▼EXPAND THIS SECTION FOR MORE RESOURCES RELATED TO THIS VIDEO▼ *Tools used in this video:* Bosch electric hand plane (not sponsored): amzn.to/3lXMkG5 Precision straight edges: lddy.no/191kj ★THIS VIDEO WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY★ Helical carbide jointer/planer heads from MyWoodCutters: mywoodcutters.com/ *Please help support us by using the link above for a quick look around!* (If you use one of these affiliate links, we may receive a small commission) *Links promised in this video:* -More videos on our website: stumpynubs.com/ -Subscribe to our e-Magazine: stumpynubs.com/browse-and-subscribe/ -Check out our project plans: stumpynubs.com/product-category/plans/ -Instagram: instagram.com/stumpynubs/ -Twitter: twitter.com/StumpyNubs
One problem with the tool you discuss is that, normally, the blades don't cut in the plane of the sole, as they should. I am referring to the Bosh and Makita brands, but I suppose the same applies to other models. Another problem is that the depth of cut doesn't, normally, agree with the indicator nob. These are not isolated or rare issues, they are issues that result from the low quality standards of "affordable" tools, such as Bosh and other like it (I suppose this isn't a problem with Festool, but I don't know for sure.) I got rid of my Makita and my Bosh power planers for this reason. They are OK for the requirements of construction carpentry, but if you try to use them for fine furniture, I think you'll soon confirm my experience.
@@skwalka6372 An electric planer is not meant to be a precision tool. It's meant to remove material quickly like a belt sander, but with less dust and a bit more control. With care (as this video showed) you can get more precise work done, but I would not suggest it for a finished surface. If you want precision, use a regular hand plane :)
@@StumpyNubs You present them as substitutes for jointer/planers, and they won't do for that purpose (except in construction, where the tolerances are a lot loser.)
I've found a good tip when working with power tools such as these is at the very beginning, with the tool off, do a practice run just above the workpiece to ensure the cord/hose will reach. Nothing worse than getting part way to realise the cord wasn't long enough or it was snagged on something. This will also ensure you're aware of your work area to pick up if there's something in the way or a bit that would require stretching too far.
Used to do this all the time myself, now that I've build my own workshop all my power is celling mounted on rails so the sockets follow me around it's amazing 🙂
I also find it useful to take a double sided velcro strap (loops on one side, hooks on the other) and screw through the strap to the edge of the work bench at the point where my power and vacuum comes over the edge. Then I pull enough hose and cord onto the bench top to reach the furthest part of the workpiece. Starting about a foot from the tool, and then for each additional foot I wrap a piece of velcro strap around the vacuum hose and power cord so that they move together as a unit. Then when I get to the edge of the bench, I wrap the piece of velcro secured to the bench edge around them. Tying the hose and the cord together means I don't have to separately keep track of where the hose and cord are to make sure they don't end up in the way. And then the piece on the edge of the workbench makes sure that the slack needed to go to the furthest part of the workpiece doesn't slide back over the edge and I end up having to try to tug it back over the edge mid-cut.
It definitely requires such a check in advance. Plus, if possible, set up the workspace/bench in such a way both the feeder wire and the suction hose come from above. A handy tool, or installation, is an industrial overhead rail system, on which both leads can be flexibly mounted. This, so any ‘run’ along, or across the workbench, or other surface can be followed by the leads, wherever our hands lead our machines.
Having investigated way too many “accidents” where basic safety, that you always stress, was either ignored or “skipped, just this once”. I appreciate your consistent inclusion of safety instructions. Thanks for the great videos!
The biggest risk to “skipped, just this once” is when nothing bad happens, so there is a second time, then a third, and soon the dangerous shortcut becomes, “that’s just how we do things around here”.
@@MarcosElMalo2 - As a 30 year tree climber, I can attest, that things like ladders, or fatigue, are far from the biggest threat, which is complacency.
The timing of his voiceover with the detail video clips is really great. Just the right amount of words to match the length of the detail clip. Also, just exemplary camera work. There are too many videos where the camera is a handheld phone and the guy is trying to do the work one-handed.
