# electric hand planer?



## thehunter (Oct 27, 2010)

i was looking at getting an electric hand planer for making cutting boards and other projects because a bench top planer is out of my budget right now. i was looking a makita or craftsman 3 1/2" hand held. i would like a benchtop but i just blew most of my fund on a scroll saw so now i have enough left for a hand held.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

thehunter said:


> i was looking at getting an electric hand planer for making cutting boards and other projects because a bench top planer is out of my budget right now. i was looking a makita or craftsman 3 1/2" hand held. i would like a benchtop but i just blew most of my fund on a scroll saw so now i have enough left for a hand held.


How are you planning to use the planer?... 

Are you hoping to get the same results as a thickness planer?... It wont replace a thickness planer by any means. 

You could use it to flatten down a finnished piece, but if only for small projects like cutting boards I'd say sanding is just as well...


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## jack warner (Oct 15, 2010)

thehunter said:


> i was looking at getting an electric hand planer for making cutting boards and other projects because a bench top planer is out of my budget right now. i was looking a makita or craftsman 3 1/2" hand held. i would like a benchtop but i just blew most of my fund on a scroll saw so now i have enough left for a hand held.


makita is a great one. i do a lot of doors and couldnt live without it.
the craftsman is ok, a bit heavier. do yourself a favor and dont go cheap, stay away from ryobi


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## thehunter (Oct 27, 2010)

firemedic said:


> How are you planning to use the planer?...
> 
> Are you hoping to get the same results as a thickness planer?... It wont replace a thickness planer by any means.
> 
> You could use it to flatten down a finnished piece, but if only for small projects like cutting boards I'd say sanding is just as well...


 i am aware of that i wont get the results of a thickness planer. i will mostly use it to make cutting boards and clipboards


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## DavidM (Jan 24, 2011)

Not that I know that much.. But I have an electric planer and the one thing I will say is... Be very careful!!!

They cut fast and can quickly ruin your day. Either by taking too much off or just being dangerous.

For small stuff like a clipboard or cutting board you might find that a manual hand planer would work just fine and give you more pride in the results.


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## sketel (Sep 15, 2010)

I've used several makitas and several bosch. I would recommend considering a bosch. But I would probably grab a belt sander to smooth out a cutting board. You can take off a lot of material very quickly with a 60 grit belt. In my opinion it would be easier to get a level, even thickness with a belt sander.


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## DST (Jan 10, 2011)

Ok so I have a Bosch too and it's a good machine but....
If you make cutting boards with end grain you won't want to use an electric planer.
If you are just cleaning up a few not perfect glue lines like others have said a sander is probably a better choice.
The Bosch was one of my first tools and I hardly ever use it.


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## DST (Jan 10, 2011)

I would pick up my hand plane before the power Bosch most days even though it is a great tool


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

An electric handplane could be your biggest nightmare. Even if you are experienced with it I would not recommend it. A hand held belt sander is another one of those tools that could go all wrong real fast. Of course, there's one chance in 1,085 that you could do a nice job with it. Those odds aren't really that bad.

I would recommend a hand plane, and even with that tool, you need some warm up laps. You could also make your own sanding blocks from sanding belts for a hand held belt sander. Make the blocks out of 5/8" or 3/4", for a 3"x21" belt or a 3"x24" belt. Make them a tight fit.
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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

Really don't like Makita tools.........I mean really don't like them.BUT,their power planer IS the best I've ever used.It has by far the best "shift on the fly" feel.Uh,and we've used quite a few different makes.....just sayin,BW


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## jack warner (Oct 15, 2010)

just like any tool, you got to know how to use it and know its limitations. power planer is not intended to smooth out a large flat surface.
dif brands strike it big with dif tools. makita for power planer, bosh makes the best jig saw, and a pretty good palm sander. if your looking to smooth out a cutting board after glue up, i agree the belt sander works well. if your gonna be making cutting boards i would look into a surface planer.


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## sketel (Sep 15, 2010)

'there's one chance in 1,085 that you could do a nice job with it.'

I've flattened a lot of projects with a belt sander. I Didn't realize it was that difficult of a tool to use so I guess I'll mention that to get good results, it is best to start by going across the grain until you get it level. That way you have less chance of dishing out the board. If you are uncomfortable at all using a belt sander, don't use 60 grit but start with 80.


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## Oldtimecarpenter (Feb 7, 2011)

I've flattened hundreds of panels both small and large surfaces using a belt sander. I use a straight edge to locate the high spots then mark them. I start by sanding diagonally across the work piece with 80 grit and work up from there and then sand with the grain. I use a Bosch 4x24 and achieve excellent results. I also use a LN jointer plain which is very efficient but requires some labor. You really can't flatten a wide surface with a hand planer and it's certainly not designed for that. I'd take the advise of the other pro's and go with the belt sander. Good luck!


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Me too*

I have a couple of belt sanders, 4" x 24", heavy duty and a 3" x 21". They come in other sizes 3" x 18" shown here and all different prices:
Amazon.com: belt sander

I have used a few different power planers as well, Craftsman, Dewalt and Metabo, all do pretty much the same thing, but way different from a belt sander in operation.
With practice you can develop a fairly good technique with the belt sander, but I would start small, with a 3" x 21". For cutting boards with end grain, I'd use the belt sander as a power planer may tend to chip out in the end grain. As was suggested start with a coarse grit and run across to level and then move up in grits to a finer finish. A hand plane skewed at an angle to the surface would also work but for end grain, you've gotta have it sharpened and tuned perfect for the best results. You can use a rounded iron/blade for roughing out the top initially. 
You'll save yourself a lot of work if the glue up is a flat as possible. A combination of hand planes and either a belt or Random Orbit Sander would work for a guy starting out with minimum of experience and a smaller budget. Even a bench top or stationary planer would need to be freshly sharpened and set up well for the best results. A double drum sander or wide belt sander, all $xpensive tools would be the preferred tools for making more than a few at a time, so depending...JMO bill


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

thehunter said:


> i was looking at getting an electric hand planer for making cutting boards and other projects because a bench top planer is out of my budget right now. i was looking a makita or craftsman 3 1/2" hand held. i would like a benchtop but i just blew most of my fund on a scroll saw so now i have enough left for a hand held.


