Power Planers?

[Mark W Pugh]

Why do I need one? Looking at the PC PC60THPK or the Bosch 1594K. Any comments on these?

Thanks

[Loren Woirhaye]

Mostly used in hanging doors. 155mm+ Wide format ones are used in timber framing.

I use them for flattening slabs. With some nuance they can be used for flattening boards to go flat-side down through the planer. Hand planes are easier to work with because they are narrower. Electric hand planers are pretty fast at hogging off cup and bumps but I think the skill is best learned with hand planes first.

[Kevin Jenness]

Maybe you don't need one.

I use a power plane primarily for scribing cabinets to fit in their openings. Other people use jigsaw/block plane, belt sander, angle grinder with coarse disk. The Bosch you mention is not bad, fairly light with decent vacuum pickup and easily set reversible disposable knives.

[Matt Day]

I just used mine for scribing some built ins. Worked like a charm and much easier than hand planing or belt sanding.

I've used it to adjust doors as well and works great for that.

Also it's nice to have for random times during a project sometimes.

I have the HF model, and for that kind of price it's worked great and well worth the investment. Perfect example of when to buy a HF tool if you ask me.

[Mark W Pugh]

Perfect example of when to buy a HF tool if you ask me.

You may be right. I'll check them out.

[David C. Roseman]

Unless you fit many cabinets or door, you probably won't use it frequently, so the HF model for $30 is a good idea. My Hitachi is about 15 years old, and I use it rarely, but when I do I'm grateful I have it. For quick removal of material, especially end-grain at the top and bottom of door stiles, or dealing with pesky knots in most any wood, they're hard to beat. They're perfect for chamfering the edges of 6" x 6 " landscape timbers for a finished look. I once needed a 10' length of round pressure-treated pine to repair a hi-tensile pasture fence gate, but all I had at the time was a 10' length of 4" x 4". No problem turning it into a round by just repeatedly knocking off the corners.

David

[Rich Engelhardt]

I picked up a GMC from Lowes on close out for $20.00.
I used it twice.

Nothing short of a pump action shotgun w/00 buck loads can do as much damage to wood as quickly as a power plane.

[George Bokros]

Nothing short of a pump action shotgun w/00 buck loads can do as much damage to wood as quickly as a power plane.

Interesting Rich. I never considered a shotgun for addition to my woodworking tools. Do you recommend a particular gauge, 20 gauge, 12 gauge or 410, or brand of shotgun?

George

[Rich Engelhardt]

LOL!
Remington 12 ga pump :D

Course for a bit of nostalgia I've also got a Rossi SXS 12 ga Coach Gun w/the rabbit ears. Sort of a semi Neander I guess :D

[John Schweikert]

I owned the Bosch 1594K and the front sole plate wasn't coplanar with the rear sole. No way to fix that. It has been a known issue with that Bosch planer and enough people experience it. In fact, I went through 2 of them via Amazon and both had the issue. It was noticeable in a crooked cut. I got rid of it.

I have owned the Porter Cable for a year now and find it to be an excellent tool. Accurate, smooth, relatively quiet and well worth the $80-90 price. It actually rejuvenated my faith in PC tools.

Regardless of whether anyone else uses a power planer enough has no relevance on your needs.

The PC is a great tool and having it in the shop when I need it is well worth it. Sure you can buy most anything at HF, but I personally want good tools that will last a long time with no hassle.

Power planers like any tool can produce a refined cut with an experienced user. When scarfing marine plywood for boating, a power planer provides excellent results and is much quicker than a hand plane or sander.

[Mark W Pugh]

I picked up a GMC from Lowes on close out for $20.00.
I used it twice.

Nothing short of a pump action shotgun w/00 buck loads can do as much damage to wood as quickly as a power plane.

And, was it the quality of the tool or other? I'm hearing of great results. Just trying to cover all bases here.

Thanks

[Michael Kellough]

Almost all power planes adjust the cutting depth by compressing foam rubber between the front shoe and the housing. To keep the front shoe from tilting there is some kind of post the shoe slides on. The angle of the post in the housing and the corresponding part of the shoe are both critical to keeping the front shoe parallel to the rear shoe. Some models implement this better than others but there is always a little play in the fit and the shoe can be tilted if too much pressure is place on one side. The Festool HL 850 is the best I've tried but there is a better design.

Bosch occasionally produces a planer that uses a better design. The front shoe moves on an angled ramp rather than the foam rubber around a post design. The shoe is rigid at all positions. I don't know if they currently have a model for sale in the States that has this design but here is the UK version.

292042

[Bill McNiel]

I have used power planes for all the fitting (doors, cabinets, etc) and prliminary surfacing of large slabs as mentioned above. Additionally, I use one for reproducing a "hand hewn" look for beams, paneling, etc. with the blades sharpened in a convex mode. I believe Festool now makes several spiral planer heads with "rustic" profiles.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

I owned the Bosch 1594K and the front sole plate wasn't coplanar with the rear sole. No way to fix that. It has been a known issue with that Bosch planer and enough people experience it. In fact, I went through 2 of them via Amazon and both had the issue. It was noticeable in a crooked cut. I got rid of it.



I have a Bosch 3258 that is around 25 years old. It wasn't coplaner either, but I was able to straighten it out with wet-dry abrasive paper on a very flat surface. It cuts much better now. The V groove in the base is a tiny bit off, but I never use it.

[Rich Engelhardt]

And, was it the quality of the tool or other?A bit of both. I used it on the bottom of a door and it did ok. It made a huge mess of dust/chips.
Even since I bought a track saw, that's what I use on doors.

I did have some old paint to remove from some cabinet doors and I tried it on that.
It worked pretty well until the cord got hung up and dragged the planer sideways across the door face.
Ooops! Scratch one door in a hurry!


The GMC tool itself was/is ok. Nothing remarkable - but - not too bad for the money.

Just be careful (like anything else I guess) because a power planer takes off a whole lot in a very tiny amount of time.

[John Schweikert]

A quality power planer can be set to take off as little as 1/64", Festool even less. That's nothing big nor anything to worry about to be an issue of something uncontrollable. Most newer planers have side adjustable chip ejection ports that connect to a vac very easily. Very simple tool to use; just use it appropriately.

[David C. Roseman]

[snip] Additionally, I use one for reproducing a "hand hewn" look for beams, paneling, etc. with the blades sharpened in a convex mode. I believe Festool now makes several spiral planer heads with "rustic" profiles.

What a great idea, Bill! I'd never heard of that.

Some of Rich's 00 buckshot would also be great for adding that distressed texturing.

David

[steven taggart]

I use mine to flatten edges on logs I'm running through the bandsaw. Works well for that. I also use it to knock down really high knots on the reclaimed wood I use before planing it