Performing work with an electric plane is not a very difficult task if you have minimal skills in working with it.But it will be somewhat more difficult to plan a wide board with an electric plane. Not every specialist can perform such work qualitatively. This is due to the complexity of removing a uniform layer between the processing boundaries.
Execution of work: instruction
In order to achieve high-quality processing of the board, before that it is necessary to first make a trial processing on sawn timber waste. At the same time, the plane can be used in different modes of operation: manual mode and stationary. The stationary mode consists in passing the workpiece through the rotating blade part of the planer.
In order to carry out work using the manual mode, before starting the process, it is necessary to set up the tool. not much different from setting up a conventional hand plane. To do this, you need to adjust the depth of cut of its knives. Most often this size is 1-4 mm. When making adjustments, it is necessary to take into account the fact that a shallower planing depth of the material will increase the quality of its processing.
Moreover, setting the knife to a shallow cutting depth will make it easier for it to move around the workpiece. In this case, you need to press on the tool at the edge of the passage and round off the back edge of the edge (to avoid injury).
The less the rotating knife protrudes beyond the sole of the planer, the less wood it will remove, therefore the boundaries between different passes will be less noticeable.
In the case when deep processing of the material is required, then during the first pass, the planer knives are set to the maximum processing depth. And then they are reconfigured and more precise finishing planing is performed.
Over time, you can acquire the skills to correctly complete the pass on the back edge of the material and to select the correct planing depth. This will help speed up the work process and complete it not in 8-10 passes, but in 4-5.
To make the correct adjustment of the knives, which depends on the difference in the upper marks between the front and rear ends of the planer, it must be done using a locksmith's ruler.
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Correct wood processing
When using an electric planer, it is necessary to choose the right direction of material processing.
It is usually accepted to take it along the direction of the grain on wood. But in the case when workpieces are being processed, which are assembled from several boards or bars, having large protrusions at the joints, then processing can be carried out in the diagonal direction. Electric planer knives rotate at a fairly high speed and therefore allow you to perform this procedure. Of course, this will not work with ordinary hand tools.
In order for the processed edge not to work out when processing obliquely, it is necessary to use an angular stop, and not rely only on individual skill and an eye. It must be attached to the side of the instrument to its base, in a strictly perpendicular position relative to its axis. Now, to plan, you need to attach the plane tightly to the plane of the board, and its base should be located exactly at an angle of 90 degrees.
The angle stop must be very tightly fastened, since during prolonged work the screws of its fastening can loosen, which will lead to gumming of the working surface of the planer. If this does happen, then you need to wipe it with white spirit.
To avoid chips at the edges of the board, you need to blunt them a little. This is done by chamfering. The same procedure must be performed on parts that will then be varnished. This will help create a smooth transition line between the two surfaces.
After completing the processing of a wide board, you can resort to the procedure for looping it. Scraping is the process of aligning seams between different passes on the board. It is performed using a special machine. Processing such as scraping must also be carried out in the direction of the grain of the board. Its application will remove all unnecessary roughness.
The electric plane facilitates manual labor, with the help of it the result is obtained of high quality and is achieved quickly. The electric planer is useful for anyone involved in wood processing. He will certainly help with repair and construction, if wood is used. The fast-rotating knives of the tool will remove the chips of the required thickness from the workpiece, bring the workpiece to the required dimensions, make the edges smooth and even, remove a chamfer or make a large bevel, select a rebate.
The power tool must be guided along the workpiece without applying the significant effort required when working with a conventional planer. The surface is processed in accordance with the settings, the quality is not so much dependent on inaccurate operator actions.
What are
On sale you can find household and professional (semi-professional) electric planers. They differ from each other in color and markings. The first are cheap, lightweight. The second ones are more expensive and more weighty. Their motor resource is many times greater, they can do work every day for many hours.
As a rule, in domestic conditions there is no such need, an electric plane is used from time to time, therefore, purchasing a household model for a house, but from a well-known manufacturer, is a common solution.
The processing width in one pass for household models is usually 82 mm, less often there are models with a knife length (knives are placed horizontally) 100 mm and 110 mm. Professional models may have more.
