Gina Eide and Michael Dobsevage
A thickness planer is an essential shop machine to smooth and flatten boards. Learn how to use a benchtop planer at maximum capacity with tips from this comprehensive video. Roland Johnson covers safety, setup, and mechanics. He details how to read wood grain to minimize tearout and shares lessons on avoiding snipe.
Fine Woodworking Recommended Products
Veritas Precision Square
This precision square is incredibly versatile, from checking squareness to dialing in machine setups.
Stanley Powerlock 16-ft. tape measure
With its smooth lock, tough case, compact size, and excellent accuracy, this Stanley tape is perfect for workshop use.
Rockler Dust Right 650 CFM
While all five of the smaller units will collect chips efficiently when deployed properly, the 3/4-hp Rockler was just a bit more powerful in our suction test. Bag changes were very easy too, thanks to a lip on the lower edge of the
canister, which holds the bag in place while you operate the clamp. The Rockler 650 also hangs very solidly on its bracket, which helps when you turn the filter-cleaning crank.
Starrett 12-in. combination square
This accurate, robust, well-machined, easy-to-read combo square is as great as ever.
Oneida’s Super Cell Dust Collector
30-Gal with Wall Mount
Comments
Rollie,
Can you address what I have heard referred to as 'chip dent' or 'chip beat'? I think it has to do with chips following the cutterhead around, getting caught under the infeed roller and then being pressed into the board's face. I have the same DeWalt planer you are working with in the video, and with either my cyclone dust collector attached or with the planer's fan blowing the chips out freely, I still get chip dent.
Zolton
Zolton
I had a similar problem, but found that the inlet cowling to the chip blower had an accumulation of resinous chips that were partially blocking the inlet. I cleaned it up and haven't had a problem since.
This video doesn't play. All I have is audio
Excellent video! This is one of the best I've seen so far. Thanks for the great tips and explanations.
I didn't have a planner for many years and I just had to make-do and sand a lot, but now that I have one, its been a huge improvement in my results. BTW, I went for about 2 years without the infeed/outfeed extensions, but now that I have them, I think they are a "must have".
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in