I just started serious woodworking. I’m 65 and retiring in a couple weeks. I tore down a 100 year old barn a year ago and have made a few pieces out of the siding. I’ve made a bed with two endstands, a bookcase, and a bench with storage under the seat for gloves,wool caps, and scarfs. I’ve also turned out some shelves and coat hangers. One thing about using reclaimed wood is it’s not cabinet making so it doesn’t have to be as precise but you still have to marry edges together. This video helped a lot. I have an electric planer and several hand planers. I use the electric for taking a bow or cup out and then use one of the regular planers for my final face. I so enjoy your videos as it would take much trial and error to correct problems I would have had if it wasn’t for your instruction. Thank you again. This is a wonderful hobby for me and an excellent way for me to supplement my income
My woodworking father passed in 1993. 2 yrs ago I went through some of his tools and found a brand new Bosch planer in it's case. It was like opening a Christmas gift on Christmas morn. But finally after 2 yrs I've learned the nuances of this tool from your vid. Thanks.
There has been such a lack of content on TH-cam about electric planers and how to use them properly. This video hits all the spots. I remember Stumpy had uploaded a video a long long time ago and that was the only video that was relevant to me. If I had seen this video 2 years ago I wouldn’t need to have find the uses for the electric planet myself by experimenting. Thank you Stumpy.
I've been using electric handheld planers for years, and in the ways mentioned here. I used one on a job today. The 12v cordless bosch with a 6ah battery is a great little tool. It isn't super powerful, but is perfect for many of the things I use it for. One Application not mentioned here that I have used corded handheld planers for is to strip the finish off of table tops. If the top you are refinishing has some thickness to play with, rather than taking a couple hours sanding the finish off, you can remove it in a matter of minutes with a planer. Typically, I set it at about 1/64th and do two passes-Then clean it up with a sander. A job that normally takes hours can be done in about 30 minutes to an hour if you know what you are doing and have the right sander.
i've got 12v Bosch planer too and i find myself creating twist when plaining a board... i must be my technique, but looking at the video here i think i do it the same. But with bigger bottom plates it may be easier to apply uniform downward pressure 🤷
@@zoladkow make sure the blade is parallel to the base plate. Sometimes these small planers do not have perfect alignment and therefore it causes one side to remove more material than the other.
You just saved me hours of removing multiple paint-layers from my wife's Pawpaw-built 70 year old table...a job I've avoided for 10 years. Edit: Wifey just told me it's Pawpawpaw-built, so it's more than 70 years old. All I know is that it's a very useful, sturdy table in my workshop. Oh...she just told me it's cypress. We do live in Louisiana.
Great video. I bought my Bosch electric planner back in 2006 when I built my 12'x24' barn. My need was for this planer was satisfied when I was able to level all of the roof truses. Also, I recently used it to recycle many of the 2x4's and 1x6's on my fence that I took down. Great tool!
RECLAIMED WOOD: A portable hand planer can also save expensive blades. I use mine for cleaning up the rough and often dirty surface of reclaimed lumber. Doing that gets the dirt and other things that could nick or chip a planer knife, jointer cutter, table saw blade , etc off of the wood so that it’s much cleaner when you go to process the wood with your equipment. Replacing a power hand planer blade is pretty cheap compared to other tool cutters and since you’re going to process the wood even further anyway, it doesn’t matter if there’s imperfections in the surface left by a nicked blade there. Keep up the good work!
Great video... one addition worth noting is substituting for a thicknesser. After getting the one side flat as you have perfectly demonstrated here, simply scribe the edges of the board using a marking gauge set to the required thickness, using the plane, take the rough side down almost to the marks around the edges only, almost like a broard chamfer . Once that's done you simply remove the 'crown' that's left before a few final fine passes to take the whole board down to the gauge lines.
I have this exact hand planer, and it's great to see different uses. Thank you. For edge jointing, I will just use my table saw. I affix the board to a piece of straight plywood with double-sided tape and just cut off the offending wood. Since the board is never touching the fence, it should be as safe as possible :)
Thank you James for making fantastic videos. I'm an old bloke & I was taught by my Grandfather who was a Victorian Cabinet Maker. He was trained at Gillows of Lancaster. Using a hand plane to make a board 4 square we used a marking gauge referencing on the trued face side to make a mark on the edge. That's all the way around, Then plane down to that mark so you end up with parallel faces. I think it's a standard pre-power tool technique.
@@MichaelBrown-kk6ck Check out Paul Seller's youtube channel and website. He has a detailed series on using hand planes to square and true a board. He also has a million other videos about use of handtools for fine woodworking.. as well as smaller projects.
Living here in the Philippines these are used everywhere since there is no such things as dimensional lumber here so every board is custom built and everything needs adjustment to fit.
By far the most important thing to get right with one of these is aligning the blades properly with the rear plate. It was mentioned but the skill to set the blades at the right height is vital to get a this machine to do the kind of things described in this video.
