5 Essentials to Get the Most Out Of Your Hand Planer
July 10, 2018When it comes to working with wood, one piece of equipment that is essential is the humble and consistently reliable hand planer. Have you been using a manual hand planer for those DIY woodworking tasks? If you are looking to do a more efficient, price and quicker job you may need a hand planer that is powered by electricity.
If you have already purchased one though or are simply looking to see why you should, it is important to know how to use it and what to do to get the very best out of this piece of equipment.
In the following post that is just what we are going to do – discuss and highlight 5 essentials you need to get the best our of your new hand planer.
Always Follow The Good And safe Working Practices
There are safety rules and practices you should always follow when using electrical goods and tools such as hand planers. These include:
- Always wearing ear defenders and safety goggles to protect your ears and eyes from any airborne bits of debris and wood shavings.
- Place the planer on a flat wooden block after you switch it off and don’t touch it until the blades have stopped rotating.
- When you are working on a task on your head, you need to be sure to set up planks across two ladders, lining them up with where you are going to begin cutting.
Hold Your Hand Planer Correctly At All Times
Although this may sound both obvious and a bit strange, it can make a huge world of difference to the type of work you can do with your hand planer if you make sure you are holding and pushing it properly. It is incredibly important to get the balance and posture right, as this will not only produce the best results; but, will also keep you safe while using it.
To achieve the best posture and balance then, you need to stand with your feet as wide apart as necessary to balance yourself firmly as you use the planer on whatever material you are working with. You need to also apply rhythmic hand pressure while passing the planer over the material to keep the balance and posture constant throughout your work.
Change The Blades Often
Planer blades need to be looked after properly to ensure they remain sharp and free from nay nicks. If they do have little nicks or have become less sharp than they were when you bought them, you need to replace them as soon as possible Not only will this ensure that you are able to do the best work possible, but it will protect your planer from damage and anything you are working on also.
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Remember They are Versatile
The great thing about hand planers is that they can be incredibly versatile, if you understand the numerous jobs you can actually use one to co. For example, you can use a hand planer to shape the edges of decking posts, when wood needs leveling down to be used in frames and to create wooden posts and rails from scratch.
After you have mastered the basics though, you will find that you can use your hand planer for involved work such as shaping wooden trims, beveling the edges and scribing counter tops.