There are many planers and planers for planing boards. However, if the board is quite wide, more than 200mm, then it is rather problematic to cut it evenly, along the plane, since one side of the board is convex, and the other with curved edges.
In this case, it is better to use different planing methods. The first way is to walk not with a wide electric planer, through protruding places. This is done in order to evenly carry out planing and prevent the plane of the board from skewing to one of its edges.
At the same time, strict protruding edges, it is necessary, with a small planing thickness, to go through the same number of times on one and the other side. In conclusion, we plan the board on a wide planer. If there is no planer, then on the electric planer, special knives with rounded ends are installed so that there is a protrusion between narrow passages, since the width of the planer during planing is less than the board.
If you have big machine, then in order to avoid distortions when planing an uneven board, convex on one side, chips are poured onto the frame, after which the board is rubbed and lies flat during planing. Such a simple technique allows you to avoid skew when planing.
The clamping device that many planers are equipped with should not be neglected, as they not only press the board, but also press it evenly. When reaching a flat surface of the board, the main thing is well-sharpened and adjusted knives, plus a thin layer of planing.
If planer you have narrower than the board being processed, then the board should be planed in one pass, then on one side, then on the other. Thus. You will achieve a flat surface of a wide board.
Planing with an electric planer is a fairly easy process if there is at least some minimal knowledge. But things are different if you need to process a very wide board.
After all, not everyone can do it efficiently, but it is necessary that the layer be removed evenly from the surface of the board, and the processing boundaries were not visible.
Instructions for planing with an electric planer
Before using a wide board with an electric planer, first experiment on a piece that you do not need.
Note that the electric planer can operate in two modes: stationary and manual.
If you use the stationary mode, then the board is passed through the knives of the electric planer.
Manual mode requires a special setting of the electric planer. First you need to adjust the cutting depth of the knives. Usually they set 0.1-0.4 cm. The smaller the depth of planing, the better the processing of the material will be, and you will practically not notice the boundaries between the passes. If it is necessary to perform deep planing of the board, then first set the maximum cutting depth of the knives, make the first pass, and then reconfigure the knives for better planing.
When you work with an electric planer a couple of times, you will learn how to choose the right depth of cut, and the work process will noticeably speed up.
We process wood: what you need to know?
Before processing lumber, you need to determine the direction in which you will be planing. Usually planed in the direction of the wood fibers. If the lumber is made from several boards, then you need to plan diagonally.
So that the edge of the board does not turn out to be uneven, you need to use an angular stop, which is attached to the base of the electric planer on the side and is perpendicular to its axis.
When you have finished planing a wide board, you will need to align the boundaries between the passes. This stage is called cycling. For this, a special grinder is used, which will remove all roughness.
To begin with, let us briefly formulate the tasks of a planer, as a special class in hand tool: a planer is a woodworking tool for removing chips from the surface with a cutting edge of a blade (knife) fixed in a planer. Its main task in woodworking is the creation and alignment of planes.
With the help of an electric planer, the following more complex operations are also performed:
- planing boards, individual plates;
- chamfering at specified angles;
- by sampling grooves from the edges of the workpiece.
Mounted on a shaft that rotates with an electric motor. It can be said that the fundamental difference between manual and electric planers lies in the difference in their performance, since on a manual planer the chips are removed manually - by energetic movements of the planer with a knife (lezgoy) fixed in it from itself along the workpiece. At the same time, special skills are required to obtain a high-quality result. Yes, and the amount of work performed by a manual planer directly depends on the same skills, dexterity, and physical capabilities of a person working with a manual planer.
Working with an electric planer is incomparably more convenient. It is possible to efficiently process wood with an electric planer both along the direction of the wood fibers and across. The highest quality at the surface of a wooden blank can be achieved, provided that the processing takes place along the fibers of the material. Processing across wood fibers is also used, but, as a rule, only when roughing the material. The extremely high quality of the surface in this case, of course, cannot be achieved, but you can get as close as possible to a certain ideal, knowing and applying special secrets in working with an electric planer. We will try to reveal for you the most interesting of them. To begin with, as far as it is necessary to remember that in any case, regardless of the type of your planer, it is strongly recommended to securely fix the workpiece being processed before starting its processing. This is the most important safety requirement: an electric planer, with the movement of its rotating sharp knife, can tear out the workpiece, throw it strongly and far to the side. Such an uncontrolled flight of her can easily turn into an injury for someone (unlike hand planer, which, with “sharp”, incorrect actions of a person, will simply knock the workpiece out of the mount).