I'm going to address only the choice of power planer NOT what you're going to do with it.....

The Bosch is my choice because of the blades
With Makita and others (and I've had most) you need to have the blades sharpened and then you reset them into the machine with a setting jig. 
A new set of carbide blades is usually around $40-$60

Bosch has a blade "edge" that you replace for $20...no reset with a jig, no having to have an extra set of blades to send out for sharpening ......and it's reversible so it gets down to $10/per edge.

.........again, what you do with it is none of our business.
It's one of the best and most frequent tools I own.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

sketel said:


> 'there's one chance in 1,085 that you could do a nice job with it.'
> 
> I've flattened a lot of projects with a belt sander. I Didn't realize it was that difficult of a tool to use so I guess I'll mention that to get good results, it is best to start by going across the grain until you get it level. That way you have less chance of dishing out the board. If you are uncomfortable at all using a belt sander, don't use 60 grit but start with 80.


Those odds may be a bit high, but to hand a newbie a belt sander, it would be a stroke of luck he would be able to perform without making wheel divots, or grinding too much off one of the edges is highly unlikely. 

It takes a sense of balance and "feel" that gets learned and developed over time. If many boards will be made and have to be flattened, a belt sander CAN be a good tool to use. I would submit for a first timer if he doesn't want to ruin the piece to use the sanding blocks mentioned in post #9, and take the time. It would be difficult to screw up the piece that way.

In the mean time get some practice with a belt sander.












 









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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

To sorta echo C-Man........the finishing process is very much an acquired skill.It would be probably the last place I would have a "newguy" associated with.There would be a long "trial" period and plenty of non-critical parts under their gun before cuttin-m loose on make-or-break pcs.And thinking about it,would deffinately get them started on a stationary sander(upright,edge)before anything handheld.Pressure,dwell time,grits/effect are all based on experience.Sure,everybody has to start somewhere....just make it on non-critical parts.IOWs....practice.

Pwr planers are sort of a last resort 'round here.Have used them most in "heavy" construction.....cheeks or bevels on big honkin rafters/beams.And they do a great job planing large drs.But even then,for us its mostly when one needs shift on the fly,depth adj.Again,not for any but the most skilled.BW


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## sketel (Sep 15, 2010)

"Those odds may be a bit high, but to hand a newbie a belt sander, it would be a stroke of luck he would be able to perform without making wheel divots, or grinding too much off one of the edges is highly unlikely."

You're probably right, sometimes I forget what things were difficult when I was first starting out. I've been using power sanders since I was about 10 or so. Even so I remember dishing out some panels pretty bad when I first started doing this as a job @ 18. 

Maybe use 120 to level everything off going across the grain then sand out the scratches by hand. I just hate to think of somebody leveling out a hardwood cutting board completely by hand. Makes my shoulders sore.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Starting out...*

Yup that was 50 years ago in my case. But I have a young 15 yr old son, who is so"unbeatable" on the xBox 360 in certain racing games and sniper games that he gets bored. I watch him and say "I could never do that...how many buttons are you pushin?"...... "I've got 15"...let's see now 10 fingers...hmmm...as he watches the race course in a inset screen and pulls 180's and backs up and steers and shifts... My point is our younger generation comes with some hand eye/skill sets that are impressive.
Hunter, our young friend "starting out" with his cutting boards could very well within a week of practice, have a pretty good feel for the smaller size belt sander. I have no way of knowing, but I say "Jump right in and learn what you can on practice pieces." This is not fine furniture, it's cutting boards..which if you think about it will get "cut up" anyhow eventually. There is no doubt a good hand plane will test his skills in another dimension and give him an appreciation of both what hand and power tools will do. 
I guess I'm recommending trial by fire, woodworker boot camp, sink or swim, tough love and let's just see what happens. It don't have to be perfect outa' the gate, but if the attitude is right it will come. JMO  bill


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I have the Hitachi hand planer and it is a cheaper one which is why I bought it. I didn't think I would use one often. I only bought it for rough work on timber frame beams. I found it to be indespensible and use it frequently on things that are too big to go through the planer. Even though I have a well-built planer jig for flattening i still use the hand planer sometimes. 

I understand the notion that power planers can be tricky, especially a cheapo unit like mine, but to infer that belt sanders are somehow intermediate to advanced tools and unlikely to produce good results without a lot of time using them is from way out in left field IMO. Belt sanders are about as easy a power tool someone can use - AND get good results. I do agree some guys are just all thumbs and not mechanically inclined, but my guess it's a small minority and not a majority. 






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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

I have two power planners and they do an excellent job at the function for which I bought them ( trimming doors to fit out of square doorways in old houses) but that is all I've ever used them on. My first one was a Royobi and the second is a makita. Both have never given me any problems and I still have them.

Like anything else, you get what you pay for and you have to learn the limits of the tool to use it effectively.

For flattening things like cutting blocks of panels, I get much better results with a belt sander, hand Jack plane, or just a large sanding block as stated before. The Jack plane works well because of its large foot which will help to prevent making valleys in the piece.

Either way, making a surface both smooth and flat takes lots of practice.


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## thehunter (Oct 27, 2010)

i think ill just stick with balet sander and possibly get a jack plane


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