A thickness planer (also known in the UK and Australia as a thicknesser or in North America as a planer) is a woodworking machine to trim boards to a consistent thickness throughout their length. This machine transcribes the desired thickness using the downside as a reference/index. So, to produce a completely straight planed board requires that the down surface is straight before planing. Obtaining the first flat side requires either face planing with a jointer or face planing using a planer and jointer sled.
Operate only with instructor’s permission and after you have received instruction.
Remove jewelry, eliminate loose clothing, and confine long hair.
Make sure all guards are in place and operating correctly.
Always use proper protection.
Never plane a student’s project without teacher permission.
The board being surfaced must be at least 12” inches long and no wider than 20” inches.
Do not force material through planer.
If the board stops moving, you may use the bed roller adjustment to increase pressure (pressure gage). If it doesn’t work use the emergency brake to stop the machine and ask instructor for help.
If the board lifts and stops moving, you may push it down but NEVER push in.
Do not look into the throat of the planer when it’s running.
Do not stand in line with the machine or in line of the kick back zone.
If the machine kicks back it may be because of knots or cracks in the board or improper table adjustment.
Do not remove chip accumulation while machine is running.
Be sure to select the proper speed and depth of cut. Your first pass through the planer should be set at the same thickness of the material to be cut.
The planer cutter head in on the top of the machine.
Avoid placing your hands beyond the front of the in-feed table.
Usually, a 1/16” of an inch is taken with each cut on the planer. Never take more than 1/8” cut when using the planer.
One rotation of the elevating wheel equals 1/16”.
Use the emergency brake to turn off/stop the machine immediately.
Chipping is caused by: (This is also true of the jointer.)
taking too much off in one pass.
going too fast.
going against the grain.