The tool bed is divided into two parts - the front, adjustable, which rests on the workpiece in front of the knives, and the back, which rests on the already processed wood. 
On the front of the bed there is a longitudinal recess (several recesses of various sizes), into which the edge of the workpiece can be hung when chamfering, which will allow you to chamfer the most accurately.
The front handle usually contains a regulator for the thickness of the removed chips (depth of cut).
Another important component is the chip removal system. When planing, a significant amount of chips is generated. The planer has a branch pipe into which dust and shavings are thrown out during operation. 
An industrial vacuum cleaner can be connected to the branch pipe. But you can also connect a bag for collecting chips, so as not to clog the room with it.
Some models of electric planers are equipped with such a bag. But you can make it for any model yourself.
How to make a chip bag? You will need a spare tube from the vacuum cleaner, which connects to the plane's branch pipe. And also a piece of fabric, a zipper-fastener sewn into the fabric, for removing the shavings, and a crimp clamp for securing the neck of the bag to the tube.
Some models are equipped with side and top stops that allow you to guide the plane along the edge of the workpiece at a certain distance from it and up to a certain planing depth. This allows you to sample folds.
Some expensive powerful models are equipped with a planer-thicknessing device or a simpler bed, with which the plane can be fixed with knives up, thus obtaining a small planer (thicknessing machine).
How to replace knives
The electric planer is equipped with knives made of high-strength abrasion-resistant alloys.
If the knives start to leave a mark on the wood, this indicates that they are damaged and need to be replaced. 
A knife, as a rule, has two sharp edges, and if one is dull, then the knife just needs to be turned over.
To replace the knives, you must first of all disconnect the electric planer from the power supply. Then it is necessary to unscrew the screws that secure the knife holders and remove the holders from the groove, and then remove the knives from them.
By inserting new knives into the holders (turning the existing ones), you can assemble in the reverse order 
It is important to set the knives in height, which is not easy and requires effort.
The position of the knives is adjusted with the knife holder screws. The cutting edges must be exactly in line with the fixed rear sole of the electric planer along its entire length. Those. should be in the plane of this sole. 
The setting of the electric planer knives is performed in the following order.
On the fixed part of the sole, a ruler is installed on the edge. Then the knives turn slowly. The edge of the knife should not lift the ruler, but only slightly touch it. This should take place along the entire length of the knife - by moving the ruler across the width of the sole. 
The operation of setting the knives in height is carried out several times using a ruler until the best result is achieved.
But it is possible to move the knives due to centrifugal forces during rotation. Therefore, after setting the knives along the ruler, the plane is turned on and held at idle for about 20 seconds, after which the position of the knives is checked again and, if necessary, they are adjusted. The position of the knives is periodically checked during operation.
Features of working with an electric plane
The force of movement (feed) of the planer along the workpiece should be such that the speed of rotation of the knives does not change
The quality of processing will be high if the movement of the planer along the workpiece is smooth, slow enough so that there is no significant slowdown in the rotation of the knives.
The processing begins after the engine and knives have developed the rated idle speed.
The workpiece must be firmly attached to the workbench or its support must be strong.
Chips from the workpiece should be removed in a timely manner. It is important that the shavings do not fall under the sole of the planer, this must be constantly monitored.
Planing usually begins at the end of the workpiece, the front of the sole of the planer is placed on the workpiece, then the planer moves forward over the workpiece with a smooth motion.
When the knives come into and out of the workpiece, the plane is pressed against the workpiece with increased force in order to prevent the occurrence of rough spots along the edges of the workpiece.
To obtain high quality and uniformity of processing, workpieces longer than required are used. After planing, the ends of the workpiece are cut off.
Professional electric planers can be turned with the planer-thicknessing device into a stationary planer for wood planing. The electric planer is installed on the bed with knives upside down, which are closed by a protective shutter. It is important that on this machine you can set the required dimensions of the part and use them to make several parts from different-sized blanks. At the same time, the accuracy of right angles and the purity of processing remain quite high.
