Planing, do you use pushbocks?

[OscarG]

I'm struggling to get to grips with my Titan planer/thicknesser in planing mode. On a rough but flat bit of wood it seems to take wood off the beginning and end but not so much the middle, leaving the wood smooth but a bit thicker in the middle.

I didn't use the push blocks as ones supplied with machine have this hard plastic bottom that has the same grip as a wet bar of soap, so was using a big bit of wood on top to guide the wood I'm planing. I had assumed maybe lack of pushblocks and lack of sufficient downward pressure was reason for uneven planing but don't know if that's right?!

I was going to ask on here where to buy good push blocks but then stumbled across threads with much arguing over whether push blocks are bad practise/dangerous or not.

Now, my head is totally effed!

I can see the value in pushsticks keeping your hands away from the cutters but how do you maintain downward pressure doing that?

How do you guys do it?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Personally I use this style, with the rubber base which sticks really well. Steady but not too much both downward and forward moving pressure and keep the feed speed the same, also focus pressure on the outfeed side once enough wood has passed over the cutters.

In particular, I prefer the longer one at the top of the picture.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

Sounds to me like you have table misalignment problems. Push blocks won't solve that. Besides, planing doesn't require a great deal of downward pressure. If you consider a board with a slight arch in its length, pressing down to much will momentarily flatten it to the tables, which results in a board that remains arched!

I would check to see if the tables are parallel to each other before I looked at push blocks. Best practice says that push blocks are a poor idea anyway, as you can move your hands over the cutter block to use them, all be it with the block between. They can be handy if used correctly, but probably won't solve your problems.

Mike.

 

[delboy47]

I tend to use pushblocks because my fingers have been nibbled a couple of time - not nice. I try to only put any downward pressure (but not a lot) on the outfeed table which meant I was pushong the rear end of the timber rather than on the top at the end. Hence the nibbles. So now its either a pushstick or push block but trying to ensure there is not much downward pressure. Pushblock on the outfeed end to maintain some pressure.

 

[shed9]

Push blocks with pressure on the out feed with enough pressure to keep the board flat, nothing more.

I also wax the tables frequently as this helps a lot.

 

[dzj]

Hello,

Sounds to me like you have table misalignment problems. Push blocks won't solve that. Besides, planing doesn't require a great deal of downward pressure. If you consider a board with a slight arch in its length, pressing down to much will momentarily flatten it to the tables, which results in a board that remains arched!

I would check to see if the tables are parallel to each other before I looked at push blocks. Best practice says that push blocks are a poor idea anyway, as you can move your hands over the cutter block to use them, all be it with the block between. They can be handy if used correctly, but probably won't solve your problems.

Mike.

+1

 

[RobinBHM]

Tables not parallel or fault with technique.

Feed inwards with light pressure, enough to keep wood moving. Once work is emerging on outfeed side keep feeding hand over hand on outfeed table only.

Assuming wood is say thin and wide like a 150 x 20 section, set bridge guard with a small gap of less then 1 finger thickness and set to cover whole blade.

When edging a 150 x 20, lower guard to table and push across leaving 5mm from the timber.

 

[OscarG]

Cheers guys, I'll give it another go. So to check alignment of tables would you simply use a spirit level on each one?

Sorry if this seems a daft question.

While researching the safety of planing/jointing yesterday I ended up on a bit of a youtube journey, examples of kickback, accidents etc

One guy in comments, said he wanted to cut a nylon rope but was too lazy to get a knife so used his table saw... (oh it gets worse!) he stands rope taut in each hand and brings it back to the blade, the blade grabs hold of the rope and yanks him forward, apart from a dislocated arm suffered no damage to his hands! How's that for stupid?!

 

[wallace]

The tables should be co planer, the outfeed table should be the tiniest fraction lower than the knives, the infeed should be set lower than the knives depending how much you want to remove

 

[furnman]

USING PUSH STICKS OR PADS IS DANGEROUS !!!!

This is a very bad idea and bad practice , sadly to much watching american youtube gives people the wrong idea, you should just use your bare hands in conjunction with a properly set bridge guard , as the bridge guard always covers the cutter block , your hands just flow over the top along the piece of timber, this gives good safe control of the timber. HSE ban the use of them.
I am sorry to say but I just really worry about people's safety .

 

[murrmac]

USING PUSH STICKS OR PADS IS DANGEROUS !!!!

This is a very bad idea and bad practice , sadly to much watching american youtube gives people the wrong idea, you should just use your bare hands in conjunction with a properly set bridge guard , as the bridge guard always covers the cutter block , your hands just flow over the top along the piece of timber, this gives good safe control of the timber. HSE ban the use of them.
I am sorry to say but I just really worry about people's safety .

I have no idea how you come by the notion that HSE ban the use of push blocks.

On the contrary, the usage of push blocks is in fact advised, especially when machining shorter workpieces.

Here is a snip from the relevant HSE regulations.