We have already mentioned that the main function in work for electric planers is to level some pre-roughly processed wooden surface. After high-quality processing of the planer, such a surface remains not just leveled - it is possible to make it perfectly even and very smooth. All irregularities and defects can disappear after processing with an electric planer. For finishing, finishing wooden surfaces, grinding planes are often used, the design of which provides for the use of knives that have a precisely adjusted low speed. Such grinding planers can provide such a high quality of the wooden surface processed by them that it makes it possible to abandon the subsequent operation of its grinding. 
With the help of an electric planer, you can make grooves in workpieces, create chamfers and perform many other operations, if only the design and power of your planer allows it. Therefore, before buying it is useful to evaluate not only the power of the electric planer, but also the width of its planing. A blade width of 82mm is standard on most handheld electric planers, but professional planers can have planing widths up to 10cm.
Like any power tool, planers differ among themselves depending on the power of their electric motors. The frequency of rotation of the shaft with blades on the planer directly depends on this indicator and determines the possible depth of processing of the workpiece on this planer. It is the speed of rotation of the shaft with knives, in many respects, that ensures the quality of the surface obtained as a result of work on a wooden workpiece.
The optimal power for an electric plane can be considered to be 700-750 watts, although it is useful to mention the wonderful Japanese planers with a power of 1050 watts or German cordless planers with a battery voltage of 14.4 volts. When choosing an electric planer for themselves, professionals pay close attention, in addition to power, to:
- planer weight
- diameter of its drum with cutting knives
- width and depth of processing possible on it.
In an electric planer, the diameter of the drum falls into the number important factors, since the value of this element can compensate for the small power of the planer electric motor. For the quality of the treated surface, the accuracy with which the set values are set for the depth of the passage on the planer is also of great importance. It can be considered a good recommendation that the step of changing the depth of the passage has a value of at least one tenth of a millimeter. Because the experienced craftsmen For different materials and different frequencies of processing use different knives on their planer, then for dynamic work it will be convenient for the selected electric planer to have a mechanism for quick replacement of knives. For real important point In assessing the success of the planer design, one can also name the material from which its sole is made, as well as the quality of its surface. The ideal case would be an option in which the sole of the electric planer slides on the board without any difficulty, but the tool itself remains extremely stable. Absolutely smooth surface the bed obviously does not contribute to this. Therefore, on quality electric planes the sole is cast and specially milled (including from the ends), while applying small frequent "rifling" U shape. You can see them only with good side lighting, but sometimes you can feel them with your finger by running it along the surface of the base.
The workpiece on the workbench must be securely fixed and always in a horizontal position. Remember that a correctly fixed workpiece should not have any backlash or wobble.
When installing your electric planer on a workpiece, first align the edge of its sole or the end of the blade (if it protrudes) with the drawn line, then firmly press the side stop of the planer to the edge of the board and fix it in this position.
It is advisable to move along the workpiece parallel to your electric planer from the beginning to the very end of each pass. It must be held with both hands.
So that the chamfer does not turn out to be rounded at the end, you should keep the worker running smoothly, without longitudinal skew. And even better, before the start of the passage - take your tool so that the knives are near the end of the board. However, remember: there should not be direct contact between the planer and the workpiece at the moment of switching on.
A chamfer with pre-set parameters for it can also be removed using its special markup. To do this, you first need to draw a line of a given bevel at the end of your workpiece. Then, putting the electric planer on desired angle, move its knives close to the end of the workpiece and adjust the planing depth along it so that the planer blades are exactly aligned with the line you have drawn. For accuracy, you can use the stop with adjustable angle.
If you have no experience in chamfering, do not be lazy and make several rough passes before work: after each of them, make adjustments to your work as necessary. This will help you get used to your power tool.
