No planer = no woodworking?

[Mike W.]

Im amazed at myself for even asking this question... it seems each time I buy a tool that 'this is the final piece before I can really do great things'. But I'm always missing one more.

So I have to ask. I have a good tablesaw, a good router and router table, a good 6" jointer, and a crappy little drill press, along with a wide variety of other misc tools. I have found that not having a power planer is a handicap, such that I have to buy S4S ($$$) or not do any good woodworking, and heck, even S4S isnt consistently thick. So, what tricks are there with the tools I have to make consistently thick boards? Should I make some wild jig for the TS?

Thanks, Mike

[Toller]

This must be a troll for advice about handplanes!

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I'm sure someone more experienced than I may give you better answers, but a planer, either hand or powered, seems to be one of the fairly basic tools needed for fine woodworking. I've survived well without a jointer. Sure, it world be nice to have but I've gotten by five years now as I can buy wood jointed "included" in the price. . Planer is used often though. Others say to reverse the sequence, but that works for me.

With the assortment of tools you have, the planer may certainly be the "final tool" in the series. Except for a bandsaw. Maybe a lathe. Mortise machine is nice to have too. You do have a dust collector don't you? That is a must with a planer.

[HMFIC-1369]

To be frank, I buy quality wood! I pay extra not because I can't afford a planer.... just not the room!

[jo4hn]

A planer's job is to make one side parallel to the other at a specific thickness. The alternative is to buy your wood presized. You seem to have a fair amount invested in tools for your hobby. Do it one more time and get the planer. A tablesaw is not going to thickness a twelve inch piece of wood. mahalo, jo4hn

[Leon]

They are good to have around but I NEVER have to run S4S through a planer. If you are getting S4S lumber that is not a consistant thickness you are paying way too much and need to find a new supplier.

[Mark & Juanita]

Doesn't seem to be for David Eisan. Well, he does have one, but I don't think it serves as a catalyst for the ownership of a planer, after all, his dust collector was sitting there in the background with a huge pile of shavings from the planer,not connected to said dust collector, in that picture he last posted. ;-)

One can use a planer without a dust collector, but there are certain side effects of doing so.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[C & S]

For me woodworking is not just a outlet for making things. It allows me to design things. I seldom make things that I can buy. By that, I mean I can often make *exactly* what I want.

For me, a planer was must important because it enabled me to develop designs that incorporate different thicknesses. At least for me, owning a jointer is more to do with interjected quality (accuracy) into the process than does owning a planer.

Do you need a planer ... nonsense, but it does enable more nuanced woodworking.

-Steve

[George]

Make furniture, not boards. You don't really think the folks in hand-power days spent time making 13/16 boards do you? Lots of joinery techniques allow for boards of inconsistent thickness. Just make sure they meet on the outside.

Hand planes and scrapers will take care of the minor misfits. Try to stay with either surfaced or sanded lumber, and not mix the two in the same project.

Of course, I bought a planer 25 years ago because I didn't care to double the price of my lumber by having it KD and S2S. #1 common cherry was $220/MBF, but KD and planing would have added another $200. After the first couple of years, I began haunting the school board to do the same for their shop, to take the load from mine.

[Morris Dovey]

| On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 03:03:41 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" | wrote: | || You do have a dust collector don't you? That || is a must with a planer. || | Doesn't seem to be for David Eisan. Well, he does have one, but | I don't think it serves as a catalyst for the ownership of a | planer, after all, his dust collector was sitting there in the | background with a huge pile of shavings from the planer,not | connected to said dust collector, in that picture he last posted. | ;-) | | One can use a planer without a dust collector, but there are | certain side effects of doing so.

I might as well take a bit of the heat off David - my DC is connected only to a router. I keep a snow shovel in my shop for dealing with shavings from jointer and planer. :-)

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[Edwin Pawlowski]

The reason for my comment was that I planed two boards. Next week I had a DC.

Getting back to the original question of need, I wanted to be able to control the thickness to what I wanted. I made a doll sized table with a drawer for my granddaughter. Using 3/4" wood for the drawer sides looked too clunky. So I HAD to get a planer.

