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Planer Thicknesser Buyer's Guide

A planer thicknesser really makes joinery easier and releases you from the frustration and expense of relying on pre-prepared timber, helping to reduce cost and improve quality.

Author: Record Power
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A planer thicknesser really makes joinery easier and releases you from the frustration and expense
of relying on pre-prepared timber, helping to reduce cost and improve quality.

The Role of a Planer Thicknesser
The main job of the planer is to produce a totally flat and square datum point for the thicknesser to work from. Once this is achieved the thicknesser accurately and rapidly dimensions all your timber to the required size making accurate joinery a simple job.
One of the main advantages of being able to plane your own material is that it enables you to reclaim used timber and reduce costs by using unprepared stock whilst giving you full control of the quality and dimensions of your timber. Often pre-prepared stock can be twisted or warped, making it very difficult to remedy without a planer and thicknesser and compromising consistent dimensions.
A planer is also useful for preparing stock for other machining functions – for example creating a truly flat datum to be used against a bandsaw table and fence for cutting thin and accurate veneers. Once in the workshop it will prove an invaluable tool.

Planer Function
Planing Warped Wood or Straightening Lengths of Timber

1st Pass
Begins the process of straightening or flattening.

2nd Pass
Each pass removes more material until flat.

3rd Pass
Bottom surface now completely flat. This can now be referenced to surfacing fence to get two sides 90º and flat, then thicknesser can be used to make remaining sides parallel.

The surfacing table of the planer is an important aspect to consider. Cast iron is the more suitable option for a professional woodworker with ribbing on the underside to provide extra strength and eliminate any movement. On models where the table is removed for thicknessing or a lighter machine is required for frequent transport – perhaps to site – a machined cast aluminium table may be a suitable option because it is light but strong.

The most common capacities outside of large production machines are up to 10” wide boards or up to 12” wide boards. 10” is more common on hobby and site machines and 12” is a popular small joinery size. If you plan to handle a lot of longer timber then go for the longest surfacing tables you can get within your budget as this will make straightening a much easier job.

Key Aspects To Consider
The construction of the machine will clearly have a major bearing on its longevity, accuracy and reliability.
Shown here are the key aspects to consider when purchasing any planer thicknesser.
Thicknesser Function Motors

The ideal material for the thicknessing table is machined cast iron and it wants to be generous enough to handle longer stock easily. The thicknessing table is usually either supported by four threaded rods, in which case it is important these are housed in a brass bush to provide smooth height adjustment. The alternative, more industrial solution, is a large central column which provides strong support and easy height adjustment.
The most common capacities for thicknessing are 6” to 8” (generally machines are 10” x 6” to 12” x 8” with some variants available). Bear in mind that 8” stock, particularly if it is also wide and/or long will be heavy and take a lot of machining so even if your machine has a nominal capacity of 8” thicknessing ensure it has the motor power, build quality and weight to handle timbers of that size.

The heavier the build of the machine the more capable it will be of handling larger or heavier wood and the more capable it will be of longer production runs. It is important that you purchase the correct machine for your requirements. Assess the level of work to be carried out and select your machine accordingly.

Material & Construction Build Quality

Record Power planer thicknessers are made from high quality materials featuring cast iron thicknessing tables with excellent support, high quality electrics and sturdy construction. The construction materials play a large part in keeping the machine stable when in use.

Ideally motors should be induction and have reasonable power. A rough guide would be at least 1.6 kW (2 hp) for a 10” x 6” machine and 2.2 kW (3 hp) for a 12” x 8” machine. Our planer thicknessers feature mechanically braked motors, the industrial solution to motor braking, providing reliable performance and stopping inside 10 seconds. Be wary of electronically braked motors as these can be unreliable and burn out if the machine is switched on and off frequently

How to Dimension Timber Accurately using a Planer Thicknesser

Most woodworkers, whether amateur or professional, will invariably at some point need to use a planer thicknesser.

There are various reasons for this:

1. Cost - Rough sawn timber can be bought at a lower price than pre-planed and can then be dimensioned to the exact size required for the project. Even when paying a premium for pre-planed timber it is often irregularly sized or warped and so needs further preparation.
2. Most projects require timbers to have adjacent edges at 90º, particularly when jointing is required.
3. Often pieces must be exactly the same size as each other when used for jointing.


A question we are often asked, particularly at woodworking
shows and demonstrations, is why we need to use a planer as well as a thicknesser to achieve the above.
Many woodworkers decide they can make do with a standalone thicknesser. These machines have a great deal of appeal to those relatively new to woodworking as they are less costly than a planer thicknesser and can be bench mounted.
However, as can be seen below, a standalone thicknesser is simply not capable of dimensioning all four sides of a piece of timber accurately.

The Diagram opposite shows an exaggerated cross section of a typical rough-sawn piece of timber which will be used to illustrate the different results that can be achieved using both a standalone thicknesser and a planer thicknesser.

 

How a Thicknesser Works  
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  Firstly, surface A will be cut to be parallel with surface C. To achieve a planed finish to surface C, the workpiece is rotated 180º and passed through the thicknesser again.   Now these opposite faces are parallel, we can see by turning either surface B or D face down on the table that we are only able to plane them parallel to each other but never at 90º to surfaces A or C.   It can now be seen that no matter which way the timber is turned, only a parallelogram profile can be achieved.
 
How a Planer Thicknesser Works  

The key to understanding how a Planer Thicknesser works is that in order to plane all four sides at 90º to each other, we must first plane two adjacent sides to 90º. Only a Planer Thicknesser is capable of this.
Using the below method, any number of pieces can be planed and dimensioned to exact sizes by adjusting the position of the thicknesser bed. This preparation gives you the best base possible for carrying out the rest of your projects successfully.
If for example you are to make a window frame, using a planer thicknesser allows for all four sides to be planed and dimensioned to the exact same size, making jointing much easier and also ensuring all surfaces are flush on completion.

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  Plane surface C to be flat using the machine in the planing mode.   Place surface C against the fence, which is set to 90º, and plane surface B until it is at 90º to surface C.   Once we have two adjacent faces at 90º to each other, the remaining opposite faces can be thicknessed parallel by using them as a reference.