Electric Hand held planer

[Anonymous]

hi

can anyone tell me or point me in the direction of advice or a guide for the best technique to use this tool

i need to remove about 3-4mm from the side/edge of a door but having practised on some scrap wood i find that as I come to the end of the piece the plane snipes digging out a chunk.

 

[Philly]

Jake,
Yeah, that always happens!
First plane from the opposite end for a couple of inches, then plane from your original end-Voila, no spelching!
hope this helps
Philly

 

[Chris Knight]

Philly,

I am not sure this will help - snipe was the problem mentioned not spelching (aka tearout)

The simplest answer is to clamp a large enough wooden scrap at the end of the door so that the toe of the planer still has something to ride on as it leaves the door, instead of dropping down and causing snipe. Such a sacrifical block will also prevent spelching if it is a problem.

 

[johnelliott]

Well tricky to trim a door neatly with an electric plane. If you were doing enough of them it would be worth your investing in a Festool saw and guide. Give as good a finish as an electric plane, and much quicker
John

 

[Anonymous]

hi

thanks for the ideas.

but how would i clamp the scrap wood to the end of the door bearing in mind the door is 78" long.

i don't have a clamp that size

perhaps planing to the middle one way then the other is the best idea

 

[MattMoore]

if the scrap of wood is attached to the bottom of the door, can't it be held in place with 2 screws? as the bottom of the door will be unseen

 

[Anonymous]

thanks mattmoore thats the way

 

[frank]

jake a piece of string tied round the door and the scrap wood its only to stop the plane from dropping down a bit , you can use a bit of 4x2 .

 

[Alf]

<murmurs> Hand plane?

All right, all right, I'm going...

 

[Midnight]

surely using a hand plane technique would work for this, without any additional sacrificial pieces..???

At the start of the cut, apply pressure mainly to the toe of the plane until the heel has a surface to register against. Centralize the pressure for the bulk of the cut, transferring the pressure to the heel to complete it. Additionally, keep the material removed per pass down to about the 0.2mm mark to limit the damage just in case things go wrong. Check the surface for straightness and square after each pass.

But like Alf said... far less hassle with either a jack or a jointer plane.

 

[Anonymous]

hi

mike I have tried using this technique but still find there is some snipe.

more practice maybe is needed

but with the addition of a scrap piece a successful outcome should be possible i think

bearing in mind it is a hardwood front door I cannot really afford a mistake

I do not possess a hand plane capable of this task but it seems to me that planing in one pass with an electric planer over a 78 inch length a better result is more attainable than with a hand plane with an inexperienced plane user.

but i could be wrong.

 

[MattMoore]

3-4mm is alot to be taking off in one pass, although this is what the manufacturer may state, it cant be very good to the machine and blades?

 

[Midnight]

I hear what you're saying Jake...

k.. another suggestion.... how about setting up a dummy piece to practice on; perfect your technique on some scrap where mistakes don't matter before letting loose on the door itself.

BTW, the reason behind limiting the depth of cut was to give a higher chance of getting it right. any error can be spotted early on in the job, allowing plenty material depth to correct it. Set the blade to take the whole lot in one pass gives you just one chance to get it right; any slight side to side wiggle while cutting will be magnified all the more, pushing you beyond the desired depth of cut. DAMHIKT

 

[Bean]

Jake
I have tried this when fitting 12 hardwood doors to a house, the best method I found has already been explained here, All the weight on the toe to start with then even weight until you reach the end of the door, at this point you keep all of the weight on the heel of the plane. The other essential piece of advice was keep the cuts small, it is very easy to go off square with these planes. The stated cut of 3mm on mine is in soft wood only, I found that a max cut of 0.5mm was the best method. It means a few more passes but better that than a new door :shock:

Find an old door to practice on, priceless

Bean

 

[Anonymous]

hi

mattmore and mike when i said one pass i didn't mean the whole 4mm in one go but rather each pass in one movement say taking 0.5mm at a time.

i think more practice is definitely required

edit crossposted bean

i think thats very sound advice

thanks everyone

jake44

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Jake

All the weight on the toe to start with then even weight until you reach the end of the door, at this point you keep all of the weight on the heel of the plane. The other essential piece of advice was keep the cuts small, it is very easy to go off square with these planes.

As Bean says this is exactly the way to cut it, the only thing I would add is that you might want to consider taking the same amount off each side of the door.

Cheers
Neil