If you are tasked with fitting new doors in your home or workplace or alternatively need to size timber pieces for general joinery work, you will at some point need to plane the wood to the required dimensions.
Although most diy outlets and timber merchants sell wood, architraves, skirting, decorative trim, and doors in common sizes, in most cases they will not fit directly into your home or office without alterations.
Out of square walls, features and door openings, all vary in size from common manufacturers specifications of timber products.
With regards to fitting new wooden doors it is a case of planing excess material off each edge to make the doors the correct size for the relevant opening.
The easiest way to do this is by way of using an electric planer.
Electric planers come in three different types. Stationary machines for workshop and fabrication use, portable stationary planers for use on site, and the most popular which are compact handheld electric planers.
Several examples of portable electric planes are the Bosch PHO 1, the Dewalt DW680K, and the Makita 1902.
All of these are capable of general joinery work with the Dewalt and Makita versions being aimed at the professional tradesman. The Bosch PHO 1 is a "domestic" use tool aimed at the home user or keen DIY'er that undertakes work on an occasional basis, but which requires reliability, good performance, and is capable of doing the job.
There are several steps to take when using an electric planer:
- First secure the door or piece of wood that is to be planed into a sawbench, woodworking vice, or other form of support.
- Mark out the area on the timber that needs removing using a scribe or joiners pencil.
- Inspect the wood for surface and hidden nails, tacks, or staples. If available use a hand held metal detector (such as a pipe detector) to ensure it is free of these.
- Make sure your children, pets, and any other possible distractions are removed from the immediate work area.
- Double check your measurements and markings. The old saying of measure twice and cut once applies to this task. You don't want to ruin a new expensive hardwood door by removing too much material when carrying out the planning.
- Electric supply - always use a rcd circuit breaker. Test this before plugging the plane into your electric socket or cable that you will be using.
- Safetyware - wear safety glasses or goggles, ear plugs, and a dustmask as the minimum level of ppe for this task.
- If available connect a suitable dust extractor or dust collection bag to the electric planer.
- Make sure you understand fully the features and operating controls on your particular machine. These can vary from model to model especially the on and off switch, depth adjuster, and side fence adjustment control.
After you have carried out the above preparation and checks it is now time to start using your electric planer. This particular tool is used in a similar way to a steam iron. The method of using an electric plane is by way of switching the tool on, the blade drum will then rotate at a very high speed and as the plane is lowered onto the workpiece you push the tool slowly in a smooth forward motion over the full length of the timber section.
As you come to the end of workpiece you lift the plane up in a vertical action completely clearing the timber. This is repeated until you have the timber workpiece to the required size as well as its finish. Providing you marked the door or wood section first you will easily be able to see when this has been completed.
It is important the plane is used without being forced, after a few passes you should be able to work with shallow sweeps and at a constant pace.
As with using an electric steam iron you will find the more you use this tool the better you will get at operating it. If by any chance you are leaving scoops or hollows in the wood after using your plane this is an indication you have the working method wrong in some way or other.
The most common mistake people make when operating an electric plane for the first time is either pushing down on the tool too hard or lifting off early instead of at the end of the workpiece. When this is done the blades dig into the wooden surface creating a hollow finish.
If this happens the only way to rectify it is by way of planning again - but in the correct manner.
Variable Depth Adjustment
All modern electric planers have a variable depth adjustment. This is usually a graduated knob or dial that sits on the front of the tool on its uppermost housing. By turning this control the front shoe on the planer will raise or lower giving an adjustable depth of cut.
Different makes and models have different specifications with regards to this adjustment. DIY and home user models normally have control of up to 2mm capable. Professional models such as those made by Dewalt, Makita and others may have up to around 4mm capability.
Remember this is the maximum depth of cut the tool will take off in a single pass. It is better to start with the lowest setting possible and by repeat passes on the workplace get down to your scribe or pencil line. Once removed you cannot replace the wood you have taken off!
Replaceable Cutting Blades
When looking to buy an electric planer ensure the make and model you buy has replacement cutting blades available. Over the past few years there have been countless cheap DIY power tools coming into the market place, usually with unheard of brand names. These cheap budget tools usually have no aftersales backup especially when it comes to replacement parts. They are basically a "throw away tool".
If you stick to buying a machine from the likes of Black and Decker, Bosch, Dewalt, Makita etc you will find you can buy replacement cutting blades, drive belts, dust bags, and parts when you need them.
Why throw away your power tool if all it needs is a new set of blades?
Carbide Tipped or HSS Blades
The majority of electric planers are fitted with carbide tipped (TCT) blades, although high speed steel (HSS) cutting blades are also available to buy if you want to fit them.
The benefit of using TCT blades is that they will last longer and being very hard in their make up are also capable of cutting hard woods and laminates. A classic example where this is a benefit is when fitting a new kitchen worktop.
Most kitchen worktops have a plastic laminate surface on top of a composite wooden board. The surface laminate will quickly blunt traditional hss blades where as TCT carbide blades can easliy cope with this.
The composite board is another story. Most worktops are manufactured by way of compressed particles suspended with plastic resins. As with the surface laminate it is the resins that will blunt hss cutting blades - and in a very short time.
From this you will have gathered that there really is no other option but to use carbide tipped (tct) blades in an electric power plane.
So why would you want to fit HSS type blades?
There are two reasons, price - as hss blades will be cheaper! and two, if you intend to plane very rough timber that may have hidden nails or tacks within.
If you can only afford hss blades (they are normally around half the cost of tct) then you have no choice but to go down this route.
As regards to using your electric planer on rough wood that may have nails inside - hss blades are "softer" than TCT blades and are less prone to chipping or breaking should you hit a nail, tack, staple, or somthing similar. They can cope with the odd impact without causing many problems. TCT blades will immediatley chip, break, or crack upon hitting a metal object. This is why we recommend you inspect any door or wood you intend to plane before you start work.
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