Do I Need A Planer For Woodworking?
If you're new to woodworking, you're probably wondering if you need a thickness planer or a way to justify buying another woodworking tool. I went through the same decision-making process when I started woodworking and quickly found it a must-have tool. This article will help you decide if a thickness planer has a place in your woodworking shop or if you need it for your next woodworking project. If you're serious about woodworking and plan to stick with it, a benchtop wood planer will definitely be worth the investment. Having a thickness planer in my small shop has saved me money, improved my woodworking skills, and allowed me to build custom projects.
A thickness planer is the best tool to quickly mill rough stock to have a smooth surface as well as uniform thickness. Planers also give you the ability to dial in the exact thickness of the board rather than relying on a lumber mill to get to the final thickness. The first step of the milling process is to either plane or joint the first face of the board. A jointer is not entirely necessary unless you have a warped board or need a perfectly flat face. The second step is to plane the opposite face to produce 2 parallel surfaces and then plane to your desired uniform thickness. The process can be time-consuming depending on the amount of rough-cut lumber and take a long time, so if you're looking for time savers, a planer is not the tool you need. However, using benchtop planers is considerably faster than hand tools and does not require the skills needed to use a hand planer.
6 Reasons Why You Need A Thickness Planer
1.) Save Money
Although the initial investment of a thickness planer seems high, in the long run, adding it to your shop could save you a ton of money. By having the ability to mill wood yourself, you can save a considerable amount of money by purchasing rough lumber rather than s4s or surfaced 4 sides. Typically, S4S or surfaced 4 sides lumber is anywhere from 30% to 50% more expensive than rough cut lumber. If you have a few large woodworking projects on your list or plan to build furniture, a planer will quickly pay for itself. I personally bought a dewalt dw735x as my first planer, and even though it was a sizable investment I quickly saved enough money to make it worth the cost.
2.) Consistent Results
If you have a thickness planer, you can consistently flatten boards of the exact same thickness. This is essential if you're building furniture, table tops, or any large projects that require panel glue-ups. If you purchase surfaced lumber from a big box store or local lumber yard, they may be different thicknesses causing issues in your woodworking project. Having your own planer allows you to dial in the perfect thickness for every board and achieve more consistent results in your projects. Another benefit is if you have a good quality planer you will have more accurate measurements in your project and never have to worry about misaligned parts.
3.) Flatten Projects or Glue Ups
A major benefit of having a thickness planer is to easily create a flat surface. This is essential when you are working with large projects, wood slabs, or even intricate glue-ups. You may be able to flatten one face of a board with a belt sander or hand plane but without a planer, it will be near impossible to have parallel surfaces. I personally used my planer to make an intricate chevron patterned cutting board and without it, the woodworking project would not have been possible.
4.) Use Your Own or Local Lumber
If you have a planer you are able to use your own lumber or rough-cut lumber from your local lumber mill or fellow woodworker. This gives you the ability to use good quality lumber that you choose and if you have access to a sawmill you could harvest your own lumber. The main reason I purchased a planer was the lack of lumber yards that offered S4S lumber, everything offered in my local area was rough-cut lumber. Now I am able to buy wood from local independent sawmills or the major sawmill near my small shop. Another benefit of having a planer is the ability to control the quality of the wood. When you buy lumber from a store, you can't always be sure that it's of the best quality.
5.) Unlimited Customization
If you have a planer you will be able to dial in the specific thickness of wood for your projects. If you are limited to purchasing wood stock, most likely you are limited to standard construction measurements for softwoods and a very limited supply of hardwoods mostly in 3/4" thicknesses. Benchtop thickness planers are a versatile machine that gives you the flexibility to choose the thickness you need for each individual project, if not you are limited to what is available.
6.) Unique Applications
Having a planer in your shop allows you to create some unique woodworking projects, using materials not available in big box stores. You could easily take barn wood and knock down the high points with the planer for a rustic but smooth-looking material. A planer is a great way to take old wood from any source and give it new life, sometimes imperfections give a project unique character. I personally have repurposed pallet wood, old cherry lumber, and barn wood using my planer. The only thing to watch out for if your using old wood is to remove any metal or small rocks, if not they will leave nicks on your blades. I usually just account for replacing my straight knife blades after I run a lot of old material through.
When Should You Use a Planer?