Even the highest quality and most expensive electric planers can be found various defects planing. The most frequent among them are:
- "beveled profile"
- "cuts".
As a disadvantage of planing, "beveled profile" is more common and "cured" with difficulty. But it is revealed simply: if you make two or more passes with a slight overlap of their width between each other, then scanty protrusions form on the surface of the workpiece, but still noticeable to the eye. The reason for their occurrence lies in the fact that the edge of one or both knives of your planer is slightly skewed. Before starting planing along the line, it is imperative to consider how both are located planer knives planer relative to the edge of its sole. Be guided in this by the rule that it is not the sole of the planer that should move along the line, but the ends of its knives.
"Infeeds" "become relevant" for the beginning or end of the passage of the planer over the workpiece, when the back sole runs into the board or moves out of it. Visually, they are immediately recognized by the relatively rapid change in depth. If you feel such a “rise” at a small distance from the beginning of the workpiece, then the blades of your planer, apparently, are still located slightly above its level. rear bed. Feelings of "descent" towards the end of the passage with a planer indicate that the knives, on the contrary, protrude unnecessarily. Even for very experienced woodworkers, a certain amount of unevenness remains at the beginning and at the end of the passage of the planer on the board. The difference is that true craftsmen know how to get rid of them quickly: you just need to leave a small margin along the length of the workpiece. Edges with defects will not be difficult to saw off.
All these defects are associated with inaccurate installation of cutting knives in the drum. To eliminate them, loosen the clamp of the knife holders, and then tighten the adjusting screws with a hexagon, which raise or lower the right or left sides of the clamping block on the electric planer: this is how the correct position is set for them. Details about this are always written in the instructions that accompany each branded planer, but this operation is very delicate, so do not hesitate to entrust it to the service masters for fidelity and do not skimp on it.
If for some reason service workshops are out of your reach, try to help yourself to eradicate defects in planing yourself. For this:
- The electric planer must be disconnected from the network. The blades of his knives are so sharp that at their nominal rotation speed of 15,000 rpm. a simple cut is not limited to an unexpected accidental touch. Have pity on your fingers, and for this - reliably de-energize your tool. Do not neglect this - even domestic dogs are euthanized during treatment, and after all, planer knives are much more traumatic than their teeth.
- Applying an exact ruler to the edge of the sole of your planer, establish exactly whether the ends of the cutting knives reach it.
- If the knives are missing to the edge, loosen the bolts holding the blade holder to the drum of your planer to slightly move the knives to the side - so that they are flush with the ruler. There should not be a large gap here, for fidelity, only the most miserable "spade" over the edge can be left.
- Tighten all bolts firmly on the corrected positions of the knives, and at the end be sure to check their tightness.
- Scroll the planer drum with your hands and see if the knives you installed do not touch the body of the electric planer.
If you know in advance that you will use your electric planer far from service centers for its repair - immediately upon purchase, try to find such a model as the MAKITA KP0810 electric planer - with additional adjustment in the height of its shoe, which limits the depth of sampling a quarter on a planer.
After a qualitatively done similar operation, the "steps" from the surfaces processed by your planer should disappear completely and irrevocably.
Disposable electric planer knives often have a double-sided edge, so at first a dull blade is simply turned upside down. However, if it becomes necessary to replace one severely blunt cutting blade, be sure to replace all other blades in your planer drum with new ones. Otherwise, an imbalance of its shaft may occur, from which a strong vibration will appear during operation.
Do not lose sight of the moment when you happen to feel the "hole" in the middle of the workpiece. This defect in the work of a planer often manifests itself due to the fact that your pressure on the electric planer has changed dramatically. The reason may be that you are moving your instrument in jerks. When working with an electric planer, it is always a good idea to guide your tool slowly and very evenly. The stability of the parameters of the movement of the planer along the workpiece is the key to accuracy, no matter what specific work with an electric planer in this moment was not performed.
For achievement good result you should always try to guide the tool evenly, with constant pressure, not allowing your electric planer to be lifted at some points in the passage. It is highly desirable to avoid slowdowns or stops in the middle of the passage, after which traces in the form of the above-mentioned "pits" will surely remain.
