3 1/4" Power Hand Planer

[Joe Von Kaenel]

Hello,

I was wondering, has anyone used a power hand planer for wood that is too wide for a surface planer? Do they work OK? What brand would you recommend for a woodworking hobbyist? Thanks for the help

Joe

[Chuck Tringo]

I believe these are best suited for contractor types, or home renovation specifically,, trimming door edges to fit and such. I dont think that they would be very easy to use accurately in multiple passes for wide stock, just my opinion tho.

[Stephen Tashiro]

I've used power hand planers on ordinary pine lumber. My opinions:
You can't expect to form a wide smooth surface with a power plancer. (Presumably if the wood is too wide for a jointer, it will be wider tha the power planer.) All you can do is get a surface roughly flat. Then you would have to do a lot of sanding. Power planers require skill to operate. They do not, in any sense, automatically level a surface. They are simplest to use on boards that are narrower than the planer width - for example, the edge of a door.

[Eric Garner]

I own one and recently used it to smooth some rough cedar for a mantel. I found it impossible to eliminate all the ridges left between runs, but a quick sanding after planing fixed that up.

[Matthew Voss]

I'd think a belt sander would be better suited for this.

[Josiah Bartlett]

I have one from Bosch. I've used it to rough in wide boards that I was going to flatten with a neander plane, but never for a finished board. It has much less leveling ability than a good jointer hand plane or a power jointer. They really are best for doors or free-forming things like surf boards. They do cut much faster than a belt sander, though.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
One day I was in Lowes and spotted a GMC planer on closeout for $20.00, so I bought it.
One of the worst things I've ever spent $20.00 on in my life.
Not that it doesn't work - on the contrary - the thing is a wood eating terror.
In the blink of an eye you can do more damage with one than you can possibly imagine.

You absolutely have to keep it going in motion and in a straight line. Any deviation from that results in a real mess.
I found that out the hard way when the cord got caught and the plane went sideways.:o

Doors?
Yeah - sort of but still a chore.
(FWIW - the little plane attachment that goes on a Dremel works worlds better and is far easier to control - plus the door can stay on the hinges.)

[Jerome Hanby]

I can't speak from experience, but yesterday I watched an online video on the Fine Woodworking site where Andy Rae used winding sticks and a powered hand planer to flatten a wide board. Here is the link. (http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/subscription/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=30212)

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[Kevin Wilson]

I have a DeWalt and it saves many passes through the bench top planer. On wide material that won't make it through the jointer, it works quickly to remove the high spots before running it through the planer on a sled. I'm also not beyond removing the guard from my jointer and flipping the plank back in forth until it is flat, then running it through the planer. You will have a noticeable line down the middle but essentially flat that will clean up in the planer.

I wish I had the skills and patience to do this with hand planes. So far every time I start off with the hand plane, I get frustrated and move on to the power tool option.