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Thickness planers
Thickness planers (also known as "bench
planers" or "finishing planers")
are becoming increasingly popular among homeowners
and woodworking hobbyists. Traditionally,
a power tool found only in professional woodworking
shops, bench planers are now available in
portable, compact, inexpensive models that
give amateur woodworkers professional results.
When looking to buy a bench planer,
here
are some considerations:
- cuts per inch refers to the number of times
the cutting blades slice through the wood,
which is a function of the number of blades
on the cutting head, the rotating speed of
the cutting head, and the speed at which
the board is fed through the planer
- width of the bed--current models now handle
12-13" widths, which is ample for most
home use
- power of the motor - typical planner motors
draw 15 amps, which allows you to plane most
hard woods
- number of cutting blades-- traditionally,
cutter heads have two blades, but the latest
planer design is to have three blades, which
give a smoother finish because the number
of cuts is increased by 50%
- feed speeds - although many planers still
have only one feed speed, better planers
now offer both a high speed for roughing
to dimension and a low speed for smooth finishing
It's better to buy a planer with disposable
knives because the blades will dull with
use and simply replacing the blades is easier
than removing and sharpening them.
Leading manufacturers of bench
planers include
Dewalt, Delta, Craftsman, RIgid,
and Ryobi. |
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