How to use a cordless hand planer

The cordless hand planer or handheld power planer demands care and respect, but it’s very fast and simple to use. Just don’t try to remove too much material at one time.

The cordless hand planer, or handheld power planer, is an improvement on the traditional hand planer. Here’s how to use a cordless hand planer.

Cordless hand planers provide a faster, less tiring way of removing material when fitting wood components together, such as planing a ceiling joist flat for drywall, shaving a sticking door, profiling a replacement board to fit into a damaged hardwood floor or removing roughness or old paint from a surface.

How to use a cordless hand planer

The cordless hand planer or handheld power planer demands care and respect, but it’s very fast and simple to use. Just don’t try to remove too much material at one time. Better to take several passes of 1/16 inch.

To set the depth of cut, all hand planers use a fixed rear platen, a cutter drum with replaceable blades and an adjustable front platen. The depth adjustment is made using a rotary knob on top of the front platen that will probably have detent positions. That knob also doubles as a handle when using the planer.

There will be one, two or three blades with the smoother, and expect to make faster cuts with a hand planer with more blades and higher motor speeds. The blades shouldn’t require frequent changes but look at the blade or knife-clamping method to be sure it’s easy to use. Also, it may prove useful to look at a planer that has reversible blades that can be turned over when the blades get dull.

Another desirable feature is the ability to set the direction the wood chips will exit the tool, and there should be a switch that allows you to select a left or right direction. This can also be achieved by swapping the dust collector connector from one side to the other on some models.

Other features available are various guides for cutting rabbets or for helping position the planer on the edge of the board. A grooved front platen acts as a guide for making beveled edges. Also useful is a “kickstand” that flips down to prevent the blades from contacting the surface when the tool is idle.

In use, the hand planer is much like using a conventional surface planer though it takes much less effort. It requires some concentration and, of course, care to keep the hand planer square to the board when planning the edge.

Cutting requires varying pressure on the hand planer. Apply most pressure on the front platen at the start of the pass. Then shift to pressing down on both platens through the middle section. And finally, shift pressure to the back platen as you complete the pass to avoid taking a deeper cut as the cutting head leaves the end of the wood.

Planers have fast-spinning drums with exceedingly sharp blades. Cordless hand planers, especially, must be treated with great caution.

How to use a hand planer safely

Planers have fast-spinning drums with exceedingly sharp blades. Cordless hand planers, especially, must be treated with great caution.

Hand planers throw dust and fast-moving wood particles so eye protection is strongly recommended. Always use ear protection. Never wear loose clothing.  Always hold the tool with both hands so there is no opportunity to touch the blades.

Do not put down a hand planer until the drum has stopped spinning.

–By Steve Sturgess, SteveSturgess.com