Electric Hand Planers

jrepp44

I have several 2"x12"x12" pieces of lumber that I need to remove about 1/8 to 1/4" of depth from. Would an electric hand planer be cabable of evenly removing this material? I know a bench top planer would handle this, just trying to save some money if possible.
Thanks,
Jim

Itsdanf

I used a borrowed electric hand planer when I needed to trim down the top of a rafter in an attic that was bowed up a bit where I was putting down plywood flooring. It worked great, but I wasn't concerned about looks.

If you're trying to achieve a "finished" look, it might be more challenging with a hand planer. Also, if you're trimming down the full length of several boards, it might seem a bit tedious after a while. I didn't find it easy to maintain consistency over a long run. Particularly if your boards aren't installed yet, I'd consider going for the bench top planer, or maybe ripping with a table saw (if your fence is accurately aligned).

47_47

Jim,

Unless you are very proficient, you will not get good results with an electric hand planer on this wide of piece. Even with a surface planer, with this short of a piece, I'd be concerned about snipe. Can you surface plane down a longer board, say 28"+ and recut to the finished length?

Mike

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