Electric planer

[Dave the woodworker]

Anyone use an electric planer. Never had one so would like some advice on which one to buy. I want to mainly use it on reclaimed wood.

 

[Orraloon]

Been a while since I looked at whats out there as my makita is about 30 years old. That said they pretty much all do the same thing. If its only to clean up recycled wood I would go for something thats not going to break the bank.
When I first got mine I did not have a planer or thicknesser so it got a workout getting the wood almost down to the line before finishing with a handplane. Now I mostly use it to clean up reclaimed wood before it goes in the machine. Blades for them are a lot cheaper than thicknesser blades if you happen to find a nail. A handy tool to have for a whole lot of jobs.
Regards
John

 

[PerryGunn]

I used to have a 240v Bosch planer but replaced it with one of the Makita 18v cordless units - wish I'd done it sooner, brilliant machine and an electric planer is one of those tools where the lack of mains cable makes such a difference.

 

[robgul]

My probably approaching 40 year-old Black & Decker (corded) electric plane doesn't get a lot of use - but when it does it's pretty good . . . . cleaning up rough timber, the odd chamfer, skimming door edges to fit in-situ etc . . . not brilliant for anything that needs precision planing. As suggested if it's not mission critical buy a cheap one!

 

[Sideways]

Consider a clean, used Elu mff80. They come up on ebay fairly often for under £100. It's a powerful beast of a tool. You feel the torque reaction as the cutter block accelerates and the gyro effect too.
The reason I suggest it is the machined alloy sole and a very strong side fence give you a better chance of planing a square edge. They are far better built than most electric planers.

 

[jcassidy]

I have a corded Bosch one and a cordless Lidl one. I use the cordless one a lot to clean up reclaimed pallet wood, finishing with hand tools. That said, a swift pass with the electric plane leaves a rather nice scalloped effect on the wide faces.

The main advantage to me is avoiding stupid damage to my hand planes from hidden nails or staples.

I highly recommend attaching it to a vacuum, the amount of shavings they spit out is horrendous.

 

[eribaMotters]

Pre cordless and about 35 years ago I bought the cheapest Makita I could find. That name meant I was buying quality build but the price meant I was getting something that would only do light cuts and was perfect for one handed use. It has proved perfect for planing in doors and casements prior to the final truing up with a hand plane. It has also seen occasional use taking the lumps off the edge of big boards before putting though the saw table or thicknesser.
If buying now I would still buy the bottom end of a premium brand but consider cordless, depending on battery price, as you would need several high capacity batteries to keep it running.

Colin

 

[Wood&StuffLtd]

Anyone use an electric planer. Never had one so would like some advice on which one to buy. I want to mainly use it on reclaimed wood.

Anyone use an electric planer. Never had one so would like some advice on which one to buy. I want to mainly use it on reclaimed wood.

Performance Power planer at £26.99 from Screwfix should do the job. I have had mine for years.

 

[redhunter350]

Couple of points, I had an inexpensive Bosch DIY range, it had an inherent problem, the adjustable sole plate at the front was not parallel to the rear plate caused problems! Eventually bought a better model from Bosch, I was torn between Bosch and Makita, the Makita had a one way ejection port — bad for me being a lefty, constantly covered in chips. Yes you can use a bag but not always convenient. So Bosch it was BUT it had the same problem with sole plate alignment as the diy one , complained and they exchanged it and the new one is fine. So do check whatever you purchase to make sure all is well and go for one with dual ejection port. My two pennyworth !

 

[eribaMotters]

I must admit that a dust bag on a planer is fairly useless as it fills up within seconds. I use an extractor and long hose. It works even better when you consider the planer is plugged into the power output on the extractor which comes on when I start the planer.

Colin

 

[pe2dave]

My nail finder is a piece of string and a 'super' magnet (about 1/2" diameter).
Waggle it slowly along the wood and you'll learn to spot the pattern of a buried nail.
A good set of punches is cheaper than a plane blade?

 

[TRITON]

it had an inherent problem, the adjustable sole plate at the front was not parallel to the rear plate caused problems

It's not just that, though that is a problem, especially on cheaper tools.

The real problem and design flaw with putting the adjuster on where it is, is it doubles as the forward handle, and it is inevitable when you hold onto that handle, you may inadvertently change the depth of cut.

My choice would be Makita.

 

[recipio]

I have a Makita having transitioned from a cheap Hitachi. I must say having the option to put a dust bag on the left or right is a real bonus. These machines throw dust all over the place.

 

[redhunter350]

It's not just that, though that is a problem, especially on cheaper tools.

The real problem and design flaw with putting the adjuster on where it is, is it doubles as the forward handle, and it is inevitable when you hold onto that handle, you may inadvertently change the depth of cut.

My choice would be Makita.

I too favoured the Makita but at the time the time the chip port worked only one way [none adjustable] thus it would have covered me with waste material -- now on later models it reverses as did the the Bosch at the time of purchase hence my choosing it.

 

[Ttrees]

I must try one of those for the craic someday, might borrow the auld fellas one,
likely have to sharpen the cutters and set it up, so never really pushed about it.
Realistically, it might only be a tool that gets a minutes use, and more time spent setting and cleaning up, compared to minimal elbow grease with a heavyish cambered hand plane.
Never had a use for a true scrub plane personally .

You might come across some videos of them in use by hurley makers, and they look a bit of faff.
Plenty of those guys keep theirs with the cable suspended on a bungee cord, looks a bit of a fight.
Might be practical for them making scallops but for flattening material, I think not as much so.

Presuming you've got close to an inch to take off, otherwise I think by hand would be faster, from the get go, not being worried about a spinning cutter in your hand, and being able to inspect more frequently.

A hand plane doesn't work like a belt sander, but one of those leccy planes seemingly can,
(plane into dips, that is).
This is reverse thinking for someone who uses planes to make flat surfaces, as a hand plane doesn't/wont work like that.

i.e you have to work off the high spots to get down to the low areas, and trying to "spot" areas to "clean them up", and not start from the outset to flatten the board,
will result in a quickly blunted edge.

If you have something flat to reference against, then you can make sure that the cutter stays
under the crud/varnish/paint and never rides on the surface getting dulled.
Not sure how many hand planes you may have, aswell as a metal detector of some kind, which absolutely is a must.

It might be a step backwards, and counter the good work that the results in which the hand plane might have given in the first place, and make a lot more work afterwards with the hand plane than you intended.

Then again you could be cleaning up sleepers for flower beds?
A bit more context might get you a better answer.

All the best
Tom

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I have a very cheap one and it sort of worked OK nothing to write home about, then I got an fantastic offer for an HL 850 it’s certainly a very spendy price but the plainer gives an amazingly good finish

 

[Just4Fun]

Presuming you've got close to an inch to take off, otherwise I think by hand would be faster, from the get go ...

Really? I am surprised anyone would use a plane (hand plane or electric) to take an inch off anything. I would certainly reach for a saw for a task like that.

 

[Ttrees]

For a crooked edge which may only be say 3" long for the most part?
This is not really what I'm talking about as it's only about 1/8", but it illustrates the point?