Handheld Planer

[Mark Vaughn]

what is the point of handheld power planers? are they useful for anything? Could it substitute for a stationary planer if you're broke like me and just want to plane 3" wide or less boards?? thanks for your help

[Ian Gillis]

A handheld power planer is not precise enough to replace a jointer or thickness planer. I don't even know what the original idea for this tool is, but in my experience it's for removing a lot of material in a hurry. I've used one for taking a hump out of wall studs and levelling floor boards that were very uneven. It doesn't leave a nice surface for finishing. If the material shows, you will need to touch up with a handplane, beltsander or similar.

[Rick Whitehead]

I use my Makita power plane for bevelling the edges of doors. Other than that, I hardly ever use it.
In response to your question about planing narrow boards,it would be very difficult to get an even thickness with a hand-held power plane.You would be better off learning to use a hand plane for that, if I can say that on this forum!
Hope this helps.
Rick

[Travis Porter]

Other than what IAN says, I have used them to trim doors, but to his point not good for much else. You would be better served to get a hand plane like a number 4 or 5 IMO.

[Mark Vaughn]

thanks for the replies, i figured something so cheap was probably worthless..

[glenn bradley]

Yep, trimming doors. That's all mine has ever done.

[Jim O'Dell]

Yep, trimming doors. That's all mine has ever done.

That's all I've used mine for too. And even that creates a lot of splinters unless you use a sacrificial block on the end. But it was a lifesaver when doing my torsion box shop doors. Jim.

[lou sansone]

they are use quite extensively in the timber frame industry. try planing a 8" x 12" x 30' oak beam and you will see what I mean. All the beams in my shop are hand planed using on of these guys
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=18423

lou

[John Bailey]

I bought one about a month ago. I'm presently building a 15' sailboat, and it was suggested to me that it would be a very useful tool for boatbuilding. It has been a real workhorse around the boat project. An example is when I was planing planks to fit the keelson of my boat. I did the first half and it took the better part of 2 days. After the power hand planer arrived, I did the second half with about an hour of power planing and another hour with a Stanley #3. On a boat, with all its complex curves, it takes the place of something like a jigsaw where you rough cut with it, and use something else for finale shaping.

John

[Ben Grunow]

I have several of them and use them all over the job. I ground the depth adjustment stop off by about 1/4" on one and it now can take 3/16" in one pass (!!!) which is useful when leveling an old ceiling or floor.

[Michael Cody]

what is the point of handheld power planers? are they useful for anything? Could it substitute for a stationary planer if you're broke like me and just want to plane 3" wide or less boards?? thanks for your help

Works really nice to flatten the end of a turning blank that is rough from cutting with a chain saw. Makes a good tight fit on the face plate much easier. Used to use an old #40 -- but my cheap Harbor Freight power planer does a quick/fast job.

[Benjimin Young]

I purchased my handheld paner (Makita) about 20 years ago when I had a job to hang 600 doors. Since then I have rarely used it. Now that I do woodworking as a hobby I was thinking of pulling the Makita out of storage and modifying it to fit a sled for surfacing large pieces of stock (similar to the router sled idea). Not sure if this will work but when I get around to it I'll let you know.

[Charlie Plesums]

I had one on the shelf, basically unused for 25 years, and recently sold it

[Scott Coffelt]

Primarily used for the construction industry, my BIL uses one all day long to straighten walls. He builds 20mil homes in SF and the walls shoul dbe perfectly flat. I've used mine to work doors, etc. A standard #4 can do the same thing, but it depends on what you do and how much time you have to do it in. I have a Dewalt and really like it.

[Rob Millard]

Mark,
I make extensive use of my 21 year old Makita portable power plane. I use it like a power scrub plane. It is crude, loud, dusty and nearly indispensable, but it is no substitute for a surface planer. It is a viable substitute for a jointer, which is how I use mine.
Rob Millard

[lou sansone]

rob reminded me of another good use for the small power plane. I use it to bevel the underside of drawer bottoms, leaving the last pass or two for a hand plane.
lou

[Per Swenson]

I use a power planer all the time.
(Makita) and I lust after the Festool.

Folks ,its a tool. If you don't pick it up and use it, become comfortable with it

explore the possibilities, sure its gonna sit on a shelf.

There was a great article in fine woodworking a while back, a fella

used winding sticks , chalk and a power planer to flatten massive table tops.

We always did the same with some of our unruly rough sawn.

This guy took it to another level.

Just saying.

Per

[Mark Singer]

I have 2 planers an old Rockwell which is a long model and I used it for years in door hanging. The second one is a Hitachi and it works great also. For very large pieces , the bosrd is too large to run on the jointer. The 12 160 pound wenge planks of my recent dining table for example. Just like with a router versus router tables...if very large , bring the tool to the work. The folow with a jointer plane and a long straight edge....check for square across the edge... For warped boards it can save a lot of time to face plane with a power planer

[brent lenthall]

I don't use mine in the shop, but take it on every install. Old and new houses alike never have straight wall. I build the cabinet to the largest part of the opening (wall to wall install) and scribe a line on the face frame to remove. My Bosch power plane makes a mess, but quick and accurate cuts. Back bevel the face frame just a little and leave the face frame a 32nd proud and you get a tight fit, with no need for trim.

brent