An electric planer allows you to quickly and efficiently perform rough and finishing tree. When working with large volumes plank material(construction, furniture manufacturing), the use of an electric planer allows significant savings due to an almost twofold difference in the cost of processed and unprocessed boards. The only alternative to get comparable savings is to buy planed boards from the manufacturer directly, bypassing intermediaries, which is not always possible.
Main advantages
The main advantages of the electric planer:
- High speed of work;
- Simplifying many technological operations(selection of a quarter, for example) due to the presence in the planer design of an angular stop, a side limiter and an adjustable processing depth;
- As a result, increased productivity;
- When working, precisely adjusted physical efforts are not required, as in the case of using a conventional planer;
- Additional elements can expand the functionality of the planer.
Criterias of choice
The choice of a specific model of an electric planer is made on the basis of an analysis of the following indicators:
- Rotation frequency. Must be at least 10,000 rpm. The presence of control electronics that maintains a stable speed under loads is welcome.
- Power. The higher the easier job and more electricity consumption.
- Planing width.
- Depth of planing and its adjustment mechanism.
- Tool weight;
- heating intensity;
- The presence of a dust collector;
- Sole condition (evenness);
- Availability on the market of spare parts (knives and belts) for this model.
Features of work
The technology of working with an electric planer is quite simple. To begin with, the depth of processing is set. Usually, this is done using a special rotary knob. Keep in mind that even at zero depth, many models will pick up chips, so we recommend that you look for models with the ability to set a minus depth value.
The board to be processed must be securely fastened. To do this, it is advisable to use a special workbench that does not allow backlash either in horizontal or in vertical plane. Otherwise, the planer can be pulled out of the worker's hands with unpredictable consequences, not to mention damage to the board being processed.
The board must be installed in such a way that it is possible to move freely along it from one edge to the other. All elements of the interior that impede the movement of the employee must be removed from the path.
The planer is always held with two hands, and is started without contact with the surface to be treated. The passage is carried out along the fibers of the wood.
When working, ensure that the planer is in such a position that its sole is parallel to the board. The pressure on the planer should be light and even in the back and front.
The passage of the planer is carried out from edge to edge. Interruption is not recommended, as the uniformity of processing may be disturbed. For processing wide board several successive passes with a shift in width are used (or a planer with wide knives is initially selected).
To create chamfers along the edges of the material being processed, the electric planer has special grooves on the sole.
An electric planer is an essential tool for anyone who works with wood, and when building or repairing it can be an indispensable tool. At home home master, as a rule, a traditional hand planer is sufficient, but in a private courtyard or suburban area there is plenty of woodwork. Baths, outbuildings, fences, benches and other furniture - the list goes on and on.
An electric planer will save the master a lot of time and effort and will allow you to achieve good results. An electric planer brings the workpieces to the right sizes, level surfaces, remove notches, burrs and knots, cut edges, select grooves. The planer, of course, cannot afford the “fine” surface treatment to perfect smoothness, for this you will need additional tools. But with its main task - roughing wood in large volumes - an electric planer, subject to the rules of operation, copes perfectly.
As with choosing any power tool, when choosing an electric planer, the master should start from the main tasks in which the tool will be most often involved. An important role is played by the power of the tool, with which its performance is directly related. A planer of greater power cuts "deeper", that is, they can remove a thicker layer of wood in one pass. Manual electric planers are produced with a power in the range of 0.5 - 2.2 kW. Above one and a half kilowatts - already, in fact, professional tool for large scale work. If you plan to use the planer often and in large volumes, it makes sense to look at more powerful models. But, as always, the rule applies: the more powerful the tool, the more it weighs and the higher its price. With a small power planer it will be convenient to work on weight. Medium power models weigh between 2.5-4 kg.
Another indicator is the frequency of rotation of the drum, that is, the number of revolutions that it makes per unit of time. This value is very important to consider when choosing a planer, the user believes. wind1wind: The higher the number of revolutions, the better the quality of the cut. The best option, which should be guided by when choosing - 15000-16000 rpm.
wind1wind:
- The planer does not make an absolutely flat surface, but a “wave” with a very small step. To make this waviness invisible, they increase the number of revolutions of the shaft and the number of knives on the shaft. These two parameters are very important when choosing.