You should not blindly rely on the accuracy of setting your electric planer in terms of the depth of its one-time pass. So, if you set a depth of 2 mm in this setting and make 10 passes, this will not mean that exactly 2 cm has been removed. In such cases, it is always better to navigate by the profile of the groove being created drawn on the end of the workpiece (deviations will be immediately visible). Try to guess in your work so that the last pass on the workpiece is made by you to the smallest depth. In order for the depth of planing to be relatively constant throughout the passage of the planer over the entire workpiece, it is necessary at the beginning of the passage to press harder on the front of the electric planer, and at the end of the passage - already on the back. Pay your special attention to the fact that at the end of the passage, when the side stop of the planer has already moved off the board, for the rest of the distance your electric planer goes as if by inertia, clearly maintaining the direction previously set for it. Do not try to quickly correct his "course" here, because any movement of the hand to the side in this dangerous area will lead to irregularities.
Try to direct your planer in the course of your work, keeping it strictly horizontal, without any transverse distortions. Otherwise, it may turn out that you "fill up" yourself correct angle. This becomes especially true when planing narrow slots, when your planer is quite unstable.
If, by negligence, at the end of the next pass of the planer, a small “step” remains on the workpiece, then, as experienced craftsmen encourage, it can be removed during the next pass by pressing your planer very tightly against the wall of the groove being created.
Before proceeding with the planned work, look at the maximum depth of a quarter for your planer. For each electric planer, a certain value is set. Compare your plans with him.
The secret for a high-quality selection of a quarter for a groove: here you should always take into account that the side stop of your planer moves along the edge of the board, therefore, the planer itself only repeats the profile of this edge, and it is not always even. Therefore, when working with a side stop, it is useful to guide the electric planer with one hand, and with the other hand firmly, although not too much, press its side stop to the end of the board. At the same time, it is necessary to advance the electric planer so that the side surface of the frame fits snugly against the edge of the already made groove. Your pressure on the instrument in this movement should be directed not only forward, but also sideways.
If possible, always try to connect a vacuum cleaner to the work of your planer. The experience of such connections shows that with it there will be practically no waste left after working on the workbench and the floor of your workshop. It will not be necessary to tediously clean the electric planer and clean the room, which you don’t want to do after a long work, and the service life of the planer when working “hand in hand” with a vacuum cleaner will increase significantly.
Many beginners are interested in the question of how to work with an electric planer. At first glance, there is nothing complicated: plug it into an outlet, press a button, drive back and forth along the surface, removing chips. However, at the first attempts, the result is far from always impressive.
When buying a tool, you need to check its performance, completeness and appearance. It is worth paying attention to the quality of sharpening installed knives. If there are spare knives in the kit, you need to check them too. The cutting edge should be smooth, sharp, without potholes and bends. All other settings must be checked at home in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Checking and adjusting the position of the front plate
All tool adjustments must be made in the off state. The plug must be pulled out of the socket, otherwise you can not only disable the electric planer, but also cause serious injury.
When checking the position of the knives, the front plate must be set to the position of the minimum planing depth with the standard adjustment knob. Set the electric planer on a flat hard surface with the drum up.
To check, you can use a metal ruler or a piece window glass suitable sizes. The drum with knives should be rotated until one of the knives is in the upper position, above the axis of the drum. The ruler or glass must be laid on the plates along the planer. The surfaces must be in the same plane.
If the control device is tilted on any of the plates, check the position of the front plate and adjust it. Such a defect occurs during prolonged use of the tool without Maintenance. Internal cavities can become clogged with wood dust and small chips. Excessive force on the depth adjustment knob will move it out of its original position.
To eliminate the defect, you need to remove the handle, front plate, clean the cavities from dust and chips, and lubricate. Install the plate in place, check the installation on the ruler, fix the handle, checking the coincidence of the dial with the index mark.
Cutting edge adjustment
Adjusting the position of the knives is carried out according to two parameters:
- height of the cutting edge relative to the back plate;
- the size of the protruding part of the knife for planing quarters.