The work is carried out as follows. All workpieces are machined on one face. Then the machine is reconfigured and the next face is machined on all workpieces, etc. To maintain a right angle, the workpiece is firmly pressed against the side stop of the device. When working, you should not approach the plane and follow the workpiece, you need to feed it, intercepting it in your hands. 
Handling difficult places
When choosing an electric planer, you need to pay attention to its complete set with stops or the possibility of their additional purchase and use with this model.
Humpbacks, "fir-trees", "ladders" - such planing defects are easy to admit using an electric plane. How to avoid them? We study the nuances.
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Highlights
Contact with metal is prohibited. The electric planer is designed for wood planing. To avoid unpleasant surprises, check the board for nails or self-tapping screws before starting work, otherwise you will ruin the knives.
Do not overload the engine. The tool is led along the fibers. The planing depth is chosen depending on the task, while it must be borne in mind that a large depth creates a strong load on the engine. When it comes to hard wood, you need to shoot a little.
How to avoid a hump?
Distribute the forces on the handles.At the beginning of planing, press the front shoe of the planer firmly against the surface, pushing harder on the front handle. When the tool comes off the board, the force is accentuated already on the rear handle. Thus, there is no longitudinal distortion of the tool, and no hump remains.
Planing a wide plane
Pictured: AEG PL 750 planer.
Several passes are required. Such work is not particularly difficult, however, an even surface is not always obtained.
A frequent defect is the herringbone.It occurs because the front shoe or blades are laterally skewed.
The main thing is the accuracy of the settings.To check the accuracy of the setting, set the depth to "0" and place a ruler on the bottom of the sole. Ideally, both shoes and the edge of the blades should be exactly the same level on both the right and left edges. If a skew of the knives is detected, it should be eliminated, and then the surface will be without a "herringbone".
Planing a quarter
The quarter is the groove along the edge of the board. In our case, it is formed by successive passes of the electric planer. A quarter should be flat.
Need a parallel stop.It is often provided by the standard equipment. Without it, you cannot achieve accurate quarter planing. The stop guides the electric plane along the edge, making the quarter straight.
"Ladder". Sometimes it forms on the wall of the quarter during planing. This, again, is a sign of inaccurate blade alignment.
How to adjust the blades.Ideally, their edge should be in line with the side edge of the sole (this is easy to check with a ruler). If the knives do not reach the line, they must be moved to the side. Lead the plane without distortions and make sure that the stop fits snugly against the edge all the time.
Chamfering
Photo: planer GHO 40-82 C Professional from Bosch.
Constant tilt angle.It needs to be held up when chamfering, which is not so easy with a heavy tool in hand. It is better that the workpiece is at an angle, and not a plane.
V-grooves on the outsole.They help you create a chamfer in one pass. The V-groove is used for the first pass only. If you need to increase the chamfer, do it on a smooth sole. It will not be superfluous for a beginner to practice on rough boards before work.
Rejection when planing ends
- Hump.Make sure that it does not stay on the ends.
- Heaped edge at the narrow end. This is due to the instability of the plane. If you have several thin pieces of the same size, it is better to plan all at once, standing upright. This will provide the plane with stability, and generally simplify the task.
- Chipped edge of the workpiece.It can be made by knives at the end of the passage. To prevent this from happening, attach a block to this edge and remove the material little by little. The block will prevent the chips from separating.
The article uses images.
Many beginners are interested in the question of how to work with an electric plane. At first glance, there is nothing complicated: plug it in, press a button, drive back and forth over the surface, removing shavings. However, at the first attempts, the result is not always impressive.
When buying a tool, you need to check its performance, completeness and appearance. It is worth paying attention to the quality of sharpening of the installed knives. If there are spare knives in the kit, check them too. The cutting edge should be straight, sharp, and free from dents and bends. All other settings should be checked at home in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
Checking and adjusting the position of the front plate
All tool adjustments must be made in the disconnected state. The plug must be unplugged from the socket, otherwise you can not only damage the electric plane, but also get serious injuries.
When checking the position of the knives, the front plate must be set to the position of the minimum planing depth with the standard adjustment knob. Place the electric planer on a flat hard surface with the drum facing up.
