Can Festool planer be used instead of a handplane?
- Thread starter Chlad
- Start date
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I use an ehl65 to take the gritty dirt and saw marks off large boards for this it works very well, but once I start to cut down and dimension I then switch to hand planes. Maybe it's my lack of skill with an electric planer but I wouldn't want to use the ehl65 beyond this initial stage; personally I find hand planes far easier.
Trevanion
Greatest Of All Time
It's a good bit of kit if you want to take a lot of material off but I wouldn't bother trying to use it to get a finished surface, you would need hand planes for that to even out all the tool marks and grooves from the power planer.
Having used a few power planers I would say the Festool is only a little better for extraction, power is lackluster, not very robust and it isn't really any more accurate than any other machine. If all you want to do with it is take masses of material off quickly you'd be better off buying something on the cheaper end.
Having used a few power planers I would say the Festool is only a little better for extraction, power is lackluster, not very robust and it isn't really any more accurate than any other machine. If all you want to do with it is take masses of material off quickly you'd be better off buying something on the cheaper end.
MikeG.
Established Member
Hand held electric planers are a really crude tool. If they were hammers they would be a sledge hammer, rather than a toffee hammer. You will spend more time cleaning up the mess they've made of the wood than you did in using it in the first place. Think of them as a building site tool, for hogging off large amounts of timber crudely. They aren't a workshop tool. And for goodness sake...........Festool? Really? Why would you want to spend so much money for no extra capability? Why are these things fetishised? Take the label off a Festool planer and try it blind against half a dozen others, and you'd be unlikely to choose it even if someone else was paying for it.
As others have said, it'll remove wood fairly sharpish but not give you a near finished surface. The main difference between it and cheaper versions is the [can't think of the right word; too early] "angled" cutter. If gives a sheared cut like a skewed plane so less bumpy (great for doors). It also fits Festool extractors which is only a bonus if you're into the system.
An erbauer off Screwfix will be wider, cheaper by a mile and not make the wallet weep so much.
An erbauer off Screwfix will be wider, cheaper by a mile and not make the wallet weep so much.
I've got an old B&D long bed that is great for hogging material. No good for a finished surface though. It's easy to run over it with a sander or smoothing plane afterwards.
Buy a cheap planer, don't waste your money.
Buy a cheap planer, don't waste your money.
screwpainting
Established Member
This is an interesting video by Lou Suzedde on electric planes and how to set them up. I never knew there was so much to them and have never seen such an in depth explanation on just what you can do with/to them.
About 2 minutes into the video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a1HCqK5i-A
About 2 minutes into the video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a1HCqK5i-A
thetyreman
Established Member
to answer the question yes it can be used instead of a handplane, but it won't replace a handplane, and you can remove a surprising amount of material fast with a handplane.
MikeG.":2il4v65i said:
Don't get me worng, I'm not a brand junkie but I do believe that you get what you pay for. The only Festool tool that I have is a plunge saw and I have to say that it is a pleasure to use. Festool do make good tools. Maybe not all of them are top value for money when compared with other brands but quite a few are worth it. I do agree that Festool are rather premium priced though. The only other tool I am considering from the brand is the OF1400 router as it looks quite decent and gets raving reviews.
screwpainting":2il4v65i said:
That video was a pleasure to watch. The guy knows his stuff.
thetyreman":2il4v65i said:
It looks like I am best sticking with my vintage Record no5 jack. In which case I best start getting used to sharpening that blade properly. :mrgreen:
AJB Temple
Finely figured
Having watched the linked video from Lou the boat builder, I am impressed by his fettling of an electric plane. He has a lot of control, no grooves and a good finish. The blade alteration idea is one of those things that seems so obvious when you know it. And he is using a cheap Ryobi that for various reasons is superior to much more expensive tools. I thought the video was an eye opener and it shows an electric plane can do a very good job if you take the trouble to use the tool to its best capacity.
