There are many types of planers, but the name generally refers to a tool that is used to shave down wood surfaces to reduce their thickness and make them smooth and even. Planing is similar to sanding in that it provides a smooth finish, but sanding leaves fine grains and a soft texture, while planing leaves hard edges and a slippery texture. Planers can make daunting projects simpler and more efficient, and can take a completed project from amateur to professional-looking—but you might still need to sand down those edges by hand afterwards. So then the big questions are: What are the different kinds of planers? Which one is best for which kind of job?

What are the different kinds of planers?

There are far too many planer options to list, but the four main categories are hand planer, electric hand planer, benchtop thickness planer, and stationary (15”) planer. While we aren’t going to get into the stationary planer, since that is more professional level and we are gearing more towards the beginner levels… IF you are looking to purchase one and need help, let me know!

So let’s talk specifics!

Hand Planers

A hand planer consists of a sharp cutting blade or sharpened metal plate attached to a solid body with a hand grip on top. The blade extends below the body, and as the tool is passed over a wooden surface, it removes thin shavings of wood, smoothing the surface and reducing the thickness of the material. Usually, a planer is pushed away from the body, though Japanese planers are pulled toward the body instead. The blade is often adjustable to control how much material is removed with each pass. When working large projects, it’s hard to compete with the speed and accuracy of power tools such as jointer or planer. However, properly tuned hand planes can give you better results when it comes to smoothing and other fine work. Hand plane types are grouped based around their specific function.

Block Planes

The Block Plane is one of the handiest tools to have in any shop. It is usually a compact smaller format that easily fits the hand. Block Plane widths are generally <1-1/2", and the blade is set in the tool with the bevel side up.
Standard Block Panes have an included angle at 45°, between the angle and bevel of the blade.. This is the best for most general purpose tasks.
Low angle Block Planes have an included angle of 37°. This lower angle is better for difficult grain and planing end grain.

Uses:
Smooth milling marks
Chamfer or ease sharp edges
Smooth end grain
Fit parts like doors
Square up smaller stock

Bench Plane

Specialty Planes

Electric Hand Planer

Unlike basic hand planes, with one razor-sharp blade that slices paper-thin slivers off a board, the best electric hand planers have high-speed cylindrical blades that lop off tiny chunks of wood. This makes jobs go much faster. These tools can be used for things like correcting doors that stick, joists that do not match the surrounding ones, boards that are just a bit too wide, twists, cupping or dips in lumber, taper cutting filler boards for cabinets, and jobs like these. While a lot of these jobs can also be achieved with circular saws or other tools, it can be tough to achieve accurate results. This tool can be compared to an aggressive belt sander.

Just like any other electric tool, there are many options available on these tools:

Corded vs. cordless: Corded can reach slightly higher speed variables than cordless, but despite slightly lower speeds, many cordless electric hand planers feature brushless motors and electronic controls that allow them to match the heavy-duty output of some corded models. Not to mention that cordless is all about convenience, which also translates to more mullah.
Cutting capacity: This refers to the width of the blade, or the what the maximum width of the material that be passed under the planer. The most common cutting capacity for electric hand planers is 3¼ inches. This capacity can handle framing lumber, thick doors, tabletops, and most other wood products. There are larger cutting capacities (sometimes more than 6 inches), but they’re typically best for heavy-duty applications such as timber framing.
Cutting depth: Possibly more important than cutting width is the depth of cut. Some electric hand planers can remove as much as ⅛ of an inch from the surface in one pass. However, this is often far too aggressive, so electric hand planers allow the user to dial in the depth of the cut in much smaller increments.
Blades: Electric hand planers vary in the number of planer blades they contain. Some models might feature just one planer blade, which will do the trick but can result in a choppier finish and/or more vibration. Models with two or three blades will result in a smoother finish and less vibration. Two-blade models are the most common.
Accessories: Some come available with fences or guides that help you keep the tool straight, dust bags, kickstands to avoid gouging your work while the tool isn’t in use, chip deflection switch and more.

Benchtop Thickness Planer

This is my personal favorite! Not your every day purchase, this tool may take a bit out of your bank account.

