Planer

Description

A Thickness Planer shaves one face of a board at a time, giving a board of consistent thickness and with smooth surfaces. The cutter head is built into a housing with feed rollers, positioned above an “in feed /out feed” table, and is horizontally oriented to be parallel with that table. The entire housing which contains the cutter head is adjustable up or down in relation to the table, so the size of the opening between the two can be calibrated to incrementally remove material from the top surface of the piece of wood being fed through it.

It is different from a Jointer, where the cutter head is set into the bed surface. A Jointer has slight advantages for producing the first flat surface, and may be able to do so in a single pass. A Jointer is often used first to prepare one flat face on boards, in preparation for using A Thickness Planer. However the Thickness Planer has more important advantages in that it can produce a board with a consistent thickness, avoids producing a tapered board, and by making passes on each side and turning the board, may also be used for the initial preparation of an un-planed board.

Design

A Thickness Planer consists of three main elements: a cutter head which contains the cutting knives; a set of rollers which draw the board through the machine; and a table which is adjustable relative to the cutter head to control the resultant thickness of the board. Some portable Thickness Planers differ slightly in that the table is fixed and the cutter head/feed roller assembly is adjusted. The Planer in the SOA is the type that uses an adjustable table. It’s classified as an industrial Thickness Planer, and can accommodate boards up to 20 inches wide and 8 inches thick.

(Note: Thickness Planers and Jointers are often combined into one machine, with the work piece passing over the blade cylinder for Jointing, and underneath the same rotating blade for thicknessing, but in the opposite direction.)

Culling Lumber

Culling is a process of assessing boards for straightness. When you buy raw lumber from a lumber mill, or processed lumber from a hardware store, it may be necessary to cull or assess each plank of lumber for straightness. By looking down the length of each board, you can find the straightest pieces. Of course, it is preferable to find perfect straight boards for your project because the straighter they are, the better. However, most lumber on the market isn’t quite flat or straight.

To further clarify, we have 2 machines in the wood shop in the SOA to further process lumber and remove the high spots to make them flat and square: a Jointer and a Thickness Planer. They are most often used together in sequence to square up, or “dress” lumber, for subsequent operations.

A Jointer is used to flatten one face and one edge, and a Thickness Planer is used to derive a specific thickness with the faces of the boards being parallel to each other. A Table Saw can then be used to cut the last remaining edge parallel to the jointed edge.

Basic Safety

There is a PPE tag mounted to the top of the Thickness Planer machine, which indicates that the operator must wear safety glasses, contain loose clothing and jewelry, remove any extraneous materials from the work area, and that hearing protection is recommended especially when using the Planer for long durations. Also indicated, are the following restrictions and precautions: Solid lumber only (no manufactured products such as plywood or composites.) and work pieces cannot be shorter in length than 12”, or thinner than ¼”. Materials must be free of any stray hardware, price stickers or finishes.

Additional Safety Precautions:

• ALWAYS PROVIDE ADEQUATE INFEED AND OUTFEED SPACE WHEN OPERATING THE PLANER.
• NEVER PLANE MATERIAL OTHER THAN NON-MANUFACTURED WOOD STOCK WITH THIS MACHINE.
• ALWAYS STAND TO THE SIDE OF THE PLANER WHILE FEEDING THE WORKPIECE.
• DO NOT REMOVE MORE THAN 1⁄8" FROM THE SURFACE OF THE WOOD STOCK IN ONE PASS.
• INSPECT YOUR STOCK BEFORE PLANING. Never plane stock with nails, staples or other foreign objects, which may be embedded in the surface. Do not plane lumber with loose knots or knots that may become loose during planing.
• DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE JAMS UNTIL POWER IS DISCONNECTED.
• DO NOT PLANE WORKPIECES LESS THAN 12" LONG AND 1 ⁄4" THICK.
• GIVE THE WORK YOU ARE DOING YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION.
• KEEP HANDS OUTSIDE THE MACHINE. NEVER REACH UNDER THE GUARDS TO TRY TO CLEAR STOCK THAT STOPS FEEDING. DO NOT CLEAR CHIPS AND SAWDUST WITH HANDS; USE A BRUSH.
• DO NOT USE THIS PLANER AS A WORK TABLE.

Operation

In operation, the table is set to the desired height and then the machine is switched on. The board is fed into the machine until it makes contact with the in-feed roller, which grips the board and draws it into the machine and past the rotating cutter head. The knives remove material on the way through and the out-feed roller pulls the board through and ejects it from the machine at the end of the pass. To finish a board that is flat and of uniform thickness along its length, it is necessary to start with a board that has at least one perfectly flat reference face. The board is fed with this reference face flat on the table and the cutter head removes an amount of material from the opposite face so that it is made parallel to the reference face. The reference face is often created by first passing the board over a Jointer machine. (See Jointer document.) If the lower face is not flat, the feed roller pressure pressing the board against the table will deform the board, which will then spring back as it leaves the machine, resulting in a non-flat upper surface. Twisted, warped, or bowed stock should first be jointed on one surface before attempting to plane a parallel surface on the planer. Serious stock flaws cannot be removed by use of a planer alone.

