Buying the best planer for the job at hand is something that every woodworker has to consider. When deciding between a hand planer vs table planer, you need to consider what you intend on using your planer for.
Let us explain the difference between the hand planers, electric planers, and table planers in this article.
With this information, you should be able to determine which planer is going to be your best option, and by the end, you should know exactly which type of planer you should be looking to purchase.
First up- Benchtop Planers
Bench planers are portable machines that fulfill a specific purpose and can save you quite a lot of money when buying lumber for DIY furniture projects.
Often referred to as a thickness planer, bench planers allow you to size boards to the correct thickness accurately and easily. You adjust the depth of cut to size boards to the desired thickness.
You then pass the boards through the infeed rollers and it comes out the opposite side square and at the desired thickness. This saves a lot of time, especially if you’ve joined, or laminated, several pieces to make one surface.
Buying unfinished lumber, which is wood that has not been finished to a flat uniform surface, is much cheaper than wood that has been flattened beforehand. Over the years, a bench planer could pay for itself. By doing the finishing yourself, you will be saving a bundle of cash on lumber costs.
If you intend on making your own furniture, I would consider a bench (table) planer as an essential tool in your home shop. It is the most efficient way to get your boards to the perfect thickness and create perfectly flat surfaces for joining and laminating.
Once you’ve passed the wood through the planer, there is very little sanding required, especially if you use a high-end planer that leaves a nearly perfect surface.
There are two very important factors when deciding on the best bench planer. The first would be the size of the machine. The width of the planer determines what size boards you can pass through. A 12” bench planer will only accommodate boards that have a width of 12” or less.
The other thing to consider is the cutting knives. Scallop is a wave-like finish to the surface of the board. A table planer works by using knives fitted to a rotating shaft. This can result in the curve of the blade angle leaving indentations in the wood surface, which is scallop.
Most of the best table planers make use of three knives. More knives reduce the effects of scallop. Many may use only two knives and the effect of fewer knives can be overcome by a higher rotation speed, but three knives tend to be the best.
Benchtop planers are usually the best table planers for a home shop, they are not too large, and are portable. However, these machines are generally limited to a width of 13” or less.
Our Best Recommended Table Planers At Amazon
Hand Planers And Electric Planers
The biggest advantage of owning a hand planer is that you can take it anywhere and use it on pre-installed woodwork. Unlike a table planer, where the wood has to be passed through the planer, you pass the planer over the wood that you’re working with.
Using a hand planer to finish large boards or tabletops, is time-consuming and not too accurate. For these jobs, a table planer is the best option. Finishing narrow pieces like table legs is a perfect way to utilize a hand planer.
Probably the best case to be made for the hand planer is when it comes to maintenance and site work. Trimming doors to size is one of the main purposes of a hand planer.
This could be when you’re installing a door for the first time, or when a door swells after being exposed to moisture. You can remove thin layers of wood until the door fits perfectly, and the surface will be smooth and square.
For building projects, a hand planer is essential. Fitting cabinets and balustrades usually require some final cutting to obtain a perfect fit. The fact that a hand planer will remove a very thin layer with each pass, allows you to get pieces to fit into corners with perfect precision.
Getting shelves to fit and other site joining projects, will almost always require some degree of planning.
Traditional manual hand planers are still very popular because you can use them anywhere without the need for an electric outlet. They are relatively easy to use and don’t require much physical effort.
Manual hand planers are also cheaper and are virtually indestructible if you buy a quality planer.
Electric hand planers use rotating knives and can save you a lot of time when you’re doing a lot of planning. They are often easier to use than hand planers and they are now available in cordless models so these are now a very popular tool.
Most woodworkers own some type of electric planer and you can pick one up for as little as $41 on Amazon so there’s really no excuse to have one in your workshop
Best Recommended Manual Hand Planers
Best Recommended Electric Hand Planers
So there you have it, Basically, if you are going to do a lot of woodworking Involving boards that will need to be a certain thickness then a benchtop planer is what you will need.
If your a handyman on the go and you do a lot of small renovation jobs then an electric hand planer would better in your situation.
Although having a benchtop planer at home would still give you access to one should you need it and they are not that hard to transport to a job site if required.
We know most woodworkers in this day and age have all three types of planers so it really depends on your specific situation and how often you participate in woodworking.
It doesn’t really matter what level you’re at we just hope this article has helped you understand the differences in the two machines and which one, will benefit you and your woodworking ventures.
