7 Planer
7.1 Planer Overview
The purpose of the planer is to produce smooth, parallel surfaces on a board. It is most often used to surface lumber that is rough-sawn, reduce the thickness of lumber, and create multiple boards of a common thickness. The planer will not correct warped boards. Rough and or warped boards should always be jointed first and planed second.
The planer makes successive small cuts to bring stock to the desired thickness. It cuts parallel in reference to its cast iron table bed. The table can be raised and lowered below the cutterhead. An infeed roller and outfeed roller work on either side of the cutterhead to pull material at a consistent speed through the machine. In front of the cutterhead, there is a chipbreaker to prevent grain tear-out, and a pressure bar after the cutterhead to keep the board tight against the table.
Snipe is a common error at the planer. Snipe occurs when the end of a board lifts up slightly into the cutterhead, creating a small dip where the board is thinner than the desired thickness. It can happen at the leading or trailing end. Poor machine setup and tuning can lead to snipe, but on some planers, a small amount of snipe is unavoidable.
7.2 Planer Operation
The planer is a single-purpose machine. Controls and operation are simple. Plan your cuts, equal amounts of wood should be removed from both sides of a board to minimize warp caused by uneven drying after the board is planed. Grain, whenever possible, should be oriented to the back and up to minimize tear-out.
Most planer operations cut board faces. Boards can be planed on edge, but careful considerations must be made. The boards must be stable on edge. The thinner and wider the board, the less stable it is when turned on edge. Edge planing can be a nuanced call, an inexperienced operator should ask for advice before planing a board on edge.
If the board gets stuck mid-cut, turn the machine off immediately. Wait until the cutterhead completely stops, then lower the table and remove the stock. Inspect the material and machine to problem solve before taking another cut. A common error causing stuck boards is taking too large of a cut from a board that tapers in thickness.
If planing multiple boards, snipe can be reduced by running boards immediately after each other with the ends butted tightly together. Snipe can also be planned around. Plane boards with extra length to cut off after planing operations are complete. Because snipe happens when the end of the board lifts into the cutterhead, it can sometimes be lessened by lifting the opposite end. On longer boards, the operator can lift up the end of the board as it leaves the table.
- Surface rough sawn or warped lumber on the jointer, creating a flat face and 90° edge, and removing any warp.
- Measure the thickness of the board at its thickest point.
- Set the table bed for the desired cut.
- Turn the machine on and push the board into the planer, jointed or reference side down. Keep your hands away from any pinch points and stand to the side.
- When the major portion of the board has passed under the cutterhead, walk to the outfeed side and support the board as it exits.
ALWAYS check wood before planing for loose knots. nails, screws or other defects. DO NOT plane boards that have loose knots, splits or are otherwise unsound.
DO make sure the wood to be surfaced has at least one true side that goes against the table bed.
DO stand to one side of the infeed table when the machine is running.
DO allow stock to pass completely through the machine before making a depth adjustment.
DO feed only one piece through at a time.
DO vary the position of boards across the entire width of the table. This ensures the machine and blades wear evenly.
NEVER plane wood shorter than 12″ in length or thinner than ¼”. Sleds and jigs can be used to plane short or thin boards, but without the correct set-up, planing these types of boards is dangerous.
DO NOT take cuts over 1/16″ deep.
DO NOT plane varnished, painted, or otherwise used lumber.
DO NOT look into the throat of the planer when the machine is running.
DO NOT push or pull on boards that are stuck in the planer.
NEVER plane end grain.
DO NOT joint particle board, masonite, or plywood, solid wood is the only material used on the planer.
