If you’re still relying on a manual hand planer to do most of your work, investing in an electric version of your favorite tool will open up your woodworking world to a whole host of new, bigger, and faster projects.
Electric hand planers are fantastic because they can shape and shave the wood like a jointer, belt sander, and hand plane all in one compact and easy-to-use piece of kit.
They can be used for various jobs, including leveling joists, smoothing outdoors that won’t close, and sanding table tops.
That said, you must keep in mind several planer tips to ensure you use the tool efficiently and safely.
Planer Tips for Using Your Tool Like a Pro
The best way to use your planer is to follow manufacturer instructions, but here are some expert-recommended tips to make the job easier and safer:
Tip 1: Use a Chip Deflector
If you are working on a house and need to create new ceilings, your electric planer is the perfect tool for preparing the joists ready.
Make sure your planer has a chip deflector, so you don’t get all the wood chips in your face.
Once you are set up, use a straight edge to mark where the joists need some work, set up your work platform, and get shaving.
The job will be done in no time, ready for the new ceiling to be laid.
Tip 2: Always Follow the Safety Code
When using your electric planer, always protect your eyes and ears with goggles and defenders.
Also, when you turn the tool off, put the planer on a wooden block until the blades stop spinning.
If you are working on items above your head, place planks across two ladders in line with where you want to start cutting.
Tip 3: Make the Most of the Tool’s Versatility
Power planers can really save you time as you can use it for a wide variety of jobs that at first might not seem obvious for such a tool.
You can use your power planer to shape deck post edges quickly, smooth edges, level down wood for frames, and create handrails and posts.
Once you get used to handling your power planer, you will also be able to use it for some really fine work.
They include shaping wood trim, making beveled edges, and scribing the tops for counters.
Tip 4: Always Hold Your Planer Properly
It might sound strange, but it will help you get the best out of your power planer by mastering how to hold and push it correctly.
You need to get your posture and balance right while working with it to get the best results and ensure your safety.
Stand with your feet far enough apart to balance yourself and provide a steady base as you pass the tool across whatever you are working on.
You must also apply rhythmic hand pressure as you pass the tool each time and maintain balance and rhythm.
Tip 5: Use the Correct Speed, Pressure, and Depth Setting
Start by lining up the front shoe onto the wood but don’t let the blade actually touch it. Turn the tool on and wait until the motor is at full speed.
Gently put the planer in contact with the wood and steadily push it forward.
As the planer moves forward into the wood, be sure to maintain pressure on the front grips.
Maintain a balanced hand pressure between the handle and the front knob while the soles of the planer are in contact with the wood.
When you reach the end of the wood, apply more control to ensure you catch the back handle.
Avoid overreaching when you are ending the pass; else, the front shoe will drop and the blades will take a chunk out of your wood.
Depending on the final smoothness you aim to achieve, you will need to adjust the tool’s speed and depth setting.
Tip 6: Sharpen or Change the Blades Regularly
It is important to ensure your planer blades are well maintained.
Once they become dull or nicked, you must change them safely and quickly to avoid damaging your planer and wood projects.
With dull blades, the planer will become hard to push, start to smoke, and fill the room with sawdust rather than wood shavings.
On the other hand, your tool will leave marks or grooves in your wood when you use nicked blades.
If your blades start making smoke or powder, you must change them immediately; if you don’t, you will damage the tool’s motor.
That said, before attempting to change or sharpen the blades, switch off and unplug your planer.
You may need to adjust your planer, but check the manufacturer’s instructions before doing so to ensure your safety.
For models of planers with two large blades, remove them carefully by following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Then, simply sharpen them following the honing and stroping methods. Once done, re-install them back into your tool.
For modern planers with disposable mini-blades, make sure you buy the right size blades for your planer.
They can be 3-1/4 inches wide, but some can be 6-1/8 inches or more.
Once you have the blades ready, remove the dull or nicked blades and replace them by following these steps:
- Put the new blades squarely on the plate and then bolt the drum tightly down to avoid vibrations.
- Tighten the bolts securely.
- Double-check if the bolts are secure.
Tip 7: Purchase Some Planer Accessories
Here are a few accessories which will really help you to get the most out of your electric hand planer or allow you to do more types of jobs with it:
- Metal Plates: Pick cast metal plates over stamped ones as they don’t warp so much
- Power Cord: A power cord that is more than six feet long will make it easier for you to work on hard-to-reach jobs
- Planer Fences: These are adjustable and will help you to work along edges
Tip 8: Keep Rollers in Tip-top Shape
One of the keys to good planer performance is the rollers, which are responsible for pulling wood through the cutter head.
Over time, their grip can loosen and affect the machine’s function.
Regular roller maintenance is essential because the lack of it can lead to dirt and debris build-up over time.
Their functionality decreases and may also cause the planer to stall or, worse, burn. Yikes!