To check, you can use a metal ruler or a piece of window glass of suitable sizes. The drum with the knives should be turned until one of the knives is in the upper position, above the axis of the drum. A ruler or glass should be laid on the slabs along the plane. The surfaces must be in the same plane.
If the control device is tilted on any of the plates, check the position of the front plate and adjust it. This defect occurs during long-term use of the tool without maintenance. Internal cavities can become clogged with wood dust and small chips. Excessive force on the depth adjustment handle moves it from its original position.
To eliminate the defect, you need to remove the handle, the front plate, clean the cavities from dust and shavings, and lubricate. Install the plate in place, check the installation along the ruler, fix the handle, checking the coincidence of the dial with the index mark.
Adjusting the position of the cutting edge
The adjustment of the position of the knives is carried out according to two parameters:
- height of the cutting edge relative to the back plate;
- the size of the protruding part of the planing knife.
Having installed a ruler or glass, you need to turn the drum, controlling the gap between the knife and the device along the edges of the plates. The edge of the knife should lightly touch the attachment without lifting it. If the knife clings to the attachment or does not reach it, the position must be corrected.
Usually the knives are attached with a special wedge with expanding bolts. With an 8 or 10 wrench, you need to wrap the bolts in the wedge until the bolt free play. Then, with the installed eccentrics, align the height of the cutting edge with the device. Tighten (unscrew) the fixing bolts, check the position again. The desired result can be achieved after several repetitions of this operation.
Along with adjusting the height of the cutting edge, you need to control the protruding part of the quarter cutter. The optimal size should be indicated in the manufacturer's instructions. On most models, it is 1 mm. The size is set by moving the knife to the left or right along the drum axis. It is important to set the size correctly. It should be the same on all knives. This can be achieved by using a feeler gauge of a certain size or by measuring the distance with a vernier caliper (columbus with a protruding back part) from the edge of the knife to the drum. After adjusting the first knife, you need to move on to the next. The operation for all knives is the same. If a knife cannot be set in the required position, you need to remove the wedge, check the eccentrics for integrity and free rotation.
It is necessary to finish the adjustment by checking the free rotation of the drum and the attachment of all knives.
Preparation for work
You can work with the tool in two positions:
- stationary position: the electric plane is attached to a hard, stable surface;
- portable: the tool is moved manually along the workpiece.
Many models come with special clamps and a bracket for the start button. In a stationary position, it is more convenient to handle small lengths of lumber, which can be moved around the tool alone. Long workpieces should preferably be processed with an electric plane in a portable version.
The wood must be dried, raw sawn timber is poorly processed. The board must be well secured to a hard surface. The part should not bend under the weight of the planer and should not move in any direction when working. When processing side surfaces on a workbench, it is advisable to install them on special mounts that protect them from bending and movement. In the area of \u200b\u200brotation of the drum with knives, there should be no metal elements (brackets, nails, screws) on the surface to be treated and fastening elements. A blow to the metal will leave a pothole on the knives and a protrusion will form on the work surface. The knives will have to be sharpened by removing a thick layer of metal, or replaced.
Surface treatment
The electric plane can perform three operations:
- chamfering at different angles;
- choose quarters on blanks;
- plane surfaces.
The main purpose of the tool is to round surfaces of various lengths and widths.
When working, the plane must be placed on the surface of the workpiece with the front plate so that the knives do not touch the surface. Press the start button, after a set of revolutions (the sound will stop changing the tonality), start moving the plane over the surface. The tool must be held strictly parallel to the surface to be treated, the movement must be uniform, without jerks and stops. At the beginning of the movement, you need to increase the pressure on the front part, when leaving the surface to the back. The planer should run smoothly, without vibration. If a strong vibration occurs, the sound changes during operation, you need to turn off the tool, determine and eliminate the cause of the abnormal operation.
The depth of the pass must be set depending on the processing purpose. If you need to resize the stock, you can use the maximum size. When leveling the surface, it is desirable to work with a shallow working depth, achieving the required quality in several passes.
Also, the processing depth depends on the material. Hard rock should be drilled several times at shallow depths to avoid overloading the tool.