Benchtop planers are box-shaped power tools that reduce board thickness while smoothing and leveling the surface. They fine-tune the wood used to create cabinets, bookshelves, and more, taking the place of hand planes because they’re much faster and easier to use. This tool sits stationary, and you just insert a board at the intake slot, and the benchtop planer’s internal rollers will pull it through the machine to shave off the surface quickly. By using it to surface less-expensive, roughsawn stock, you free yourself from buying costly presurfaced lumber.

Features to look for in benchtop planers:

Blades: Thickness planer blades (or knives) come in two styles: straight and spiral.Most cutterheads accept two blades, although some exceptional models accept three blades, which benefits those wanting the smoothest wood surface. Blades vary on straight knife cutter models. Some are reversible, so when they become dull, the user can turn them over and use the other side. Others have only one sharp edge, but it can be manually sharpened with a standard sharpening stone, just as one would a kitchen knife. Reversible knives are meant to be disposed after both sides become dull. Spiral blades are reserved for commercial-grade machines and work very differently.
Cutting Depth, Gauges and Stops: Many planers have a gauge that indicates the how much wood will be removed with each pass. These gauges help you avoid taking too large a bite, which might result in tear-out or deeper snipe. I also like the adjustable preset depth stops that prevent planing a board thinner than a targeted thickness, a handy feature when planing multiple project parts to identical thickness. Planers that can shave off up to 1/8 inch at a time are good for removing the surface of rough or weathered wood. Removing that much depth at once, however, isn’t always optimal. Many won’t have much need to remove more than 1/16 inch per pass, and for fine-tuning boards, they will remove even less—1/32 or 1/64 of an inch. Don’t pass up a planer just because it doesn’t remove 1/8 inch per pass. It’s easy enough to set the planer at 1/16 inch and then run it through twice.
Allowance: This refers to the widest and tallest dimensions on a board that can be passed through the machine. Most range between 12-13” wide. The thickness allowance refers to the tallest dimension of board that you can run through the planer. I would recommend a minimum of around 5-6” to get the most out of the tool.
Dust collection: A planer generates loads of chips that make a mess if you don't hook up a dust collector or vacuum. Some feature built-in fans that suck chips away from the cutterhead and blow them out the dust port for the most effective dust collection. This proves helpful if your planer sits far from your dust collector and needs that boost. Most come with dust hoods that connect to a 4" hose, a 2-1⁄2 " hose, or both, but a few offer a hood only as an accessory.

Which one is right for you?

So now that you know what each planer is used for, and you have decided that it would be a good tool to add to your workshop, which one should you get? I would rank it based upon what level of craftsman you are.

The Home Fixer - Electric Hand Planer

To fall into this category, you are a resident that likes to fix small things around your house yourself rather than hiring it out. Maybe you have some old doors that stick or wood cabinets with warped fronts. Or maybe you are wanting to break into the world of DIY or furniture refinishing but aren’t ready to invest a lot of money into tools yet. For you, I would recommend an electric hand planer to help make your work go faster and smoother. For the longest time, I fell into this category and I would spend so much time using a combo of my saws and my orbital sander to attempt to make things straight and smooth. SO MUCH TIME! A planer really helps speed up the process and make your work more precise.

The DIY Novice - Benchtop Thickness Planer

You like to build and you already have a good amount of power tools at home (table saw or track saw, compound miter saw, impact driver, orbital sander, etc.) and you are looking to take your work up a notch. For this, I would recommend investing in a thickness planer. This will allow you to use lumber that maybe isn’t perfect, and create a finished piece that is. For example, I was able to just purchase lower quality lumber and a lower price (cedar fence boards) and plane the top of 85 boards in a matter of hours to end up with finished quality lumber. This tool won’t help you square up the sides of your boards though, which is why I say that the saws are a more important first purchase.

The Furniture Builder - Hand Planes

Although hand planes can be an amazing addition, they are for very specific purposes and can still. be pricey for the higher quality tools. So unless your workshop is full and you are doing fine detailed furniture or cabinetry work, then I wouldn’t recommend making hand planes as your first purchase. My only exception to this would be if you are in the Home Fixer category but you just can’t afford an electric hand planer yet. Then I would recommend looking at either a block plane or bench plane. These can still be very useful for fixing small things around the house.

I hope you found this useful and of course if you have any questions, feel free to comment below or contact me directly!

Tools & Techniques Series: To Plane or Not to Plane?