Having installed a ruler or glass, you need to turn the drum, controlling the gap between the knife and the fixture along the edges of the plates. The edge of the knife should lightly touch the fixture without lifting it. If the knife clings to the fixture or does not reach it, the position must be corrected.
Usually the knives are fastened with a special wedge with expanding bolts. With a key of 8 or 10, you need to wrap the bolts in a wedge until the bolt free play appears. Then, with the installed eccentrics, align the height of the cutting edge with the fixture. Tighten (unscrew) the fixing bolts, check the position again. The desired result can be achieved after several repetitions of this operation.
At the same time as adjusting the height of the cutting edge, the protruding part of the quartering knife must be controlled. Optimal size must be specified in the manufacturer's instructions. On most models, it is 1 mm. The size is set by moving the knife to the left or right along the axis of the drum. It is important to set the size correctly. It should be the same for all knives. This can be achieved by using a specific size feeler gauge or by measuring the distance with a caliper (columb with a protruding back) from the edge of the knife to the drum. After adjusting the first knife, you need to move on to the next ones. The operation for all knives is carried out in the same way. If some knife cannot be set in the required position, you need to remove the wedge, check the eccentrics for integrity and free rotation.
It is necessary to complete the adjustment by checking the free rotation of the drum and the fastening of all knives.
Preparation for work
You can work with the tool in two positions:
- stationary position: the electric planer is attached to a hard, stable surface;
- portable: the tool is moved manually along the workpiece.
Many models come with special clamps and a bracket for the start button. In a stationary position, it is more convenient to process lumber of small length, which can be moved through the tool alone. It is desirable to process long workpieces with an electric planer in a portable version.
Wood must be dried, raw lumber is poorly processed. The board must be well fixed on a hard surface. The part should not bend under the weight of the planer and move in any direction during operation. When processing side surfaces on a workbench, it is advisable to install them on special mounts preventing bending and movement. In the area of rotation of the drum with knives there should be no metal elements (brackets, nails, screws) on the treated surface and fastening elements. A blow to the metal will leave a gouge on the knives, and a protrusion will form on the treated surface. Knives will have to be sharpened by removing a thick layer of metal, or changed.
Surface treatment
An electric planer can perform three operations:
- chamfer at different angles;
- choose quarters on blanks;
- cut surfaces.
The main purpose of the tool is to plan surfaces of various lengths and widths.
When working, the planer must be placed on the surface of the workpiece with the front plate so that the knives do not touch the surface. Press the start button, after a set of revolutions (the sound stops changing the tone), start moving the planer over the surface. The tool must be held strictly parallel to the surface to be treated, the movement must be uniform, without jerks and stops. At the beginning of the movement, you need to increase the pressure on the front part, when leaving the surface on the back part. The planer should work smoothly, without vibration. If there is a strong vibration, the sound changes during operation, you need to turn off the tool, determine and eliminate the cause of abnormal operation.
The depth of the pass must be set depending on the purpose of processing. If you want to change the size of the workpiece, you can use maximum size. When leveling the surface, it is desirable to work with a small depth of processing, achieving the required quality in several passes.
Also, the depth of processing depends on the material. hard rocks should be passed several times with a shallow depth so as not to overload the tool.
Additional features of the tool
To chamfer, you need to use a special triangular groove cut on the front plate of the planer.
The tool should be set with a groove at the corner for processing, run and move along the part, keeping the slope. The first pass is made along the slot, subsequent passes, if necessary, are carried out in the usual manner.
To make quarters on a planer, you need to install an additional stop to limit movement away from the direction of movement. The second stop, which limits the depth of the quarter, is located on the side surface. The stops must be set to the required dimensions. The distance should be measured from the corner of the cutting edge of the knife in the up position. Quarter sampling is performed in several passes. If the vertical surface of the quarter turns out to be steps, it is necessary to increase the protrusion of the knives beyond side surface plane.
A wide surface of lumber can be processed in several passes. Processing must begin from the left edge, setting the adjustment to the minimum depth. The next pass should be carried out with an offset to the right by about a third of the length of the knives. In this way, you need to go over the entire width of the workpiece. If the quality is unsatisfactory, repeat the surface treatment in the same way.