Width planing depends on the width of the cutting edge of the knives. The most "traveling" sizes of knives for household electric planes are 82, 102 and 110 mm. The higher the planing width, the fewer passes will be required to complete the surface.
To simply process the board to smooth surface, enough planer with knives, narrower than the board. But if the width of the knife does not overlap the width of the material being processed, it is ideal flat surface it will not work - at least a minimal “step”, but it will remain.
Depth cut is, in fact, the thickness of the layer of wood removed by the planer in one pass. In household planers, it usually does not exceed 2 mm, in more powerful ones - 4 mm. Most models have depth adjustment.
Electric planers use removable blades made of hard alloys and hardened steel. Most of them, even carbide ones, can be sharpened and straightened, but narrow knives cannot be sharpened: their design does not imply sharpening. To individual planer models in comes with sharpening device. You can make it with your own hands.
Olegych:
- To edit knives, you need thicker glass and a couple of sheets of good sandpaper. We soak the paper in water, sculpt it on glass - and go! But this is exclusively for dressing, knives “earned” on nails and bricks - only on the machine.
Sole the planer in contact with the surface to be treated must be even and smooth. At modern models planers on its surface, barely noticeable grooves are made - grooves that prevent the formation of an “air cushion” between the sole and the material during operation and thus ensure a uniform cut. The grooves on the front of the sole are designed for chamfering the corners of the parts. When choosing a planer, close attention should be paid to the quality of the surface of the sole, especially when it comes to inexpensive models.
– A defect found in non-brand planers is the so-called “drunken sole”. We check this way: we set the adjustment of the removal to zero, the knife is brought to the upper position. We apply a ruler along the length of the planer, alternately from two sides, so that it lies on both platforms at once. There should be no gaps between the ruler and the sole.
When choosing an electric planer, it is important to hold the tool in your hands, to understand whether the tool handles, start and adjustment buttons are conveniently located for you, whether its weight suits you. Modern electric planers have many additional options and parameters that facilitate and improve the work process. But all of them, of course, increase the cost of the tool. Among the most popular options are directional chip ejection with the ability to connect a bag for collecting chips or a vacuum cleaner, a “soft start” system and speed control. It all depends on the requests of the master and his financial capabilities.
A useful accessory is a universal ruler that allows you to evenly process a surface wider than the planing width of the planer in one pass, as well as planing at an angle of 90 degrees to the supporting surface. Often such rulers come with a planer, but if not, it makes sense to purchase it separately.
The basic work performed by an electric planer is easy for a beginner to master, and if you follow simple rules, then the tool will serve for a long time and efficiently. Planing should be started only after the drum of the included planer has fully gained momentum. And you should not immediately set the maximum planing depth: it is better to remove a millimeter twice than to try to remove two millimeters at a time. It is not necessary to put pressure on the tool with effort: it should only be directed, and the plane should be planed by itself, “like clockwork”. And for this, the knives must be sharp.
It is not so easy for craftsmen starting to work with an electric planer to determine when sharpening or replacing a knife is necessary. forum member Nomad advises to use visual methods. If the knives are sharp, the surface is smooth. If they are blunt, rags of wood form on it, since the knives no longer cut, but tear it. Another sign of dull knives is brown high temperature wood, especially in the area of knots.
Aleksej2000:
- Even with blunt knives, the planer begins to vibrate on the knots, as if bouncing small: the knife does not cut and repels from dense material. The best thing is to put new knives in and try how they take. And then the feeling of sharp knives will be familiar. And these same sharp knives try to walk on a knot in order to see the difference.
A common problem faced by novice craftsmen is the displacement of the processed material under the planer. Although a planer is one of the safest tools, there is still a risk of injury when holding wood with your hand. The problem is solved by making a simple board retainer and a planer lateral displacement limiter - as advised by a forum user wind1wind:
- Fasten two blocks of length no less than the boards being processed along the width of the sole of the planer on the workbench. The sole of the planer should pass between them with a minimum gap, but without difficulty. A piece of rail is attached to one end, into which the board will rest. Additionally, the board between the blocks can be fixed with a wooden wedge.
