Hand Planer

[marlin adams]

basically I am doing projects on my back deck because I do have a place to store my tools and such but no place to actually set them up when I am indoors. I have a rigid 4516 portable saw which I love :) I am building a router table which would basically be portable and a couple of miter saws 12" and 10" and a few other stuff. I am starting to get reclaimed wood like some 1x4x8' and 1x6x8' cedar that are a little rough and really needs to be plane. I was thinking of getting a electric hand plane. Any thoughts?

[Jim Becker]

Electric hand planes, in general, are rough-work tools, most often used for fitting doors, etc., these days, rather than any kind of "fine woodworking". You could use one to knock of high points, etc., but to prepare your reclaimed lumber for use in woodworking projects, you'll be better served with at least a thickness planer (there are many portable models). You also will want to invest in a metal detector (the inexpensive Wizzard will do the job) to check for any embedded metal BEFORE you start planing and cutting the lumber. That's important for both safety and for keeping your tools' cutting edges from getting damaged.

[Lee Schierer]

The lunch box style planers are pretty portable, but do better when mounted in a table so there is longer support on the in feed and out feed sides. The tables on these planer tend to flex with longer pieces of wood being fed.