Planers

Most electric planers on the market have two blades mounted at 90 degrees to the planer block creating a very fast chopping action as the block rotates at speed. The Festool system only uses a single blade which is mounted at an angle across the cutter block performing a slicing action on the timber as the block spins, leaving a smooth, ripple free finish. Long passes are possible when using a corded planer as the operator is only required to steer the machine and keep the feed speed constant in order to achieve a smooth and consistent finish. Rebates are also possible using a portable planer but the depth is typically limited by the motor housing design and location of the block. Festool are able to boast unlimited rebate depth on their larger portable planer due to a cutter block which is mounted flush with the edge of the casing. The most popular planing width on an electric planer is 82mm although specialist woodworking power tool manufacturer Mafell, has portable carpentry planers which are able to boast enormous planing widths of up to 320mm. Electric lipping planers are specifically designed to reduce the height of wooden lippings so they can sit flush with the top surface of doors, shelves and furniture. As only the lipping needs to be planed and the main surface protected from the blades, specialist lipping planers have a cutter block that is situated to the side of the base plate rather than in the middle as would be the case with any other portable electric planer. Planer thicknessers rely on the timber being pushed into the machine as opposed to the machine being placed onto it. Thicknessers are static machines used to make both sides of the timber parallel to one another whilst simultaneously leaving a smooth finish but they will not correct bowed or twisted timber. Surface planers work in a very similar way to an inverted portable electric planer but as a static machine they have a much longer baseplate that allows rough sawn timber to be converted to dimensionally correct, perfectly squared lengths. Protrade stock a comprehensive range of electric planers, lipping planers and planer thicknessers from brands such as Festool, Mafell, Makita and Virutex.