For this design to work properly, the end stop of the rail and wedges should be slightly thinner than the planed board, the forum member advises. The blocks should, on the contrary, be thicker than the processed board by about 1/2-2/3 of the thickness of the planer sole. Then they will prevent the lateral displacement of the planer during operation. On the other hand, the planer will not touch the bars with protruding parts of its structure (belt guard, engine).
Members of the forum discuss the features of the choice of electric planers, the advantages and disadvantages of specific models in. you can read the recommendations and get advice about correct work electric planer. Members of the forum exchange experience in replacing, sharpening and straightening knives for planers at. On the repair of planers, milling cutters and circular saws look for information. This video tells about the basics of working with an electric planer.
The world's first electric planer was produced in Japan in 1958. Its appearance on the market is due to the desire to facilitate manual labor, which is a very tedious, monotonous and time-consuming task in wood processing.
This power tool can save a lot family budget- Untreated wood is several times cheaper than planed wood.
In order not to damage the tool or the material being processed, as well as not inflict accidental injury on yourself, you need to know how to work with an electric planer correctly.
What is an electric planer
The electric planer is intended for leveling flat wooden surfaces after rough treatment. When planing, a thin layer of wood is removed - roughness, irregularities and other defects are removed. The surface of the material after using the power tool becomes glossy and looks polished outwardly.
All electric planers consist of the following main parts and mechanisms:
- Front movable support with adjustable height
- Housing (most often aluminum) with removable belt cover
- Electric commutator motor
- Front handle that allows you to set the depth of planing
- Rear handle
- Trigger with protection against accidental activation
- Drum with cutting elements mounted on it
- Fixed back support
- Electric wire with plug
The principle of operation of the electric planer
The main part of the electric planer is a rotating drum, on which the cutting elements are fixed. It is driven by an electric motor, the rotation is transmitted by a toothed belt. The tool is powered by a 220 volt household power supply by means of an electric wire.
Typically, planers are equipped with motors with a shaft speed of over 1000 rpm, and power from 550 to 950 watts. Motor elements that require special attention, are carbon brushes. For convenient control of their condition, cleaning or replacement, a special removable casing is installed above the motor.
Start planing only when the drum picks up the maximum speed of rotation. It is necessary to carefully bring the planer from the end of the workpiece and begin to slowly move it forward. The sole of the tool should be directed parallel to the wood being processed. At the same time, at the beginning of the workpiece, the force is slightly transferred to the front handle, and at the end - to the back. Planing should be smooth, on average, the processing speed is 150-200 centimeters per minute.
How to work with an electric planer
First of all, you need to understand that planing with an electric planer is only applicable to wood. Before starting work, it is required to securely fix the processed lumber - the quality of the resulting wood and the safety of the work process will depend on this. The presence of play can cause the workpiece to be thrown to the side upon contact with the rotating drum, possibly resulting in personal injury.
The lumber must be fixed in such a way that the worker carrying out the planing has the opportunity to move freely with the planer from one edge to the other of the workpiece.
The difference between planing on a wide board
The difference between planing a wide board and working on a narrow board is that the process is carried out in several passes along the canvas. This is due to the fact that the width of the cutting knives is not enough to process the surface of the workpiece in one pass. The main difficulty in this case is the exact parallel alignment of two adjacent processed lines.
What can be done with an electric planer
Using an electric planer, you can prepare polished blanks for production various products and wood crafts: stools, birdhouses, furniture, toys, etc. With the help of this power tool, chamfering, grooving, and quarter sampling are performed.
When working with an electric planer, great attention should be paid to safety, as the tool is potentially dangerous. If you follow all the rules and instructions for using the tool, you will receive processed wood High Quality without spending a lot of effort.
Performing work with an electric planer is not a very difficult task if you have minimal skills in working with it. But it will be somewhat more difficult to plan a wide board with an electric planer. Qualitatively, not every specialist can perform such work. This is due to the difficulty of removing a uniform layer between the processing boundaries.
Performance of work: instruction
In order to achieve high-quality processing of the board, before that, it is necessary to initially do a trial processing on lumber waste. In this case, the planer can be used in different modes work: it is manual mode and stationary. The stationary mode consists in passing the workpiece through the rotating blade part of the planer.
