Planers are woodworking tools used to shave thin layers of wood and produce flat, square surfaces. There are two types: router combos with interchangeable attachments and conventional routers mounted on slides for straight-line cutting. The latter allows for precise control of material removal and is best for cutting flat faces.
The term planer can be used to describe one of two types of power tools for woodworking. Both are used for planing material from wooden surfaces either for sizing or to produce square, flat surfaces. The first of these tools is the router combo which typically comes as a set consisting of an interchangeable drive motor with several accessories including a router base and a hand plane. The second type consists of a conventional router mounted on a set of slides that allow the router to be operated in a straight line on a table. When a cut is finished, the entire slide arrangement is advanced slightly to position the router for the next run across the board.
A woodworking tool, a planer is used to or shave thin layers of wood to the correct size or thickness and to produce flat, square surfaces. Similar in operating theory to traditional hand planers, the router moves flat across a wooden surface, thus keeping its blade at a constant height to remove a controlled amount of material. These plane variants are typically quite narrow, so unlike a surface planer which can machine wide boards in a single pass, they must be fed across the face of wide pieces of wood in a series of even cuts. However, when planing the edges of boards or doors, the planer can cut through the entire surface in one pass.
There are two types of planers, the first of which is a combination tool that uses a single interchangeable motor to drive several attachments. This set typically includes a router base and a planer attachment, among others. This configuration allows you to perform both conventional planing and milling operations by simply changing the accessories. While not strictly a single tool as such, these combinations are commonly classified as routers.
The second type of planer cutter is a little more complex and consists of a set of guide rods with a slide base or slide as it is usually known. A conventional vertical router equipped with a fairly wide tip is mounted on the sled. This arrangement is placed over the piece of wood such that the router moves in a straight line along its length. The slide and slides are attached to a base that has a screw-type manual adjustment that moves the entire slide and slide arrangement across the width of the table in a controlled manner.
To use this type of router, the router is started and lowered onto the table surface. Once it starts cutting, it is moved along the length of the board to remove a thin layer of wood. When the cut is completed, the lead screw is turned and the slide and guides move to a position that positions the cutter adjacent to and just overlapping the last cut. The sled is then pushed back the length of the board to make the next cut; this sequence is repeated until the entire surface of the board has been machined. The depth of cut of the router is adjustable, thus allowing very precise control of the amount of material removed with each pass. This type of plane is generally better suited for cutting the flat faces of boards than working on edges.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
