How to use a hand planer like a woodworker

Hand planes are a long-standing traditional tool that will always have a place in woodworking. Sure they are not as powerful as a cordless electric planer for heavy-duty work, but they will always have a place for fine woodworking, because of their ability for finer control. Hand planers come in a variety of different design types with also a wide variety of sizes for different jobs.

Each type of hand plane is intended for different specific woodworking tasks and applications. For instance, smoothing planes are designed to smoothen out wooden surfaces ready for finishing. 

The length will also affect the effectiveness of a planer, a long plane will allow you to work much faster and much more efficiently, also with more consistent results. Getting the most out of your planer requires choosing the most appropriate size and design for the job you are going to be doing.

1. Pick the right type of hand plane

 Although most hand planers work pretty much the same way, the different designs and sizes are better suited for different tasks. Here are some of the most common types of hand planers you should consider when first starting.

1. Trimming planers

Trimming planes are actually not that common but they are very under-rated as they can cost less than 10$ so it’s a worthy addition to everyone’s tool kit.

These tool shine because they are tiny and can fit easily inside your tool apron, meaning you can have one on you at all times without it weighing you down.

Trimming hand planes are a tool that can quickly put an arras on any timber edge, or smoothen a small area on a surface you are working on, they are small and fit inside the palm of your hand.

The cons are that a trimming plane can only get the most basic of results, and will jamb easily if you do more than taking of a corner edge, a block planer like below is easier to use and can do the same job better, however, it is a little bigger and heavier.

2. Block planers

Block planes are popular choices for carpenters and DIYers because of their low cost and compact form. Most of these are small enough to fit snugly into a toolbox or into a tool belt, making them ideally suited for quick-on-the-go planing work.

As simple as they are, the best block planes are capable of very intricate and detailed work as well because of their size, making them useful tools for fine woodworking.

Block planes are especially suited for planing end grains, such as when fitting doors and drawers. Furthermore, they are comfortable enough to hold in a single hand, which is useful for shaping wooden parts.

3. Fore planes

Fore planes are made for quick stock removal, they have a curved U-shaped blade, that takes off slightly more timber in the center of each cut. While also set at the steepest possible angle they are used for quick stock removal before tidying things up with a smoothing plane.

A Fore-plane with a wooden base is lighter and easier to use for longer periods of time, there is also less friction with wood on wood. That said there are also steel-based fore planers.

4. Smoothing planes / Jointer planes

Smoothing planes are the most common type of plane that is useful for those who routinely work with hand tools. They can be set to cut extremely thin layers from wood, allowing you to create remarkably smooth finishes.

If you have a nice workpiece where you want the wood grain to show through, a good smoothing plane will help you show off its best qualities. 

A smoothing plane can be used after you have done the bulk stock removal with your fore plane.

Jointer planes are usually longer than other types of hand planes. This makes them better suited for planing wider boards or glued tops, they are easier to hold and control than smaller planes making them a must-have tool in your toolkit for big and small jobs.

5. Jack planers

Jack planes are the jack-of-all-trades of hand planers. Although they don’t particularly excel at any single task, they can perform most jobs fairly well. Think of it as a bit of a mix between a fore plane and a smoothing plane.

You can adjust the tool for each type of planing job using the adjustable blade angle control. A steep angle is for the fast removal of stock, and a less aggressive angle will leave a good finish.

6. Bullnose shoulder planers

Shoulder hand planes are designed for getting right into the corner edge of a rebate, a standard hand plane cannot get right into an internal corner edge, and therefore requires a specialized tool.

Other options would be to use the best woodworking chisels , but a bullnose plane will do a quicker and tidier job in this case.

7. Router plane

A router planer can also be used to plane out a rebate, it’s a “by-hand” alternative to an electric router.

The router planer, gives you perfect control however for delicate woodwork.

2. Have perfectly sharp blades

The effectiveness of a hand planer depends largely on how sharp the blade is. Dull planers will force you to work harder than necessary and won’t give you consistent results. Even the best-made planers will lose their edge over time and will get dull more quickly the more you use them. 

All you need is a good sharpening stone it will quickly restore your planer blade to optimal condition. For blades that have incurred extensive damage like a chip, it will be necessary to use a bench grinder equipped with a 6-inch or 8-inch wheel.

Just remember not to overheat the metal, which will weaken the metal in the blade and increase the chance of future damage.

3. Techniques to using a hand plane

Planing isn’t all that difficult, provided your blade is suitably sharp and set properly. With a bit of practice, almost anyone can learn how to plane wood with a hand plane. 

Some of the most important things to consider are your grip, stance, and movement. Get these basics down, and you will be using your plane like a pro in no time. 

When learning how to use a planer, work on developing your grip first of all.

Start by wrapping the three lower fingers of your dominant hand around the rear handle (also known as the “tote”).

Your index finger should then rest against the blade’s edge and serve as a guide. 

When working with long-boards and wide-panels, focus on which parts of your body are controlling the movement.

In most cases, it is best to rely on your legs and core to provide the power to the push. You should then use your arms to control the cut.