In order to perform work using manual mode, before starting the process, it is necessary to set up the tool. not much different from setting up a conventional hand planer. To do this, you need to adjust the depth of cut of its knives. Most often, this size is 1-4 mm. When setting up, it is necessary to take into account the fact that a smaller depth of planing of the material will improve the quality of its processing.
Moreover, setting the knife to a shallow cutting depth will allow it to move more easily over the workpiece. In this case, you need to press on the tool at the edge of the passage and round off the back edge of the edge (which will help avoid injury).
The less the rotating knife protrudes beyond the sole of the planer, the smaller the layer of wood it will remove, therefore the boundaries between different passes will be less noticeable.
In the case when deep processing of the material is necessary, then during the first pass, the planer knives are adjusted to the maximum depth of processing. And then they are reconfigured and perform a more accurate final planing.
Over time, you can learn the skills to properly complete the pass on the back edge of the material and pick up correct depth planing. This will help speed up the process of work and do it not in 8-10 passes, but in 4-5.
In order to correctly set the knives, which depends on the difference in the upper marks between the front and rear ends of the planer, it must be done using a metal ruler.
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Proper wood processing
When using an electric planer, it is necessary to choose the direction of material processing correctly.
It is usually accepted to take it along the direction of the fibers on the wood. But in the case when workpieces are processed, which are assembled from several boards or bars, having large protrusions at the joints, then processing can be carried out in a diagonal direction. The knives of the electric planer rotate at a fairly high speed and therefore allow you to perform such a procedure. Of course, ordinary hand tool it won't work that way.
In order for the processed edge not to turn out during oblique processing, it is necessary to apply an angular stop, and not rely only on individual skill and eye. It must be attached to the side of the instrument to its base, in a strictly perpendicular position relative to its axis. Now, to plan, you need to attach the planer tightly to the plane of the board, and its base should be located exactly at an angle of 90 degrees.
The corner stop must be very firmly fixed, because during long work the screws of its fastening can loosen, which will lead to the working surface of the planer becoming tarred. If this still happened, then you need to wipe it with white spirit.
To avoid chips on the edges of the board, they need to be slightly dulled. This is done by chamfering. The same procedure must be performed on the parts, which will then be varnished. This will help create a smooth transition line between the two surfaces.
Having completed the processing of a wide board, you can resort to the procedure for cycling it. Cycling is the process of aligning seams between different passes on a board. It is performed using a special machine. Processing such as scraping must also be performed in the direction of the board fibers. Its use will remove all unnecessary roughness.
Many beginners are interested in the question of how to work with an electric planer. At first glance, there is nothing complicated: plug it into an outlet, press a button, drive back and forth along the surface, removing chips. However, at the first attempts, the result is far from always impressive.
When buying a tool, you need to check its performance, completeness and appearance. It is worth paying attention to the quality of sharpening the installed knives. If there are spare knives in the kit, you need to check them too. The cutting edge should be smooth, sharp, without potholes and bends. All other settings must be checked at home in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Checking and adjusting the position of the front plate
All tool adjustments must be made in the off state. The plug must be pulled out of the socket, otherwise you can not only disable the electric planer, but also cause serious injury.
When checking the position of the knives, the front plate must be set to the position of the minimum planing depth with the standard adjustment knob. Set the electric planer on a flat hard surface with the drum up.
To check, you can use a metal ruler or a piece of window glass of suitable sizes. The drum with knives should be rotated until one of the knives is in the upper position, above the axis of the drum. The ruler or glass must be laid on the plates along the planer. The surfaces must be in the same plane.
If the control device is tilted on any of the plates, check the position of the front plate and adjust it. Such a defect occurs during prolonged use of the tool without Maintenance. Internal cavities can become clogged with wood dust and small chips. Excessive force on the depth adjustment knob will move it out of its original position.
To eliminate the defect, you need to remove the handle, front plate, clean the cavities from dust and chips, and lubricate. Install the plate in place, check the installation on the ruler, fix the handle, checking the coincidence of the dial with the index mark.
Cutting edge adjustment
Adjusting the position of the knives is carried out according to two parameters:
- height of the cutting edge relative to the back plate;
- the size of the protruding part of the knife for planing quarters.
Having installed a ruler or glass, you need to turn the drum, controlling the gap between the knife and the fixture along the edges of the plates. The edge of the knife should lightly touch the fixture without lifting it. If the knife clings to the fixture or does not reach it, the position must be corrected.