@@megsman4749 I'm not sure what you mean. The front plate in relation to the blades is always lower when making a cut as it is the one that is being used to set the depth of the cut. Having said that I had a harp making friend who was one of the most creative and ingenious craftsman I know who would use many different tools for purposes outside their intended use. I'm sure this tool is much more versatile in the right hands. Like him I like to encourage people to experiment with caution. As I'm sure you're aware this tool would do enormous damage to flesh and bone instantaneously and brutally in an instant if not given the respect it demands.
My father in law uses recycled nails of all sizes and Christmas tree lights to build things. Only wood he uses is branches. Or some old crap he finds. He tied a piece of a A frame ladder to an extension ladder with Ti leaves and Christmas tree lights. He’s crazy. Luckily he might be less than 5’ tall and might weigh 100 lbs.
great video James. A cool tip i use to plane a board flat is lay the board on a flat surface, using shims if needed so there is no rocking, and scribe around the board with a pencil scribe set to the thickness i want the board. This gives me a good visual guide to plane down to, all across the board. In addition, I bought the specialty dust bag which is much less in the way, it fills up fast but I just quickly vacuum the bag out and resume.
Possibly the most instructional woodworking channel out there. I don't think anyone has taught me more about safely and confidently using the tools in my shop than Stumpy! You are a legend
Fantastic to see you doing this. I did a deep renovation of my bedroom and finished it off with a set of shelves for the alcove which I made from reclaimed wood from scaffolding boards. Safe to say that used my electric planer to face and joint the surfaces took as long as the whole of the rest of the renovation. Hard work indeed!
Thank you! I am new to wood working and when I was planing a table top, I had that horrible huge snipe at the end and I had no idea what I did wrong. I so appreciated this video :)
There are many woodworking videos, but yours are true tutorials and are loaded with info about techniques, safety and often include largely unknown uses . Thanks for sharing your “wood wisdom”😊
Hi, my name is Mike. Been watching your videos for about a year. Lots of good information. I've been woodworking for about 2 years. I'm retired, and woodworking is a side business for me. Keep up the good work.
Thank you, James. I’ve watched this twice - once when deciding whether to buy a hand planer (I did), and once before fixing a door that had a toe that dragged on the floor, causing it to stick. No snipe, thanks to you. And my daughter no longer has to push hard to get into the laundry room - no dragging on the floor. I got a cheap Black & Decker and it does what I need.
The consistently high quality and great value of your videos truly sets them apart. I'm VERY grateful for this solid advice and instruction on using a portable electric plane, a tool that I have avoided until now because it scared the crap out of me. Now, however, armed with your guidelines, I'm ready to use one. Please keep up the great work.
Thank you for this video. I had purchased an electric hand plane and, long story short, made a lot of saw dust without accomplishing anything. I look forward to practicing the techniques you shared. Keep up the good work. Edit: autocorrect sabotaged me
Stumpy, how do you do it? Having made multiple YT videos myself I am in awe of how you can make such clear, perfectly timed and presented long takes. Of course your content is top notch! You’re a natural presenter
I had been looking for a solution to leveling twisted boards for weeks. I tried water and a vise and a hand plane that caused awful tearouts. Without a jointer or a planer, I thought I was sunk. But thanks to this video and a cheap hand planer, I'm set. Thank you for helping me FINALLY find a solution to the problem.
I learned a great deal about using an electric hand plane with Louis Sauzedde (Tips from a Shipwright). They are great for almost all planing tasks where I usually use a manual hand plane. By keeping the cuts as thin as a manual plane, I can sneak up on a line with confidence. Their major advantages are not having to continually worry about grain direction and their labour saving. Perhaps this tool has a larger audience with boatbuilders, so for me, it’s a necessity.
what is great also is that he visited Chile and said that boatbuilders there, instead of the whole shebang of tools, only used chainsaws and electric planners when you do not have money to buy all the tools, you prioritize, and is great to see what a builder community tends to understand as indispensable, versatile tools
James, I could not put a dollar value on the worth of your lessons. Especially this one! I bought a good electric planer a couple of years ago and it’s still in the box. Can’t wait to practice with it and use it. Your target audience loves and respects you! MANY thanks!