Try to press down on the front knob at the start of the cut. This enables you to maintain control to counteract the tendency of the plane to rock in response to cutting into the board.

Shift your weight to your front foot while pushing the blade forward, and ease the pressure on the tool.

If your hand plane is not smoothly shaving of wood, and your blade is razor-sharp here is a tip: Guide the tool on an angle while doing your cut, this means that you are taking off less wood with each swipe with the same amount of blade, make this angle steeper until you find you have close to no resistance when swiping to shave of wood.

How does a hand plane work?

How does a hand planer work? These tools basically shave off thin layers of wood off the surface of a workpiece.

These layers come off in the form of shavings or chips.

Planing is usually done to reduce the thickness of the wood, to level or smooth its surface, or cut a recess for a joint.

Experienced woodworkers know how to position and maneuver the plane to prevent the wood from splitting.

This typically involves cutting into the workpiece at a shallow enough depth to bend the cut chips out of the way as the plane travels through the wood.

This results in a much smoother cut with none of the jaggedness that comes from split or torn wood.

Woodworkers hand planes vs. Electric planers

Manual hand planes and electric planes are both essential tools that do the same thing but are used for different tasks.

Both can be used to reduce the thickness of wooden workpieces, smooth out the surface of timber slabs, or taper-cut filer boards to allow cabinets to fit more snugly against walls. 

One significant advantage of electric planers is the availability of precise depth control. This allows you to specify how deep the blade cuts into the wood.

And because of the electric motor the user has 0 resistance, causing no accidental slips this makes an electric planer produce highly accurate results for carpentry and joinery jobs.

Electric planers also let you work more efficiently with tough wood grains, and for when you want to plane off large amounts of timber quickly.

With manual planers, you are bound to come across some types of wood that will stall your hand planer unless you dial down your cut depth to the smallest increment. 

Of course, manual planers have their place overpowered models for some jobs.

Like woodworking that requires only a delicate touch. And a small block plane that fits into a builders’ apron lets you easily touch up jobs, to put a bevel edge on any timber edge, with more control.

A bench or a smoothing plane, can be used in areas that an electric plane might not fit because of the motor, using this tool side on, is possible to get right into corners, this is not easy with a bigger electric plane.

But with features such as chip deflectors, adjustable fences, and metal sole plates add more value to electric planers, making them more cost-effective options for 95% of jobs.

But for traditional woodworking, a manual hand plane is your go-to tool, and you can never have too many types for your collection.

Electric planer alternatives

As convenient as electric planers are, they aren’t necessarily the best options for all applications. For fine woodworking, in particular, you have a lot more control over the process with a manual planer. 

For less detailed work, an electric planer should do nicely. As with all power tools, you might want to consider going for a cordless model, which will let you work anywhere without being tied down to an electric outlet.

A cordless Makita planer is even easier to maneuver, which lets you do more complex cuts than would be possible with a corded model, and more accurate cuts can be achieved than struggling by inconsistent hand pressure.

1. Electric planer

As convenient as electric planers are, they aren’t necessarily the best options for all applications. For fine woodworking, in particular, you have a lot more control over the process with a manual planer. 

For less detailed work, an electric planer should do nicely. As with all power tools, you might want to consider going for a cordless model, which will let you work anywhere without being tied down to an electric outlet.

2. Thickness planer

A Makita or Dewalt thickness planer is yet another option that provides a number of benefits over other tools. They are especially useful for making the surfaces of two boards perfectly parallel with each other.

They can also smooth rough stock more efficiently than hand planers and can accurately reduce workpieces to the desired thickness. 

Of course, thickness planers are much more expensive than manual and handheld electric planers, and they do a totally different job, but the idea in how they work is the same just on a bigger scale.

If you routinely have to shave timber down to a smaller size and you need total control over the process, for quick results, a thickness planer will quickly pay for itself.

Using a wood router and jig to flatten surfaces

If you would rather not use a planer to flatten a piece of timber, another option is to use your makita wood router and a jig. Routers are among the most versatile tools in any workshop, and they are especially suitable for flattening wide boards.

Although slower, these tools are more accurate than most other solutions, for surfaces wider than what would fit in a thickness planer.

Working with a router requires a large, flat surface. You can use a big workbench or a scrap door for this purpose. To start with, lay the workpiece down with shims or “packers” underneath to keep it from rocking. 

The next step is to mill two boards to serve as guides. These should be about 12 inches longer than your workpiece and should be screwed or clamped to the top of the bench at an equal distance from each other. 

Next, make a sliding carriage from two 1” x 1” angled aluminum pieces and attach them to the two guide boards. This will let you slide the router back and forth along the carriage to router a perfectly flat surface.

Conclusion

Planers are some of the most useful tools you can have in your woodworking and building arsenal. Although there are many good reasons to prioritize an electric planer–or even a fully-featured thickness planer with all the bells and whistles, few things can compare to the satisfaction you will derive from working with a good hand planer.

And for fine woodworking wherein the process is just as important as the results, a hand planer is pretty much indispensable.