Usually the knives are fastened with a special wedge with expanding bolts. With a key of 8 or 10, you need to wrap the bolts in a wedge until the bolt free play appears. Then, with the installed eccentrics, align the height of the cutting edge with the fixture. Tighten (unscrew) the fixing bolts, check the position again. The desired result can be achieved after several repetitions of this operation.
At the same time as adjusting the height of the cutting edge, the protruding part of the quartering knife must be controlled. Optimal size must be specified in the manufacturer's instructions. On most models, it is 1 mm. The size is set by moving the knife to the left or right along the axis of the drum. It is important to set the size correctly. It should be the same for all knives. This can be achieved using a probe certain size or by measuring the distance with a caliper (columb with a protruding back) from the edge of the knife to the drum. After adjusting the first knife, you need to move on to the next ones. The operation for all knives is carried out in the same way. If a knife cannot be set in the required position, you need to remove the wedge, check the eccentrics for integrity and free rotation.
It is necessary to complete the adjustment by checking the free rotation of the drum and the fastening of all knives.
Preparation for work
You can work with the tool in two positions:
- stationary position: the electric planer is attached to a hard, stable surface;
- portable: the tool is moved manually along the workpiece.
Many models come with special clamps and a bracket for the start button. In a stationary position, it is more convenient to process lumber of small length, which can be moved through the tool alone. It is desirable to process long workpieces with an electric planer in a portable version.
Wood must be dried, raw lumber is poorly processed. The board must be well fixed on a hard surface. The part should not bend under the weight of the planer and move in any direction during operation. When processing side surfaces on a workbench, it is advisable to install them on special fasteners that protect them from bending and moving. In the area of rotation of the drum with knives should not be metal elements(brackets, nails, screws) on the treated surface and fastening elements. A blow to the metal will leave a gouge on the knives, and a protrusion will form on the treated surface. Knives will have to be sharpened by removing a thick layer of metal, or changed.
Surface treatment
An electric planer can perform three operations:
- chamfer at different angles;
- choose quarters on blanks;
- cut surfaces.
The main purpose of the tool is to plan surfaces of various lengths and widths.
When working, the planer must be placed on the surface of the workpiece with the front plate so that the knives do not touch the surface. Press the start button, after a set of revolutions (the sound stops changing the tone), start moving the planer over the surface. The tool must be held strictly parallel to the surface to be treated, the movement must be uniform, without jerks and stops. At the beginning of the movement, it is necessary to increase the pressure on the front part, when leaving the surface on the back part. The planer should work smoothly, without vibration. If there is a strong vibration, the sound changes during operation, you need to turn off the tool, determine and eliminate the cause of abnormal operation.
The depth of the pass must be set depending on the purpose of processing. If you want to change the size of the workpiece, you can use maximum size. When leveling the surface, it is desirable to work with a small depth of processing, achieving the required quality in several passes.
Also, the depth of processing depends on the material. Hard rocks should be passed several times with a shallow depth so as not to overload the tool.
Additional features of the tool
To chamfer, you need to use a special triangular groove cut on the front plate of the planer.
The tool should be set with a groove at the corner for processing, run and move along the part, keeping the slope. The first pass is made along the slot, subsequent passes, if necessary, are performed in the usual manner.
To make quarters on a planer, you need to install an additional stop to limit movement away from the direction of movement. The second stop, which limits the depth of the quarter, is located on the side surface. The stops must be set to required dimensions. The distance should be measured from the corner of the cutting edge of the knife in the up position. Quarter sampling is performed in several passes. If a vertical surface quarters will turn out to be steps, it is necessary to increase the protrusion of the knives for side surface plane.
A wide surface of lumber can be processed in several passes. Processing must begin from the left edge, setting the adjustment to the minimum depth. The next pass should be carried out with an offset to the right by about a third of the length of the knives. In this way, you need to go over the entire width of the workpiece. If the quality is unsatisfactory, repeat the surface treatment in the same way.
Conclusion on the topic
An electric planer will help to significantly reduce the time of work, save money on the purchase of lumber.
When working, you must comply necessary requirements safety precautions to avoid serious injury to the limbs and other parts of the body.
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