[Morris Dovey]

Of course! In fact, you could probably make a good case for a good

10HP dual-belt sander for the next one...

:-)

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

[astutesolutions]

I was in the same boat (except I didn't have a "good" TS or even a jointer). I finally found a project that required a planer (Jeff's project rule: every new project that the wife requires gets a new tool). I struggled even more to justify the $499 for the Dewalts and the other big guys. I had settled on the Ridgid but it was out of stock. I figured, Hell, I'll buy the Ryobi and bring it back in 3 days after I get "some" use out of it ("I'll show them"). Turned out to be a great little planer.

I must admit that on 16 foot long 2x6 boards (T&G stuff) it struggled some with the pushing them through some, although with a little assistance it did fine. There was no problem with the cutters, just the power feed. I find that clearing the sawdust off of the roller helps. I also used it to plane some very stained 4x8s for my shop table (

). Here again it struggled forcing those big hunks of wood through (10'x4"x8").

I'd like to build a parallel set of 2x8's on their sides with rollers that would hold the planer and receive the cut wood that I can set it up at a 20 degree angle such that gravity would help the large stock. For small pieces, it handles it great.

Anyway, sorry to get too far off the original question. I find that now that I have a planer, I work on a lot of other projects that I wouldn't have thought of doing before. Not necessarily furniture related, but wood projects around the house.

Jeff

[CW]

Should have skipped the jointer and bought the planer.

[ray]

Some people are tool collectors, others are sawdust makers. I consider myself to be among the latter. Some of my projects, mot of which did not use a planner, can be seen at:

have a total tool cost of about $600. The Mesquite box was made from a log cut on a bench saw and planed with a Skill electric plane ($29 about 15 years ago). The cherry blanket chest was from S0S boards that were given to me by a neighbor who cut them on his band saw mill. I seldom measure anything but cut to fit. It usually doesn't matter if the boards are 11/16 or 7/8 or whatever so long as the are strong enough and look appropriate.

Recently I bought a used Delta planner for $100, a major purchase for me. I find it very useful for making thin boards of different thickness. It was very useful for making the doll house and the furniture for it. I can continue to make wood working projects without it. You have to decide if you are a sawdust maker or a tool collector.

[Billy Smith]

The arguments in favor of a power planer are prefectly valid but there are reasons to use handplanes. Handplanes take up less room, and some of us like the feel of using them. I feel closer to the wood, more like a woodworker and less like a machine technician. And I can use the exercise (it can give you a real workout). I don't think cost is a factor: the cost of a set of good handplanes is equal to that of a power planer.

There are lots of special uses where handplanes are perfect and a power planer won't work, e.g. planing an assembled drawer to final size, both horizontally and vertically, to make a perfect fit.

If you go the handplane route:

1) Study up on handplanes and how to use them. 2) Get the right kind of planes (there are many functional types) for the work you will be doing. 3) Get more than one. Don't try to do everything with one type of handplane. 4) Have the ability to keep the blades razor sharp.

I have a table saw, 14 in. band saw, 6 in. jointer, and two high-quality handplanes. This combo has worked well for my recent projects using mostly oak.

Maybe one day I'll get tired of the handplaning and get a power planer. But I'll never regret learning how to use my handplanes and they'll last much longer than I will

[Mike W.]

:-)

Yes I do have a dust collector, but didnt c>>Im amazed at myself for even asking this question... it seems each time I

[Leuf]

Just to elaborate a bit, mark all the outside faces as your reference face. Always use this face as your reference, never the opposite face. For example on the table saw the reference face would always go against the fence. Now if the backside of the joint needs to fit against another surface you'll have a problem, but usually you can get away with this.

-Leuf

[Jeff Gorman]

"Leuf" wrote

Just to supplement good advice, there is a good case for making inside surfaces of dovetailed carcases the reference face (face side).

On frames, the reference edge (face edge) should be on the inside of the frame.

Jeff G

[astutesolutions]

Nice work, BTW.

Jeff