Additional tool features
For chamfering, you need to use a special triangular groove cut out on the front plate of the plane.
The tool should be grooved at a machining angle, run and traversed along the part while holding the tilt. The first pass is made along the slot, subsequent passes, if necessary, are carried out as usual.
To make quarters on a plane, you need to install an additional stop to limit movement away from the direction of movement. The second stop, limiting the depth of the quarter, is located on the lateral surface. The stops must be set to the required dimensions. The distance should be measured from the corner of the cutting edge of the knife in the upper position. A quarter is sampled in several passes. If the vertical surface of the quarter turns out to be steps, it is necessary to increase the protrusion of the knives behind the side surface of the planer.
A wide lumber surface can be processed in several passes. Start cutting from the left edge, setting the adjustment to the minimum depth. The next pass should be performed with an offset to the right by about a third of the length of the knives. In this way, you need to go over the entire width of the workpiece. If the quality is unsatisfactory, repeat the surface treatment in the same way.
Conclusion on the topic
The electric planer will help to significantly reduce the time of work, save money on the purchase of lumber.
When working, the necessary safety requirements must be observed to avoid serious injuries to the limbs and other parts of the body.
The world's first electric plane was produced in Japan in 1958. Its appearance on the market is due to the desire to facilitate manual labor, which is a very tedious, monotonous and laborious task in wood processing.
This power tool can significantly save the family budget - untreated wood is several times cheaper than planed wood.
In order not to damage the tool or the material being processed, and also not to cause yourself an accidental injury, you need to know how to work with an electric plane.
What is an electric plane
The electric planer is intended for leveling flat wooden surfaces after rough processing. When planing, a thin layer of wood is removed - roughness, irregularities and other defects are removed. The surface of the material after using the power tool becomes glossy and looks polished.
All electric planers consist of the following main parts and mechanisms:
- Front movable support with height adjustment
- Housing (usually aluminum) with removable belt gear cover
- Electric brushed motor
- Front handle for setting the planing depth
- Rear handle
- Anti-accident triggering mechanism
- Drum with cutting elements installed on it
- Fixed rear support
- Electric wire with plug
The principle of the electric planer
The main part of the electric planer is a rotating drum on which the cutting elements are fixed. It is driven by an electric motor, rotation is transmitted by a toothed belt. The tool operates by means of an electric wire from a 220 volt household power supply.
Typically, planers are equipped with motors with a shaft rotation speed of over 1000 rpm, and a power of 550 to 950 watts. The elements of the motor that require special attention are carbon brushes. For convenient control of their condition, cleaning or replacement, a special removable casing is installed above the motor.
Planing should be started only when the drum has reached its maximum rotation speed. It is necessary to carefully bring the plane from the end of the workpiece and begin to slowly move it forward. The sole of the tool should be parallel to the wood to be cut. At the same time, at the beginning of the workpiece, the force is slightly transferred to the front handle, and at the end - to the rear handle. Planing should be smooth, with an average processing speed of 150-200 centimeters per minute.
How to work with an electric plane
First of all, you need to understand that planing with an electric plane is applicable only to wood. Before starting work, it is required to securely fix the processed timber - the quality of the resulting timber and the safety of the working process will depend on this. The presence of backlash can cause the workpiece to be thrown to the side when it comes into contact with the rotating drum, possibly causing injury to a person.
The lumber must be secured in such a way that the planer has the ability to move freely with the plane from one edge to the other of the workpiece.
The difference between planing on a wide board
The difference between planing a wide board and working on a narrow board is that the process is carried out in several passes along the canvas. This is due to the fact that the width of the cutting knives is not enough to process the surface of the workpiece in one pass. The main difficulty here is the exact parallel alignment of two adjacent processing lines.
What can be done with an electric plane
With the help of an electric planer, you can prepare polished blanks for the production of various products and crafts from wood: stools, birdhouses, furniture, toys, etc.
When working with an electric plane, great attention should be paid to safety precautions, as the tool is potentially dangerous. If you follow all the rules and instructions for the use of the tool, you will get processed wood of high quality, without spending a lot of effort.