Recommendations on a hand held power planer

[Don C Davis]

I am planning on making some glued up pieces and wanted to flatten them as needed so I am considering a hand planer (I also have a table top I purchased that needs flattening) so I wanted to ask if you folks have a recommendation--I am considering the Triton that has a 7 inch cutting width, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S4KU1A2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
and I am also looking at some planers with a 3 1/4" cutting width-specifically this bosch model: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V4DJ6AC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

I am open to any input on this folks--Thanks

 

[Mike Johnson]

I made several 12" diameter face plates with wood bases and a tenon that fits into a bowl chuck and uses the self adhesive sandpaper disks. After gluing a segmented ring together and letting the glue dry I can sand one or both sides of the ring flat and glue it onto the segment stack of rings. This is one way of doing a segmented piece without using a planer. Each new ring glued onto the stack can be turned on the lathe and turned and sanded flat for the next ring stack to be glued onto the segment stack. When the segment stack is mounted on the lathe you can use the tail stock to clamp the next segment ring onto the stack. If you are not in a hurry and have several bowl chucks this process can be used for working on various projects without dedicating the lathe to the one project. It only takes an hour for wood glue to partially setup on a newly glued ring stack so you can remove the bowl chuck and work piece from the lathe and mount another project that you want to work on.

 

[Richard Coers]

I guess I don't consider a power hand planer as a joinery tool. Making a door fit? Yes Milling faces flat? No Anything can be done with patience and skill, but I prefer a jointer and thickness planer. I have a Bosch and a Harbor Freight. I don't consider either up to the task you are asking about.

 

[George Rousis]

guess I don't consider a power hand planer as a joinery tool. Making a door fit? Yes Milling faces flat? No

I agree. I have the Dewalt DW680 (3.25"). I have used if for fitting doors into openings and leveling out bowl blanks for mounting on a screw chuck or face plate. For a table top, I'd use a hand plane.

 

[John Turpin]

For tabletop flattening, I'd build a flattening jig/sled and use a router. (There are many videos on the interweb on this method.)

But, I do use my powered hand plane all the time when milling bowl blanks. A lot of my blanks come from sawmill cutoffs, where one side is flat and the other is not. Often, the other side is a bark-covered knob. Before going to the bandsaw with it, I take my planer to it and flatten that off side. It's a tough task, though, for a little planer and it protests the whole time. But, it works. For that reason, I only buy cheap ones since I'm really beating them up.

 

[Don O. Jr.]

That big Triton is a beast of a machine to use by hand. I have used a similar tool and found it unpleasant at best to use. The Bosch is a decent tool and what you want can be done with care. You will probably need to do some considerable sanding on a table top also. The other responses are all good and relate to traditional flat-wood joinery or segmented turning. A little more information on exactly what you are doing might help. As has been said above, these tools are not really meant for fine finish work.

 

[William Rogers]

I have the Bosch and have used it maybe 2 times. I agree with Richard, just not the right tool. I use a thickness sander for those things.