Buy a wood planer to start your home workshop
The beginning of the art of woodworking of any kind begins quite simply: investing in a wood planer. For shaping all wood products, from pencils to kitchen cabinets, the wood planer comes in handy and does the job of giving smooth, straight wood without rough edges. Also known as “thickness planers”, this equipment shaves the wood, leaving it shiny and smooth and creating a uniform thickness. This makes it easy to cut and use the wood.
Usually a bulky and expensive product, planers essentially come in two types: the manual planer and the electric planer. For smaller woodworking projects, the hand planer gets the job done. Despite being inexpensive, the manual planer is not the most comfortable tool out there. Being a manual tool, it is necessary to use all the energy for it to work. This can be tedious unless it is an easy-to-use tool. This is exactly the reason why most people prefer the electric planer which provides comfort and ease of use at the same time. Plus, with practice, you can handle larger jobs with ease.
When buying a wood planer, it is important to know the different types available on the market and adapt them to use. Block plans, bench plans, clipping plans, and pocket plans – the variety is seemingly endless. The most basic are block planes and bench planes that are used to smooth and flatten wood, especially curved pieces of wood. The trim plane provides excellent detail and smoothness to the wood, while the pocket plane is used to speed up cutting and trimming. Next is spoke shaving which is used to level the edges and cut convex shapes in the wood.
The essential specifications for any good planer would be:
1. The power of the motor: For electric planers, the more powerful the motor, the more precise and faster the work will be.
2. Depth of Wood Cut – This translates to the amount of thickness removed in one pass.
3. Bed width: This defines the maximum width of wood that can be processed.
4. Bed flatness – Make sure the planer bed is the flattest for smooth work.
The features and warranty offered, the location of the nearest spare parts dealer and service point, and the manufacturer should also be taken into account. These are important factors to consider before making the final purchase. Also, a good way to choose the best planer is to search the internet for wood planer reviews.
Planers are not to be confused with carpenters. A jointer is primarily used to straighten the sides of wood, while a planer is used to smooth roughness and flatten wide surfaces. When it comes to choosing between the two, every passionate woodworker will want to purchase a planer first, then move on to the jointer.