Clean those trusty rollers using mineral spirits to keep your planer running smoothly and safely.
Tip 9: Prevent Sawdust Build-up
Sawdust can screw up your planer machine’s function in many ways.
These things can sneak into the nooks and crannies of your machine and fill them up before you know it.
When this happens, your planer can malfunction or, worse, catch fire.
Hence, always make it a habit to use dust vacuums or other dust collector tools to suck in or blow away the sawdust that can break your machine.
Especially focus on clearing dust off those main components where these bits can really do some damage there when ignored.
Tip 10: Clean Elevation Screws
If you own a planer, you know how important it is to switch between table elevations smoothly.
Dirty elevation screws can prevent you from adjusting with ease and may even keep you from meeting your deadline.
To ensure your table height doesn’t get stuck and your project stays on schedule, make it a point to clean those elevation screws regularly.
Use mineral spirits to ensure these parts perform up to par.
Tip 11: Replace Motor Brushes as Needed
Motor brushes bear the brunt of planer performance and endure a lot of wear. Thus, make sure to check every four days or so to see if they’re still working accordingly.
When there’s too much wear on the carbon faces, these components may need to be replaced.
Measure the carbon faces. If they’re ¼ of an inch shorter than the last inspection, that’s your cue to kick them to the curb in favor of new motor brushes.
Tip 12: Perform Regular Blade Maintenance
The cutter head or the blades is a key component of the wood planer.
Keep the blades clean and in great condition, and your machine should be able to plane like nobody’s business.
Ignore their maintenance, and you might experience getting stuck often or not getting clean, smooth cuts.
Clean your blades regularly with mineral spirits and as mentioned, give them regular sharpening.
If your blades are past these maintenance procedures, that’s your cue to bring in a new set for your machine.
Tip 13: Learn to Plane Short Pieces
Planing short pieces of wood can be a challenge for most planers or, more appropriately, for most users.
While planers aren’t normally designed to handle shorter wood slices (shorter than 12 inches), you can still do so using this quick trick.
All you have to do is grab a piece of wood that is around the same size as your target-size piece and tape them together using double-sided tape.
You will now have the appropriate length to feed to your planer. Once that’s done, you must unstick the two pieces to acquire your goal length.
Tip 14: Learn to Plane the Narrow Edge
Now that you finally achieved those thin pieces that were taking forever, it’s time to take things a step further: learn to plane the narrow edge of a wood piece.
It can be hard to do, especially since you cannot stand a thin piece of wood on its side, or it will fall over.
The trick around this is to create a bundle using multiple identical wood pieces you plan to plane in the same way.
Stack at least four or five pieces together, and the bundle should be stable enough to run through the machine and create those narrow edges easily.
Tip 15: Learn to Plane Really Thin Pieces
A piece of wood’s minimal distance from the blades determines how thin you can plane it.
That said, there is a limit to how thin you can actually plane a wood piece, especially ones as thin as 3/16 of an inch.
While you can apply tips 13 and 14 to this, getting a new and more appropriate machine would be best if you plan to plane very thinly and often.
Tip 16: Keep Your Table in Great Condition
The base of your machine where you run the wood pieces should be kept in good shape.
If it is in any way damaged, uneven, or too flat, you might not get the results you want.
For instance, an uneven table is likely to churn out uneven wood pieces.
Keep an eye out for low spots, unevenness, or warping, since even the slightest of these can impact the outcome negatively.
Tip 17: Perform Regular Table Maintenance
One of the keys to number 16 is number 17. You want that piece of wood to glide smoothly across the table, creating smooth and even cuts.
To ensure your table contributes to this regularly, clean it after every use.
Use mineral spirits to remove any and all traces of dirt and anything else that could be stuck on the surface that may prevent the free movement of the wood piece.
Tip 18: Keep the Infeed and Outfeed at a Higher Setting
A “snipe” happens when the resulting cut is deeper than you intended. Of course, this is something you want to avoid.
The trick to ensuring this doesn’t happen is to keep the infeed and outfeed settings at around one and 1/16 of an inch higher than the table.
You can achieve that by placing an auxiliary bed (you can use a piece of laminated plywood) under the actual table to get more elevation and achieve a range of thinly cut pieces.
Tip 19: Keep One Side Smooth
Ensure one side of the wood is smooth, and you’re already halfway there. If it isn’t, the pieces that come out of the machine could become warped or uneven.
Want to navigate your way around this? Build a sled and attach it to the bottom of the table to create a stable base that doesn’t rock as wood passes through the machine above.
Rent or Own a Planer Today!
It is possible to rent an electric hand planer. However, many stores are now dropping this from their hire tool list because they come back with the blades ruined.
That said, with its versatility and speed, this tool should be a permanent fixture within your own woodwork toolkit.
We also recommend having a Portable Thickness Planer set up in your workshop for easy access instead of getting your hand planer out every time you need a quick job done.
