Great Tools To Use in 2022: How To Use a Hand Planer
In this article we will discuss the best ways on how to use a hand planer. Planers come in all sorts of types – there are hand planers, portable electric planers, and stationary planers, also known as jointer/planers. Hand planers are simplest of those to use, but there are some serious tricks to making your project come out professional looking and not looking like it went through a meat grinder instead.
When to Use a Hand Planer
Hand planers are primarily used for 2 purposes:
- To remove ridges that occur in wood. Ridges can occur naturally, as a result of a poor cut, or even because of moisture build-up in the wood (which you will want to seal the wood to prevent it from happening again!).
- To remove one or more layers of wood so the stock is smaller than it was before. An example of this is when a door is just a bit too high or too wide to fit properly in the frame.
Important Caveats to Using Hand Planers
- An important caveat to using a hand planer is to try and use it only on stock that is the width of the planer or less. Using a narrow planer on wider stock is tricky and although it can be done, this will result in more sanding than using the planer on narrower stock.
- Wood stock that can be cut with a saw should absolutely be cut with a saw. But if the stock is not quite over-sized enough to make that saw cut, a planer is the next best tool to do the job.
Biggest Mistake Made Using a Hand Planar
A common mistake that beginner woodworkers make is thinking they should be really rough with the planer and put a bunch of muscle into it. That’s the farthest thing from the truth when it comes to using a hand planer. If you’re digging in too deep or being too rough with the planer you’ll more than likely take too much off the stock or even make gouges in the wood that will take time to fix, and it will never look exactly the same as it did before.
How to Use a Hand Planer Properly
Here’s how to use a hand planer properly: first be sure you’re using a very sharp blade. A blade that is getting dull will not cut as well and you will end up muscling the cut too much, again potentially resulting in wood gouges. Next, set your depth properly. It’s a great idea to do a test on a piece of scrap made of the same type of wood you’re going to use the planer on (if possible). This way you’ll know what it feels like and exactly how much you’ll be removing.
Never set your depth guide too deep. You’re always better off taking off a little less and then using a sander to fine-tune the depth. Not only that but if you accidentally angle the planer on the wood and take too much off one side, you’ll still have some room to give.
Starting on the edge of your stock, place the planer exactly so the front part of the sole comes in direct and complete contact with the stock, keeping the planer level with the stock in all directions. Work your way across the wood and do your best to stay in one motion, keeping the sole in complete contact with the stock and not accidentally angling the planer off the wood.
Parts of a hand planer:
Credit: https://www.wonkeedonkeetools.co.uk/woodworking-hand-planes/what-are-the-parts-of-a-standard-metal-hand-plane
Follow this completely through all the way to the end of the wood piece. When you’re done with that cut, your wood should be flat with no ridges. If you accidentally angled the planer to the wood in any spot, take the planer lightly to the area to remove the as much of the ridge as possible without taking off too much scrap.
Use a quality belt sander to rough-sand the wood to spec, and then finish up with finer grit sanding block to get the finish you desire. Then paint or stain and seal the stock as you wish. Hope this helps you best on how to use a hand planer! Check out the latest woodworking news for more information and great ideas on woodworking!