Thanks for all your excellent videos. I bought a electric hand planer particularly for helping a friend make a live edge gas fireplace mantle from Black Cherry wood. The Black Cherry had been mill cut with a chain sawmill hence rough cut but somewhat flat. I could not use my surface planer for the live edge. However, with the electric hand planer I smoothed out the top flat taking small increment passes until it was ready for the belt sander and then random orbital sander. My friend applied shellac on top and a glaze coat epoxy sealer on the live edge. The best part is he and his wife love it! Since then I have used it for other tasks since then, To me an electric hand planer is a great addition to any home shop.
Thank you for this, Mr Stumpy Nubs. Very clear and informative. A cautionary tale: I started using electric planers as an occasional boat builder in the late 1970s. I was very well aware of the dangers. A few years later, around 1984/5, I worked with a guy who was missing most of a finger. Something distracted him when he was putting his planer down after a cut. The finger somehow wandered under the sole of the planer. He said that he didn't feel any pain for a second or two. He just watched a red spray coating his shed wall and wondered what it was. If you chop a finger off, the surgeons can often re-attach it. They can't reconstitute a finger from a red spray on your shed/shop/garage wall. In those days, the planers didn't have the built-in kickstand. I always put a short length of 19 mm square scrap wood in the working area to use instead.
Thanks James, great video! I've owned a Makita 1100 planner for over 30 years... and have maybe used it a dozen times. This video is motivating me to take it out of mothballs, especially since it's a long discontinued model that is much longer than the ones currently sold... 16", which is between a Stanley #5 Jack and Stanley #6 fore plane in length.
This was one of the best, most informative yet still concise woodworking videos I’ve seen in a long time. As someone who has just picked up an electric hand planer, this answered all of my questions and gave me exactly the kinds of tips I needed to get started the right way. Thank you!
I found a very easy way to straighten a board on its edge was to clamp a straight edge board to each side then keeping the back base on the two clamped on boards, I would move the plane forward. I could slowly work my way across through several passes until I’d straighten the edge. It takes a couple of minutes to make sure everything’s all square and parallel but it’s a easy way to use a electric hand plane as a jointer. If I was gonna do it on a regular basis I would probably create a jig they could easily be clamped that’s eliminating a lot of the individual adjustments to get everything lined up just so.
Stumpy, love your videos! Thank you! Have had an electric have planer for years and use for do many purposes that you described! You always take time to explain what's important and don't prolong just to jabber on to fit another advertisement in like some other TH-camrs... Many thanks! I appreciate what you do and how you are professional yet seem right down to Earth, as if you'd be approachable in person. Great teacher! Says this video was posted only six hours ago and you have over 150 comments that's amazing.... Let's see how many other YT channels post something new on the hand planer now.... Lol
I tend to agree, because woodworking sometimes requires finesse, which can be achieved using hand tools, rather than electric ones... I've been there. 🤭
Really appreciate this, due to various health issues I can no longer hand plane and bought an electric one, now I know what to do and what not to do with it, as well as using it for more than just shaving a piece of wood, Thank you Stumpy 👍
I really enjoy the videos you put out Stumpy, thank you. I almost always find some useful tip, idea, or info from your videos. I can't speak for others, but I find it easy to ignore useful tips and the the like sometimes due to having been a wood worker/ carpenter for so long. But we're never too old or too experienced to learn. Prime example being ear protection. I came in a era that didn't place a lot value or importance on hearing protection. Thankfully we've learned better and I really try hard to save or protect what hearing I have left, and try really hard to encourage the younger guys to use hearing protection. Thanks for your content and keeping us old guys updated on things.
I work for a acrylic company. We specialize in custom viewing panels for pools, spas, aquariums. We use planers to shave panels that are of level to save time sanding. The technique we use to plane acrylic is different in some ways compared to wood. Great teaching video on how to plane wood correctly and safely
Yep , early on I would hit glue like a foot of board on each end , that were like the same width , so if any sniping occurred it would be on the 2 end scrap pieces , but now after gaining a lil experience with the hand planer no longer need to add scraps
Thank you, I hope this helps. A bench plane costs me a lot and with all the shipping and the high taxes in my country, it is prohibitive for me. I think this is a great solution for me to do carpentry.
I bought the same planer a couple of years ago, I probably used it 2 times just because i couldn't get the hang of it, so i put it away and is been in the case since then. I saw a couple of videos but they didn't explain the techniques like you did. Now i feel more confident and I want to thank you for this video. 👍👍
My favorite use I've found for my electric hand planer is actually drywall. I had a crack form in my drywall and I used the planer along the crack to make a groove to set drywall tape into rather than surface taping and feathering out the joint compound. Worked great!
