Despite electrical grinding and planing machines, the traditional hand planer is a tool that no carpenter would do without. With double, plaster and narrow planes you are well equipped for most jobs. Our guide shows how to choose the right hand plane.
Remove wood to size, smooth wooden surfaces, remove small grooves or folds – the planer is in its element. A little practice is required to guide it safely. And precision is important even when you choose the right hand plane. Because when planing, the wood is peeled off in thin strips with the plane iron. If this sharp blade is not properly fixed, too much wood has been removed quickly .
Choose the right hand plane: overview
Double planer: With the double planer you can fit wooden workpieces and work on surfaces, edges and end grain. The metal plane flap of the double planer breaks the chip immediately after the cut and is intended to prevent the “leading chip”.
Cleaning planer: The cleaning plane with a steep planing knife does not let the wood tear out so quickly and enables minimal material removal. It is the first choice when wood surfaces have to be smoothed optimally, pencil marks or small scratches have to be removed.
Narrow plane: The narrow plane with a protruding plane iron is the specialist for corners and folds.
Planing by hand: how to do it
For planing, the wood is clamped firmly on the workbench at waist height. With the left hand you grasp the planing nose or the “croissant” and with the right hand guard (this applies to right-handed people, left-handed people do it the other way around). It is planed with a lot of momentum over the entire board length. The further the plane iron protrudes from the plane sole, the greater the chip removal and the more effort.
With a double planer for working on surfaces, edges and end grain wood, a cleaning planer for smoothing surfaces and removing scoring, as well as a ledge plane, which penetrates into every corner in folds, you are ideally equipped as a handyman when it comes to level, precise measurements and to create smooth surfaces.
Slide the planer with your right hand on the hand saver …
… and guide him with the left hand on the plane nose …
… position yourself so that you plan the surface with momentum. Always plane end grain diagonally in short bursts.
A sharp iron is essential when planing
A sharp plane iron is essential for perfect planing. With special grinding devices you can sharpen it on a grindstone with precise angles. However, if you are tired of constantly sharpening plane irons, you can also use a plane with interchangeable blades.
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Gerhardt Richter is a writer and a trainer at trade technical colleges, specializing in carpentry, plumbing, mechanics and construction.
