For so long, carpenters and handy DIYers have used the hand planer as their most trusted tool. They have evolved from their crudest of forms to the highly sophisticated modern units of today. The electric hand planer is a highly efficient and reliable tool. While both the traditional hand planer and the electric hand planer have the same function, there are some slight differences. One of these differences is that electric planers are driven by a powerful motor – the main reason for their efficiency.
If you’re considering buying an electric hand player or you already have one, it pays to understand a few things about its usage. Here are 4 things you should know about using an electric hand planer.
1. Getting Started
Before you get right on with your planning, it’s important to ensure that everything is right. Here’s a quick guide you may find helpful.
- Ensure that the front shoe is lined up on the wood without the blade touching the wood
- Power up the tool unit the motor is at full speed
- Let the blade come into contact with the wood and gently push the plane forward
- With both hands on the plane, maintain a balanced pressure on the knob and the handle
- When ending the pass, be sure to overreach in order to even out the edges
- To achieve the aimed smoothness, gradually adjust the speed of the forward push and the diagonal push for the depth
2. Maintenance
No tool is immune to the wear and tear process, well, unless it will never be used. If you regularly use the electric hand planer, it’s important to ensure that it is well maintained. This will help you avoid damaging the planet even more and your wood projects too. Dull blades cause the plane to become hard to push. The other symptoms to look out for when the blade becomes dull include:
- The equipment starts producing smoke
- There’s more sawdust than wood shavings
- There are grooves and marks on the wood
Before changing or adjusting the blades, make sure that the electric planer is switched off and unplugged. Electric hand planes are of two types, those with large blades that will only need to be sharpened and the modern types with disposable blades.
3. Important Accessories When Using the Electric Hand Planer
To ensure that you get the most out of your electric hand planer, ensure that you make good use of the provided accessories. Some of the best electric hand planers come with a long power cable that is more than five feet for the hard-to-reach areas, planer fences for working around the edges, and a chip deflector that protects your face from wood shavings.
4. Safety
When using the electric hand planer, be sure to follow the safety codes. Always wear safety goggles and ear defenders. Designate a wooden block for placing the plane when the tool is off. This allows you time for the blades to stop spinning. Use woodworking clamps so as not to lose control of the planer. Finally, it’s important to use the electric planer only after receiving some form of instruction or training. If not so, leave it to the professionals.
If you’ve been on a manually operated planer, it’s now time to invest in an electric version. This will prove to be the fastest, convenient and reliable way to handle your woodworking projects. The above few pointers can come in handy to help you keep your planner functioning efficiently and increase its lifetime.
Article Submitted By Community Writer