 

[furnman]

They are talking about a push block which has a lip at the end, they are different to the ones shown in orbital bobs photo which are just pads, and these are what I am talking about. Using this type means passing your hands over the cutter block without protection and moving the bridge guard out of the way. A push stick is just a piece of wood. The americans use these pads with their pork chop guard running over the block and IMO are dangerous. It just worries me people using these pad type things.

 

[custard]

Before even getting into the question of push blocks, make sure the planer tables are properly waxed/lubricated and that the knives are sharp. If these two things aren't done then you can find yourself having to push the workpiece quite hard to make progress, which in turn leaves you liable to slipping and jamming your fingers into the cutters. Blunt knives also tend to lift the workpiece, on thinner workpieces in particular you can see it "fluttering", so you're then trying to apply counteracting downward pressure really close to the cutter block.

In commercial workshops it's relatively rare to see push sticks or blocks being used on a planer. Rare but not unknown. When edge planing I'll sometimes use push sticks as the cutter block is uncovered and with shallow or angled components it's the only way to keep fingers a respectable distance away from danger. That's my practise, but they're your fingers so you're the one who needs to feel confident about your workshop practises!

 

[LancsRick]

I'm not quite sure what you mean furnman if I'm honest. The guard should be moved sideways to allow the workpiece to pass, and the pads just give you enough surface friction to be able to push the piece along without running the risk of dropping your fingertips into the blade at the last point. Or are we talking about different things here?

To the OP, you've had the most likely (and easiest to check options) - check tables for parallel, give them a wipe with machine wax, don't push down hard on the workpiece.

 

[memzey]

I don't use push sticks or blocks but then again I never use my P/T without the guard properly in place either. In addition to the good advice on sharpness and waxed tables given by Custard above, I have to say that the way you use the planer should keep your hands clear anyway; essentially I only feed the stock into the cutter block from the in feed table until enough of the stock has passed over the knives for me to be able to push from the out feed side. This means my hands are pushing away from the sharp spinny bits for almost all of my planing, thus reducing the risk of accidentally pushing fingers through the block significantly.

Reading that back it seems as though my ability to write easily understandable English seems to have deserted me but I hope you get my point nonetheless!

 

[woodbloke65]

Before even getting into the question of push blocks, make sure the planer tables are properly waxed/lubricated and that the knives are sharp. If these two things aren't done then you can find yourself having to push the workpiece quite hard to make progress, which in turn leaves you liable to slipping and jamming your fingers into the cutters. Blunt knives also tend to lift the workpiece, on thinner workpieces in particular you can see it "fluttering", so you're then trying to apply counteracting downward pressure really close to the cutter block.

In commercial workshops it's relatively rare to see push sticks or blocks being used on a planer. Rare but not unknown. When edge planing I'll sometimes use push sticks as the cutter block is uncovered and with shallow or angled components it's the only way to keep fingers a respectable distance away from danger. That's my practise, but they're your fingers so you're the one who needs to feel confident about your workshop practises!

Agreed. I sometimes (but not often) use a proper push block (not like the ones illustrated by the OP) and push sticks for edge planing if the job is quite small. For larger pieces when edge planing it's not necessary to use push sticks, but all of the cutter block should be covered by the guard - Rob

 

[Jacob]

I think push blocks are potentially dangerous as your hand and arm go over the TS or planer blade at the end of the stroke and you have to reach further. Exactly the opposite with push sticks - you get extended reach, safely out of the way.
One push stick in each hand every time (almost). You get used to it and it gives you much better control than hands alone.

 

[garethharvey]

Hello,

Sounds to me like you have table misalignment problems. Push blocks won't solve that. Besides, planing doesn't require a great deal of downward pressure. If you consider a board with a slight arch in its length, pressing down to much will momentarily flatten it to the tables, which results in a board that remains arched!

I would check to see if the tables are parallel to each other before I looked at push blocks. Best practice says that push blocks are a poor idea anyway, as you can move your hands over the cutter block to use them, all be it with the block between. They can be handy if used correctly, but probably won't solve your problems.

Mike.

+1

+2

 

[memzey]

I think push blocks are potentially dangerous as your hand and arm go over the TS or planer blade at the end of the stroke and you have to reach further. Exactly the opposite with push sticks - you get extended reach, safely out of the way.
One push stick in each hand every time (almost). You get used to it and it gives you much better control than hands alone.

Welcome back Jacob!

 

[ColeyS1]

Don't think it's been mentioned, but I wonder if timber length may have anything to do with people using push stick/blocks ? I personally don't use them, but it's very rare i plane stuff shorter than 600mm. Bits this length or shorter, I get ultra cautious with topping and tailing- so perhaps an aid may be useful in that instance ?
Any thing over 600mm ish, I've never found any reason to need additional help (other than rollers on really long stuff) Hands are always out the way. Probably more controversial is I choose to wear sticky gloves. I really struggle gripping things. Before wearing gloves, I had a few close calls with my hands slipping on the wood surface and going towards the cutters. Even with correct guarding, it was still concerning. Judging by the wear and tear the gloves get (mainly fingers wear out first) I personally think I'm safer wearing them- I guess time will tell if I made the right decision.
Coley