Conclusion on the topic
An electric planer will help to significantly reduce the time of work, save money on the purchase of lumber.
When working, you must comply necessary requirements safety precautions to avoid serious injury to the limbs and other parts of the body.
Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to work with an electric planer. Behind the appearance of ease of use hides several important nuances.
First of all, you need to determine how often and for what purposes you will use the tool. Its power and design will depend on this. The power of an electric planer ranges from 0.5 to 2.2 kW, the number of knives may differ in execution. Basically, models with two blades are presented on the market.
A few tips:
So, you have chosen the unit you need. It would not be superfluous to check the cutting edges of the knives for flaws - they should not have chips and bumps and the sole of the planer, which should be as smooth as possible. As a result, these factors will affect the quality of the treated surfaces.
Before starting the processing of the main product, make several training cuts on unnecessary bars. This will allow you to get used to the tool, master the planing depth switch and, in general, evaluate the capabilities of your tool. In the course of trial work, it is possible to identify the functional shortcomings of the new "assistant". They are removed by adjusting the planer.
How to properly set up the tool + (Video)
It is best, of course, to seek help from a service workshop, where professionals will quickly and efficiently help with setting up a planer. When this is not possible, you will have to cope on your own. Use the hex wrench as instructed to loosen the blades on the drum. Next, to put the knives in the exact position, use the locksmith's ruler.
Novice carpenters should remember that the smaller the depth of cut, the higher the quality of processing and the easier it is to move on the surface of the board. The more the knife protrudes beyond the boundaries of the sole of the planer, the greater the layer of wood it removes. After adjusting the blades, you need to thoroughly tighten all fasteners. To make sure that everything is done correctly and the cutting surface does not come into contact with the body, you need to turn the drum several times by hand. All adjustment work must be carried out on the instrument turned off from the network.
Working with wood - wide board + (Video)
Before starting work with a wood surface, it is worth determining the mode that is convenient for yourself - manual or stationary. For example, consider the processing of a wide board.
Manual mode:
For better safety of the worker and his environment, it is necessary to secure the future product with high quality. In the presence of even a minimal backlash, the quality of work also deteriorates. After you need to check the freedom of movement along the board. No foreign objects should interfere with the operation of the tool. It is very important to hold the electric planer firmly and with both hands.
Before switching on the tool, the knives must not come into contact with the surface to be treated. You can carefully bring the power tool from the end of the wooden canvas immediately after starting and move forward. Hold the sole of the planer straight, parallel to the board. The pressure of both hands should be equivalent.
A different force is applied only at the beginning of the passage through the tree, where more emphasis falls on the front handle, on the back - at the end. During operation, it is necessary to exclude jerks, stops or accelerations.
With experience, the correct completion of passes on the back of the workpiece and the setting of the cutting depth of the knives will become more accurate. The direction of movement of the planer for processing lumber is carried out along the fibers. In the case of a prefabricated product from several bars, boards with high irregularities in the joints, the electric planer moves diagonally.
Planing straight + (Video)
In order to plan evenly, it is necessary to lead the planer only forward without turns and distortions. The thickness of the product determines the speed of movement along it. On average, it reaches from one and a half to two meters per minute. Do not apply too much force - this will cause the tool to stop and unevenness. At the end of the straight line, you need to turn off the engine, and move the mechanism to the next section. Even when the tool is turned off, do not touch the knives, as this threatens with accidental injury.
Be sure to ensure that the chips do not fall under the sole of the tool. It is better to purchase an electric planer with a dust collector. Then the process will become much cleaner.
An angle stop is required to avoid chamfering on the edge. It is attached to the side of the base of the planer, perpendicular to the axis. In order to avoid chipping on the edge, dull it a little by chamfering. The same procedure applies to varnished parts. It will help ensure smooth transition between a pair of surfaces.
Stationary mode:
In this case, the tool is attached to a rigid stable support. wide board is directed away from itself along the plane of the planer against the movement of the knives. Working in this mode, you need to advance the wood with the same speed and pressure at the point of contact with the knives.
At the end of the lumber processing, scraping is performed. This procedure allows you to align the seams visible after different passes with a planer, to remove roughness. In this case, a looping machine is used.
