Planers Buying Guide

When you want to get a flat surface on a piece of wood, you need a plane. For thousands of years, carpenters used hand planes to smooth out wood, shaving off tiny bits in order to get a perfectly flat surface.

Hand planes are still used, especially for rounded pieces or small jobs, such as planing down the bottom edge of a door so that it doesn't catch.

But when you have a wide board that needs smoothing down to a particular thickness, you'd have a hard doing that with a hand plane. In this case, your best tool is a planer.

A planer, sometimes called a thickness planer, is a large machine is with two flat tables on either side of a central cutter head. When it is in operation, a wooden board is placed on the planer's table and fed through a roller, under the cutter head, through another roller, and out the other side of the machine.

While the wood is passing underneath in one direction, the cutter head, which holds either two or three cutting knives, spins in the opposite direction. This causes the knives to cut into the board, effectively shaving off an amount of wood (from 1/32" to 1/8") from the surface.

The deeper the depth of cut, the more wood is taken. Depending on the size of the planer and the width of the wood, as much as 1/8" might be removed in a single pass.

Stationary Planers Stationary planers are the most common type of planer sold. Like table saws and other large cutting machines, stationary planers come with either open or closed stands.

The open-stand machines may be lighter and a bit easier to move. The closed-stand machines are going to be heavier, sturdier, and quieter to run. They tend to be better at dust collection, simply because there is less room for the dust to fly around. Stationary planers will come with a bed width that ranges from 12" to 24". These machines can cut as deeply as 1/8" into the surface of the wood.

Portable Planers Portable planers are smaller versions of the stationary planers. They are sometimes called bench top planers, not to be confused with bench planers. (A bench planer is a type of hand plane.)

The main advantages of a portable planer are the small size, light weight, and low price. However, there are a few disadvantages. Because they are smaller, they can't plane boards that are wider than about 12". Their depth capacity (the amount that can be shaved off the surface of the board) is only 1/32", unlike a stationary planer, which can shave up to 1/8".

Planer/Molders Some companies are starting to offer a planer/molder combination machine. This allows you, with the addition of special cutter bit sets, to create various moldings into the wood. One difference between planing and molding is the speed at which the wood is fed into the machine. When you are planing, you feed the wood in twice as fast as when you are molding. Planer/molder combination machines allow you to adjust this rate of feed.

If you go back and forth between planing and molding, you may find it annoying to have to switch out the cutter bits and the planer knives. Look for a planer/moder that has interchangeable cutter heads. That allows you to set your knives on one head and your bits on another and then quickly change them by changing the head itself, rather than the individual cutters.

Jointer/Planers

There are a few companies that manufacturer a jointer/planer combination machine. While planers cut boards to a specific thickness, there is nothing like a jointer for cutting perfectly straight angles. There are two kinds of jointer/planer combinations. The over/under combination uses a single cutter head and a single table. To switch from one function to the other requires adjusting the machine.

The side-by-side combination puts the jointing table next to the planer. Each has separate cutter heads, but share a single motor. The main advantages to a combination jointer/planer machine is the savings in dollars and space. A single jointer/planer will cost less and take up less room than two separate machines.

Depth of Cut

The main measurement you need to worry about with a planer is the depth of cut. Small planers cannot cut as deeply into the wood as the more powerful stationary planers.

Depth of cut specifications can be tricky, because it isn't simply a matter of how low the blades can be set. It's also a matter of the power in the engine. So, while a planer might have a depth capacity of 1/8", it might only be able to handle that amount to a certain width. So, when you are checking depth capacity, be sure to check how wide a cut it includes.

Width Capacity

The width capacity on a planer determines how wide a board you can cut. Some planers can only cut boards up to 12" or 13". Industrial planers can cut boards up to 24" in width.

Length is less of an issue, although the longer the beds, the easier it is going to be to keep your board flat below the cutter head. You can effectively extend the length of your planer simply by using an extension or a roller stand.

Horsepower

Horsepower is the amount of power created by the engine. The more horsepower, the faster the cutter head can move and the more power can be put into the blades. A larger engine will make your job easier because there will be less noise and a smoother, better surface to your finished boards.

Flatness

When you are planing a board, you need to place the flattest surface against the bed. You will also need to make sure your planer bed is as flat as possible. Any variation in the flatness of the bed will be transferred to the surface you are trying to plane.

You'll want to check the specifications on your planer to see what the manufacturer allows for variations. If your table is off, contact the manufacturer for a replacement or help in adjusting your machine.

Cutter Heads

Planers tend to uses cutter heads with either two or three knives. These are sometimes adjusted using jackscrews and with a spring system. This adjustment is usually easy, but it takes time. Some planers will allow you to change the cutter head, rather than the blades.

One problem that people find, especially with portable planers, is that the last 6" or so of the board is cut slightly off, leaving what is called a snipe at the end. It can create gaps or irregularities when the board is joined to another. A cutter head lock can alleviate this problem, so look for a planer with this feature.

Depth Stops

Check to see if your planer has a depth stop indicator. This is a handy way to set the depth of cut and thickness of the finished board.

Planer Knives You can, and will, purchase replacement blades for your cutter heads. Planer blades can be resharpened, but it is difficult and almost as expensive, if you have it done professionally, as buying new blades.

There are also carbide-tipped planer knives available. Carbide tipping usually keeps a blade sharper than non-tipped blades. The downside to carbide blades is that they cannot be resharpened.

Knife Jigs A knife jig makes it easier to set the cutting knives to the correct, uniform setting.

Roller Stand A roller stand will effectively extend the length of your planer, allowing you to plane longer boards with greater accuracy. As the board passes away from the machine, the roller stand will support it, keeping it from tipping up into the cutting knives.

Protective Cover Protector covers extend the life of your tools by keeping them free from dust.

Moveable Bases If you can't give your planer a permanent spot in your workshop, a mobile base will help you roll it out of the way.

Rotacator This handy device can help you check the accuracy of your planer to make sure it is within the variation tolerance for flatness.

Digital Readout This device will give you precise measurements for your boards, letting you know exactly how much material to remove.

Cutter Bits Cutter bits are available for use with planer/molders. These are specially cut blades that create molded shapes in the your boards. They come in a variety of shapes.

The least expensive planers are portable planers, which can be found for under $100, but are most likely to be found in the $250-$500 price range. These planers are limited in their depth and width capacity.

When looking at stationary planers, the price usually rises with cutting width capacity. Smaller planers, with cutting widths of 12" or 13", cost around $700. For about $1,500, you can find one with a 15" width.

If you need a planer with 20" or more width, then you will probably pay between $3,000 and $5,000. The largest planers, capable of cutting boards of 24" widths, can cost upwards of $10,000.

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Delta Machinery
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