Depth of Cut

The cutting depth scale is a combination inch/metric scale with a cutting range from 0 to 8". The hand wheel on the right side of the machine controls the distance of upward or downward movement of the table.  One revolution of the hand wheel is 1/16” (.060”) or (1.5mm). Before moving the table up or down, loosen the two table locking knobs on the right side of the machine bed, and then turn the hand wheel clockwise to raise it. After obtaining proper table position, tighten the locking knobs. (Extreme torque is not needed.) Maximum depth of cut is 1/8". A limiter block, located at the top center of the in feed table helps to gauge this. It is provided to limit the depth of cut on full width planing from 3/16" to 1/8". If your board doesn’t fit under the limiter block, it will not fit through the machine.

Anti Kick-back Pawls

There is a row of claw-shaped metal fingers or “pawls” just inside the upper housing on the in feed side of the machine. They prevent material from being ejected from the in feed opening once the board is fed into the machine. Once a board is fed into the machine, it cannot be pulled out.

Power Switch

The power switch for the Thickness Planer is located on the front upper left of the in feed side of the machine. On the power panel, from left to right, there is a red “off” switch, and a green “on” switch to the right. The red emergency stop button or “off” switch has a knurled ring around it. To turn the machine on, the operator must first rotate the outer ring on the stop button and pull outward slightly until it “pops” out. Then push the green start “on” button and hold for three seconds to let the machine rev up.

Dust Collector

The dust collector must be operating when the Planer is being used. The dust collector is located behind the Planer, between the Jointer machine and the wall. Its power switch is located on the left side of the motor housing, and consists of a large red button with a green center. To turn the dust collector on, pull outward on the large Red Ring. To turn it off, press the Red Ring inward.

Basic Procedure / Steps

(Helpful Tip:) One problem often encountered when using a thickness planer is “snipe”. This manifests as a deeper cut or “gouge” on a short section of the board at either end.  Snipe is the term used to describe the planer gouge that often occurs at the beginning and end of boards as they enter and leave the planer. Most new woodworking Thickness Planers have a mechanism for locking the planer heads in place after you adjust the depth. This helps minimize snipe, but doesn’t entirely eliminate it.  The best technique is simply to leave an extra 5 in. of length on your boards. Then cut off the snipe when you cut the boards to their final length. Another trick is to feed in a sacrificial board first. Then feed the next board in against the end of the first board and continue feeding boards end to end. Finally feed in another sacrificial board. The planer will treat it as one long board, and only snipe the first and last boards.

Steps

1. Using a tape measure or ruler, measure the thickest part of your boards to be planed. Set the depth of the cut for the first cut by adjusting the table height to read 1/16” thinner than your thickest board. (See: “Depth of Cut” above.)
2. Turn on the Dust Collector, and then turn on the Thickness Planer. (See: “Power Switch” and “Dust Collector” above.)
3. Arrange your board(s) so that they are ready to feed into the machine with their flattest surface face down. Feed your board(s) into the machine with enough force to engage the in feed roller, and then let the machine pull the material at it’s own rate. Always support long pieces of stock on both the in feed and out feed sides of the planer. Do not have any part of the hands under that part of the board that is over the table when starting a cut; the in feed roller will engage the board and force it down against the table causing a pinching action.
4. Continue feeding one or more boards into the machine while standing along side and supporting them, walking along with them as they come through to the out feed side of the machine. As they exit the machine, support and remove them and place them on top of the machine or on a nearby work bench. (You can enlist the help of a friend or Shop Technician to assist with this.)
5. Once all boards to be Planed have been passed through the machine at this setting, repeat steps 1 thru 4 if desired, by raising the table approximately 1/16” each time, until the desired thickness is achieved. (Boards can be flipped over for subsequent passes.)

Job completion

When the operator leaves the machine area for any reason, the planer should be turned "off" and the cutter head should come to a complete stop before departure. In addition, if the operation is complete, the operator should clean the planer and the work area. Never clean the planer with power "on" and never use the hands to clear sawdust and debris; use a brush.

Clean-up

When you are finished working at any machine or workbench, please be aware that there are 4 Trash barrels in this room, and that each one has a broom, bench brush and dust pan attached. You must use these items to clean up your work areas at each machine, when you are finished working there. Also, there are scrap barrels at each workstation to deposit scraps of material, which may be useful for someone else. Please do not put materials with stray hardware or glue on them, or food/drink items, only re-usable materials.