Surface planer blade guards

[RogerS]

Funnily enough Steve Maskery popped in just now and this came up in discussion triggered by my saying that I'd been using the guard all wrong.

On my small Axminster, I'd been pulling the guard back and butting it up against the stock but then reading the Sedgwick manual they advocate having the guard over the whole length of the blade with the stock passing underneath the guard.

We came to the conclusion that it depended on a number of things. If you've got a narrow guard then if you're using stock that was quite thick then that would mean that the guard was quite high in the air to pass over the stock. Which meant that you coud easily get your hand underneath. So butting up the guard was safer. A wider guard makes it more difficult for your hands to go underneath and gives more protection.

But if the stock is relatively thin then it was safer to keep the guard all the way over the stock.

Also it depends which face of the board youre planing. If you look at the HS&E site and serch for wis17 then you'll get their recommended way to use brdge guards dependent on what face you are planing.

 

[Digit]

I'll go with that!

Roy.

 

[Karl]

Right, Option 1

Or, Option 2

Both options supplemented by a pushstick at the rear of the piece - the white pushblock in the picture is for downward pressure only.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Steve (Correze)]

Option 1, second one looks very scary indeed.

I only place my guard to the side of the stock if the stock is so thick/tall as to make placing it over the top impractical. As my guard is on an arm fixed to the end of the outfeed table, raising it also moves it towards the outfeed end of the machine, so there's a point after which it's better to place it low and to the side of the stock, but that's for quite thick/tall material, at least 75mm/3".

If your guard has a vertical rise & fall, you should be able to use it over the stock up to the limit of it's adjustment.

I'd also set the fence to reduce the amount of exposed cutter to a minimum if I was using the guard over the top of the piece.

 

[RogerS]

Option 1 for planing those faces.

Turn them 90 degrees to run against the fence for plaing the other surfce then it is Option 2. All explained in the HS&E leaflet.

 

[woodbloke]

Option 2 is the way I do it but with a much bigger push block...the thing you're using there Karl is way to skimpy...

...make a proper one as described :wink: and use a decent sized push stick if needed.
If you look at the corner of the guard on my Kity you can see that the end has been relieved at an angle (in other words it's not square) so that material can be easliy run past it. Thats's the way it was designed...it's not a Blokemod :wink: - Rob

 

[studders]

Option 2 for me, but with a much bigger(longer) homemade pushblock. Just can't get on doing it the other way plus I think it gives a false sense of safety. If you're pushing forwards firmly and the board gets kicked backwards whats to stop your forward moving fingers/hand from going under the guard and into the cutters?

 

[BradNaylor]

I'll get some pointers off Brad next time i'm at his 'shop!

I'll just point you at the thicknesser!

It's heresy I know, but I rarely use the planer for surface planing. I find that by judicious use of the thicknesser I can normally get boards that are flat enough. If the sawn boards are really bent I just cut them up for short lengths and then thickness them. By flipping the board over between passes any unevenness is averaged out.

I use the planer for edge jointing with the guard pulled away from the fence just enough to allow the stock to pass through.

Cheers
Brad

 

[woodbloke]

I use the planer for edge jointing with the guard pulled away from the fence just enough to allow the stock to pass through.

Cheers
Brad

The voice of reason...precisely - Rob

 

[Mr Ed]

It's heresy I know, but I rarely use the planer for surface planing. I find that by judicious use of the thicknesser I can normally get boards that are flat enough. If the sawn boards are really bent I just cut them up for short lengths and then thickness them. By flipping the board over between passes any unevenness is averaged out.

I managed perfectly well for years like this, with just a thicknesser. I think if you select boards carefully and do some strategic turning this can work very well.

Ed

 

[Richard Findley]

I'm with Brad on this one, little bits of wood like this are far easier to manage under the table (thicknesser mode) and then just square the edges over the top.

Cheers,

Richard

 

[OPJ]

Karl, when I start planing the face of a piece of wood, I start with left-hand forward (right-hand is further back) and fairly close to the guard (to keep it from chattering at the start). As my left-hand reaches the guard and timber moves on to the outfeed side, I carefully and quickly move my left-hand over there, keeping my right one on the board and feeding the whole time.

That's quite an important point, as I know that some people (and, I used to do this myself) almost let go of the board when changing hands. With a bit of practice, you should be able to get a better finish. Grain direction and defects are the other things to watch out for, as well as how sharp the knives are and whether or not you've snipped off the painted end (they can pipper your knives).

I've also got a jig very similar to Rob's, which I use to plane the face of anything 300mm or less. That is the only time time I'll prepare a face with the guard set to the side. :wink:

 

[L Harding]

Im of the option one for face and switching to option 2 for the edge camp

I do find it surprising you are having suck a chatter problem, one tip i can suggest is (in option 1 mode) putting pressure on guard to hold the wood down before any of the stock reaches the outfeed table. i know this is still pressure over the block which shouldn't technically be needed but it will help with chatter, and doing it through the guard instead of direct is at least a bit safer.

I dont personally use any push sticks or pressure pads etc, feeling quite safe and happy as long as i keep my hands flat on the top edge of the stock only.

Luke

 

[PAC1]

Just a thought but is the chatter caused by having the timber concave side up! Most boards are slightly bowed or twisted. If it is concave side down it should not chatter.

 

[jlawrence]

I butt the guard upto the wood and use some push blocks to apply pressure to the wood. I keep meaning to buy some push blocks but my homemade ones seem ok to me - they're just a block of wood with a handle on top and some sand paper stuck to the bottom to keep it in contact with the board.
Hands never seem to go near the actual cutters - they're normally at least 1.5 inches above the cutter height and I can't foresee any way of them slipping near the cutter.

 

[Benchwayze]

When planing the edge of a wide board I position the guard as low as possible and butt it almost against the board. That means I can use my hands to keep the board against the fence.

Passing the board under the guard is asking for trouble, as there is more room for the hands to get under the guard; where they shouldn't be!

I set my in-feed table as high as possible. It takes more cuts to remove material, but I get a cleaner finish and feel a lot safer from kickback.
I shudder when I see American workers using those sprung 'kidney' guards.

HTH
John

:ho2

 

[jlawrence]

I must admit that I'm thinking of getting rid of my p/t and going to the dark side for planing- using hand tools. I think i can do as good a job with a plane as i can with my planer. I'd have to get a standalone thicknesser though - wouldn't like to be without that