Power Planer

[Nick_26]

So I have recently started a small project using some old bits of wood. I'm new to wood working so figured I would use "scrap" wood so I didn't ruin any decent wood at my own expense.

I was trying to remove the cup from one of the boards using a electric planer. How do I avoid what I have managed to do to this board (image attached)

Many Thanks

Edit: This is happening at the start of the piece rather than the end.

 

[Ttrees]

Hello Nick
Welcome to the forum
I suggest having a look at the 3 or 4 videos on youtube from David Charlesworth
on the subject.
Its not a rotary cutting plane he is using, but that shouldn't matter, the principals are the same..
i.e "stopped shavings" and having a reference to work to.
'twill cure your problem of nose diving your rotary plane off the ends



Tom

 

[Doug71]

Electric hand planes are notoriously difficult to use with any level of precision, they are okay for rough things but not great for the finer stuff.

 

[D_W]

ditto on the comment above - an electric power planer is a bulk tool or something for jobs like door trimming when set finely, but they're bulky and feeling how they're cutting will be difficult.

 

[Orraloon]

As the David Charlesworth clips but dont go putting fingers under an electric plane. A handplane shaving is very thin so wind back to a much finer cut. On a deep cut setting an electric plane can destroy your wood pretty fast. It would be a good idea to mark out a line to work to and check with a strait edge as you go. Best result would be to use the electric to get close to your line and then use a handplane to do the last little bit.
Regards
John

 

[jcassidy]

What @Doug71 said. I've a couple of power planes and I've used them tonnes to size timber (I don't have a planer/thicknesser!) and they fill up my shop vac pretty quick. But for finishing, I have to revert to hand planing.

But getting back to your question, the problem is without the entire shoe of the plane on the board, you are tilting it every so slightly simply by pushing on it. I was taught to plane like I'm trying to scoop out the middle of the board, so it's less pressure on the ends and more in the middle. This compensates for the natural human tendancy to push the plane into the board at either end, which with a power plane, results in big bites being taken out of the wood.

When I'm getting close to the desired size, I'll largely avoid the ends, and dial down the depth of the plane when dealing with them, to reduce how much I'm taking off in each pass. So that, if I do slip off the edge, I'm only taking a half mil or whatever.

As I said, if I want a nice finish, it's then on to the hand plane. Now, as you're new to woodworking you've probably see the prices that nice planes command and thought - holys smoley! My hand plane is a old Stanley copy (branded 'Acorn') which I've cleaned it up and sharpened well, and it does the job, for I think a couple of Euro from carboot, and the price of a new oilstone from B&Q.

Hope this helps.