

Originally Posted by jimbur

My Makita is about twenty years old and is still going strong.
.....

Mines closer to 30 and I still regard it as a roughing out tool - basically an electric scrub plane - certainly not a jointer or a smoother.



Fair Winds

Graeme

Hand Planers were not designed for planing floors with...there are special type sanders for doing this job. Smaller planers are designed for ease of use with one hand, and they do a good job in this mode. One thing I have noticed on some models, is that the handle is located directly on top of the unit...somewhat like mums iron....I consider these to be quite useless...a good planer has the handle set on an angle much like an ordinary hand plane. If the handle is directly on top, then you are likely to snipe the end of the board on the finishing stroke. I have used a few different brands over the years, and the best one I had was a Ryobi 150mm wide unit that was used for flattening table tops...this it did with ease.The cost of a Makita unit this size is around $1200, but I have bought 2 GMC 180mm units off Deals Direct for under $150 each. These units are fabulous for the price, and I am thinking of importing blades for these units if a few of you ones out there have these planers and are interested in buying blades. So expensive units are really not necessary for the handyman/hobbyist. My preference would be for a Makita, but I think most of them are made in China these days, so maybe not much difference in the lot.

The dewalt (previously elu) is one of the few stand out electric planers.

The three things that set it appart are.

length of the sole

depth of cut

power

they are more expensive that most others and quite a bit heavier than many...but they are a long running model and good machine

cheers

Originally Posted by Handyjack

They throw out lots of shavings and dust and I try not to use mine unless it is connected to a dust extractor, or dust bag..

I have 3( older Hitachi, Makita and a green Bosch and my favourite is actually the green Bosch( usually I wouldn't touch green Bosch stuff but it was given to me) one as it has a round dust port that is easy to attach a vacuum to and it has a single replaceable carbide blade making it quick to change if I find a nail with it. I generally use it for rough cleaning of recycled boards before putting them over the jointer or thicknesser.

Bruce T.

I have a Makita and 3 Towa planers. The Towa ones are approaching 50 years old.

They are used for planing recycled timber before they get near my thicknesser.

Blades in these are HSS and are able to be resharpened, hence hitting an undiscovered nail doesn't really matter.

Basically for the job you are trying to do, the power planer is not the tool for this.

I am sorry but reading the previous reports of how a lot of you fellas use electric planers for "rough work" blithely ploughing into surfaces that are a potential mine field with embedded steel bits!!! (I have a lot more respect for my tools, any tools, than that)
With my trade back ground as a Carpenter using an electric planer would be the same as using a hand plane. I have a Towa bought in 1973 and still functioning well. It has the handle at the back of the machine which makes it a 2 handed stance to use it properly and accurately as you would with a hand plane. I prefer to use the HSS blades so if I get a nick I can easily grind it out. I have a sharp set of blades that I carry with the planer in its box so if on site and dull the blade (planing off old paint is particularly hard on blades) I can take out the offenders and replace with fresh ones to finish the job.
I don't like the "one handed" planers with the handle on top, I find that you don't have the control that I have with the Towa.
Sorry to Mr Bleeder I haven't answered your question but with all the reports from others you should be able to arrive at a decision.