Cheapie power planer - recommendations please ??

[Adrian]

Hi I need a mains-powered planer to take about 3 - 4 mm off the long edge of a solid (softwood) interior door.

Door used to fit fine - but then I installed parliament hinges (the sort that fold back through 180 degrees) - and the result is that the latch side of the door now binds due to the pivot point of the hinges now being about 1.5" 'behind' the door.

I can't see myself needing the planer very often - so am reluctant to spend much more than 50 UK pounds. Have tried hiring - but the hire shops say that they've stopped hiring power planers as they used to come back wrecked - someting to do with planing embedded nails !

Any suggestions of brands to look out for - or even avoid ??! Or even other ways of achieving the required result....?

Be even better if the thing was available from a supplier over here in the Republic of Ireland.... gosh - I'm missing Screwfix !

Thanks

Adrian West Cork, Ireland

[calums]

Adrian I have a Draper planer that I am getting rid of, since I now have a Makita planer, along with a Robland Planer/Thicknesser. If you wanted it then you could have it for =A320 +postage. Its not been used much and will do the job you want it for. Your other option is to use a circular saw and clamp a guide to the door to get your straight line. If I was now to buy a cheap planer I would go for either Draper, JCB, or Axminster EHP82. Calum Sabey (NewArk Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544)

[Doctor Drivel]

Aldi are selling them for £15 with 3 yr guarantee. Aldi are in Co Cork and usually have the same deals as the UK.

[Another Dave]

I've just planed 4 doors exactly like this. I used a hand plane I inherited when my father-in law died 25 years ago. Job took 30 minutes at most for all 4 doors. I'm 64 years old. Are you sure you need a power planer?

Another Dave

[Adrian]

HI Calum

Thanks - you have email !

Adrian

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Strange thing is there's not much difference in price between a decent plane and a middling power one.

[normanwisdom]

Yeah hand-plane. Or if you must have power then a circular saw with a long piece of MFC as a guide (or google "sawboard"). Hand power planers are not as useful as they look.

cheers Jacob

[Huge]

I've found the (cheap, Ferm, Screwfix) one I own to be enormously useful. I wish I'd bought one years ago.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd not be without mine. Or hand planes come to that. Power planers need skill to set up and use though - perhaps more so than many others.

[Adrian]

You're right - perhaps 'need' was a bit OTT

If I said, " I'd be more confident that I could do the job & end up with a decent square finish using a power planer" than that's probably nearer the truth

If it was only a gnats that required removing then I'd be using my little metal-soled Stanley plane - bought about 25 years ago and probably not used more than half a dozen times since....

The biulder chappie who sorted some things for us in the last house used a power-plane to fit the new doors, and I remember thinking then 'what a useful gadget' - but haven't needed one in the intervening 5 years - hence the reluctance to shell out large amounts of cash...

Did think of using the router, against a clamped-on guide, but the deepest router bit I have isn't wide enough to do the job in one pass... and a circular saw is a possibility, but the (cheap !) one I have has a very coarse blade and would probably require planing again to finish off.....

Thanks for the comments, anyway - sounds as if Callum may be able to help me out....

Regards Adrian in wild, wet and windy West Cork

[Adrian]

Oh c'mon - you can't leave it like that !

Any hints or tips ??

ISTR that the one our builder chappie had was simply set up with a 'depth' dial at the front, also some kind of a fence for rebating.

What other subtleties do I need to be aware of ?

I know it sounds kind of 'Irish' - but I was considering planing off the material at the hinge side of the door - on the grounds that the new parliament hinges require a different 'rebate' to the originals, and that any slight innacuracies in the planing will be less noticeable if they're on the hinge-side of the door. Also saves messing with the lock mechanism.

Any reason I've overlooked why this isn't a Good Plan ?

Thanks Adrian

[John Rumm]

This will keep you going for a bit:

I know it sounds kind of 'Irish' - but I was considering planing off

Nope that is a fine and sensible way to do it - usualy simper to recut hinge rebates than having to remount the latch assembly (especially if it has a keyhole!)

[Andy Hall]

The main two are to make sure that the work is properly and firmly supported and then not to be too agressive with cutting depth.

It's far better to take off small cuts of 0.5mm than 2mm in one go unless you have a great deal of material to remove. It's easier to control the machine, the motor isn't strained and there is an opportunity to correct mistakes.

You're in the right place for that (do they tell stories about Kerry men?)

I don't see why not unless you were removing a lot of material and a design on the door ended up looking out of balance.

[meow2222]

you need to do it that way, off the hinge side. Think what will go wrong if you trim the lock side.

=A325 Ferm power planer is fine, but youve already got a Stanley plane, so you wont need anything anyway. If you pencil mark along each side of the door, then plane down to 1mm from it, then down to 0.5mm, then plane to it, it'll be nice + straight.

If you do get a power plane, tct blades are a must. Dont be tempted by junk with steel blades. With a power plane making a zillion cuts a second these wont go far. Even TCT have limited life.

NT

[Adrian]

the food processor ! thanks for the link !

Interesting that the faq mentions power-planers are good on mdf / chipboard - got some mdf cupboard doors to manufacture next week - also a new kitchen worktop - sounds like I need a power-planer !

yup - for some strange reason _all_ the internal doors in this (new build) place have keyholes.

Not all of them have the wood actually cut away so's you can insert the key .... and one of them had the catch actuator broken, and two of them didn't have the striker plate fitted into the door-frame.... but that's by-the-by....

Just spent a happy afternoon repainting the upstairs 'hall' and down the stairs after some clown of a painter 'touched up' the paintwork (magnolia vinyl matt) with many roller-fulls of mag vinyl SILK !

Bah ! - 'spose it was raining, anyway.....

Dont you just hate doing 'unnecessary' jobs ??

Regards Adrian

[Adrian]

Sounds very sensible..... I was going to clamp the door upright in my trusty workmate - maybe even another clamp onto the sturdy wooden 'outside table' (which seems to be getting a lot more use as a trestle than as a place to drink afternoon tea, recently !)

Wouldn't know - & wouldn't dare comment - as everybody seems to either 'know' or 'be related to' everybody else round here. Anyway, we're in Cork, rather than Kerry....

It's not more than 2 - 3 mm - so I don't think it's going to make an awful lot of difference....

Thanks Adrian

>

[Adrian]

Could be a bit of a 'fiddle' the 'drift' the lock mechanism, handles etc across by 3 mm - that's why I thought to take it off the hinge side...

OK - I'll look out for that Thanks Adrian

[Doctor Drivel]

That does sound Irish :-)

[calums]

Adrian My email address is [e-mail] Look forward to hearing from you if still interested. Calum Sabey (NewArk Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544)

[Cicero]

================================ Mark the limit of your cut with a pencil mark on both sides of the door and take several small cuts rather than one big one. Check the edge of the door for square as you get close to your pencil marks and correct as necessary. If you don't finish with a square edge it will be difficult to get your hinges to lie properly.

Cic.