What To Know About Choosing and Using a Hand Planer

A hand plane is a muscle-powered woodworking tool that shaves a thin layer from the wood to give it the desired shape.

Although the design of hand planes has not changed much in nearly two centuries, it just goes to show that a good hand plane will never go out of style. Woodworkers often use hand planes in a variety of projects, such as making furniture or DIY crafts. Read on for all you need to know about choosing and using a hand plane.

How To Choose a Hand Planer

If you're serious about woodworking, you need to own at least one quality hand plane. So, how do you know which hand planes are good and which are not? All well-designed hand planes have three main characteristics.

1. Thick blade that holds its edge

Often referred to as "plane iron", the blade of a hand plane can make or break a tool. The thickness of the blade is the first thing you should look at. Thicker blades will almost always give better planing performance than thinner blades. The reason for this is that thicker blades have better resistance to chatter, the movement and vibration that occurs when the blade bends during use.

Thinner blades vibrate more when cutting through wood, resulting in a rougher, more inconsistent surface. Thicker blades resist chatter, creating a smoother, flatter surface on the workpiece.

Although the thickness of different quality hand planer blades may not be very significantly different numerically, it can have a profound effect on performance.

The quality of the steel of the blade is also important. The best blades for hand planes are O1 steel, a hard grade that can be sharpened to the razor's edge and held for a long time. High quality hand planer blades will retain their sharpness even after a lot of planing.

2.Full blade support

Hand planer performance is also affected by a part called the frog. This angled steel component is bolted into the body beneath the blade to give it rigidity.

Cheap hand planers come with frogs that aren’t truly flat. High-quality planers have flat, true frogs that support the blade over its entire surface area.

3.Flat sole

The bottom of a hand planer is called the “sole,” and the flatness of this part is another indicator of quality. A truly flat, smooth sole lets hand planer glide over the wood evenly, leading to long, uniform and noticeably smoother shavings.

Good hand planer bodies are also made of ductile iron, which is much stronger and higher quality than the cast iron you’ll find in cheap ones.

Hand Planer Tips and Tricks

1. Choose the right length of hand plane: Generally speaking, the long-bodied hand plane is more suitable for planing the wood straight and flat. Shorter hand planes, on the other hand, are better suited for finishing and smoothing small areas of wood at a time.

2. Keep the hand planer blade sharp: A well sharpened blade is the key to success. Use a sharpener or sharpening stone with a grinding wheel to keep your blades sharp enough.

3. Round and sharpen the chipbreaker: This is a flat piece of steel with an angled front edge that is bolted to the blade to guide the chips up and away. The chipbreaker slot works better when the front end of it is rounded and ground smooth. For this purpose, it is best to use a grinder and a felt polishing wheel.

4. Use the correct throat setting: For rough work. If your hand planer has an adjustable throat, open it more for rough work and less for fine work.

5. Retract the blade for storage: Use the depth adjustment wheel to retract the blade when not in use. This will protect the blade.