Planers should really only be used to mill a board to a uniform thickness from rough-cut lumber. A planer can also be used to reduce the thickness of already surfaced boards for a specific woodworking project. Planers are also a useful woodworking tool when it comes to creating a flat surface from a glue-up. I personally find myself creating glue-ups larger than they need to be and plane them to the final thickness saving myself from any potential mistakes.
Differences Between Planers
Not all benchtop thickness planners are created equal, with numerous options and features. The main differences between wood planers are the cutter head, infeed table and outfeed table, and the bed of the planer. Some planers have a spiral cutter head with removable carbide inserts or sometimes called a helical head, which is designed for serious woodworkers who need something for daily use. The cheaper planers typically have straight knife cutter heads which do well preparing the wood surfaces but will not last as long as a helical or spiral cutter head. Also, if you are planning long boards having an infeed table and outfeed table makes the process much easier and hold the pieces of wood, minimizing planer snipe.
Limitations Of A Planer
Thickness planers are only designed to do one task, flatten a board's top and bottom. A planer will not give you square edges or help you clean up the sides of a board, for this you will need either a jointer or table saw. With this limitation investing in a planer may seem useless but you can easily joint a long board on the table saw with a sled or have your local lumber yard straight line rip the rough-cut lumber. One of the biggest limitations of a planer I have experienced is the amount of time needed to process boards to a consistent thickness. The surface planer does a great job but only being able to take off 1/8th of an inch at a time can be very time-consuming.
Alternatives to Using a Planer
If you don't feel that you are ready to purchase a benchtop planer, you do have some alternatives. The best alternative is to purchase S2S or S4S lumber from a local lumber yard that has been planed to a uniform thickness and a smooth surface to start working from. You could also use hand tools if you only need to plane the face of a board or two, but for a large project, electric planers are the best option.
FAQs on Planers
What is the best type of cutting head for a planer?
Power planers come with various types of cutting heads that include, straight knife blades, spiral cutter heads, and helical heads. Straight knife rotating blades are found on your budget planers and benchtop thickness planers and do well planing boards, however they dull quickly and are prone to nicks. A spiral cutter head is the next best thing with rows of small square carbide inserts in a spiral pattern. Spiral cutter head blades can be easily rotated due to a nick without having to replace a whole row of blades offering longer lifespans and less maintenance. Helical head planers are the best cutting head with rows of tilted square carbide inserts in a spiral pattern. They offer the same benefits of a spiral cutter head but with the added benefit of cutting the wood fibers at an angle. Helical heads will produce the cleanest surface on a piece of wood and allow you to have usable pieces right from the planer without sanding.
Should you get a wood jointer or planer?
The debate over buying a woodworking jointer or plane is probably the most heated discussion in woodworking. In my experience, I purchased a woodworking planer before a jointer. I was able to circumvent the proper method of milling lumber and skipping the step of using a power jointer to face joint one side of a board. However, I have very high-quality kiln-dried rough-cut lumber from a local industrial mill. However, if you are looking to build cabinets, doors, or anything that requires perfectly straight boards that are flat, a stationary jointer is a necessity.
What is the difference between a planer and jointer?
There are a few key differences between a planer and jointer but both are needed to properly mill a wood board. A planer is used to smooth and level the flat surfaces of a board to a consistent thickness, while a jointer is used to create a square surface on the edge of a board. Jointers are also used to face joint one side which allows the planer to create parallel surfaces with uniform thickness. You could get away with not using a jointer in the milling process but a planer will not fix an uneven board. A jointer is capable of flattening out a board with a twist, bow, or cup, while a planer will only thickness one side in relation to the other face of the board.
What is the proper method to mill lumber?
The proper way to mill lumber is to first use a jointer machine to face joint one side of a board to produce the first flat side. The next step is to joint a flat edge with the previously face jointed side against the fence of the jointer. Then using a planer with the face jointed side down on the jointer bed run the board through to the desired thickness planning down the second face of the board. The final step is to use a table saw to trim the last rough edge of a board which will then produce perfectly square lumber.
Should you buy a used thickness planer?
There are a few things to consider when deciding whether or not to buy a used thickness planer. The first is the condition of the machine, if it is in good condition, then it is likely to work well and last for a long time. The second thing to consider is how the tool was stored. Alot of woodworking machines can last a long time but fall victim to rust due to moisture. If you see any surface rust or corrosion it may not be a good buy. Don't be put off by a good deal on a used planer because you can always upgrade later.
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