What Does a Wood Planer Do?

Wood planers are used by people who work with wood. These tools come in different sizes and capabilities, based on the specific needs of the user. People who enjoy making crafts out of wood and those who build with wood on a daily basis find that having a planer, or multiple planers, makes shaping a piece of wood to a specific thickness much easier.

Types

There are several types of planers available, such as a hand non-powered planer, hand power planer and electric table planers.

Hand Planers

Hand planers--whether they are hand-powered, electric or cordless--all have the same function. This tool is used by woodworkers to shave or trim a piece of wood. These are most often used on smaller pieces of wood. You might use one to soften a tabletop corner or smooth a toy wagon's bed. You are able to get into small areas more easily with a hand planer.

Electric Table Planers

Electric table planers are a much larger version of their hand-held counterparts. Table planers are most often used for larger pieces of wood to reduce the thickness and to create a smooth surface. If you have a stack of rough-sawn lumber you're ready to work with, the table planer will make the wood's preparation a quick task.

Function

Hand planers use a single blade to shave wood to its desired thickness.

Table planers can have multiple blades to shave all four sides of a piece of wood at one time.

Benefits

One benefit of a hand-held planer is that you can use it to smoothly and evenly trim a door edge that is sticking.

A table planer allow you to smooth or reduce larger quantities of wood at a faster rate.

Resources

• Tips on Planers