Thanks for an amazing job on this planer video! I just bought my first Makita planer and your instructions and tips have made me feel confident in using this "new" tool. Your attention to detail, the speed in which you proceed, and important safety concerns, makes this the ultimate in professional grade tutorials. THANKS very much!!!
Great video. As a hobbyist with a small work space I make use of an electric hand plane regularly. I’ve used it to flatten cutting boards (test of patience!) I still fall victim to snipe with it from time to time and any dip in concentration can cause havoc.
I watched this video two years ago and returned today because I found another unusual use for this handy tool. In adition to building furniture and other like things I am a wood turner. I admit that when I am butchering logs to make bowl blanks my chain saw cuts are far from perfect and I get less than perfect cuts. I dawned on me last week as I was trying to attach a face plate a less than flat piece of ash that that little planer would be perfect for flatening the bowl blank..... worked great.
For a thikness planing or at least making it parralel - you can use an "indicator" hand jig (simmilar to machinist indicator stand). Fit it with pencil and it will automatically mark thicker sides to plane out.
As a painter i like to build my own strecher bars and besides mitre saw this is my most used tool, bought it by accident and after uses was angry on my self for not buying it sooner. Top notch advices, thanks man.
They are excellent at finding nails and screws, with the last good blade, after all the stores are closed, in the middle of nowhere, on a job that was promised to get done that day.
I do the water trick, you dip 1 oz water into blood, drip this onto a soul. If the soul shrinks or crys, this means you have a nail in your wood, thus use the cross of saint judith to remove the nail by waving it 6.66 inches above the wood in a counterclockwise rotation.
A friend persuaded me to buy an electric plane, it soon became a paperweight / dust collector. I then bought a hand plane and I've used them ever since.
STUMPY: May I humbly suggest you to take a serious look on the MAKITA 1912B electric hand plane, because of its size (a wider 4 3/8" wide and correspondingly longer model) that I have found much more convenient for using it BOTH by hand, and mounted in a DIY jointer. This machine has been my favorite due to a combination of unique size, precision and smoothness, together with adequate power. The oddly shaped shavings port is not its best feature, but I was able to make an adapter for my vacuum. With the recently issued Carbide blades, it is now an almost "perfect buy" and definitely, a "keeper".
Thank you for this video. I can either afford a jointer nor the room for one but this informative video has shown that I don't have to spend the money or try to make room for one. I do have an electric planer and with that being said I will move it from my shed to the shop and begin using it for the edge and side of boards that need flattened. Thanks for the knowledge.
I was going to make this comment. It helps with making a square edge because the one thing missing is a fence. The fence this unit comes with is pretty clumsy. Otherwise, Stumpy is spot on. This planer is a gem.
Brother, I've been using electric hand planers for my whole construction/woodworking career. This is my new go to video for teachin newbs. And well I learned a lil too! You are appreciated. Be blessed 🙏🏽 and know love ❤️
Really excellent tips, James! Thanks! 😃 I've seen someone making a jig to use an electric planer as a thicknesser. You know? Something similar to a router sled. The issue is that you need to glue some wood pieces to the rear part, so it can be supported... Which isn't an idea I like too much. Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
immediate subscribe where you got to the part about safety, it's a thing a lot of people neglect. I always wanted to get into woodworking as a hobby, but not knowing safety rules and tips always made me fearful of it, and it is a good thing to be fearful of tools like these. I know what some people will say - the instructions include safety rules and etc. but I am certain that most of us never read the damn thing, as they are often either written poorly or too excessive. In short, what I wanted to say is - I really appreciate your work.
There's a good video out there from Tales from a Shipwright on how he "tunes" his planers. He does remove the kick stand which I also did, but I think I wouldn't have needed to if the spring weren't so strong. With how overkill the spring was on my cheap Harbor Freight planer, it was jumping and sniping in a very dangerous feeling way when it was being pushed down.
I always wondered how this tool could be used successfully! Thank you! One thing I was wondering, though, was how you might use that to work with an edge that isn’t mostly perpendicular to the face. A jointer can do this by running the flattened face along the fence to square up the edge. Any tips for doing that with this tool?
Instead of centering the planer over the edge, you could align the edge of the planer down the middle of the board with the rest of the tool covering the high side of the edge you are flattening. This will bring down the high side, but leave the low side intact. It will give you a bit of a “step” that runs down the length of the edge of the board. Once you get both sides of the edge roughly even with each other, then center the planer over the edge and clean it up with a few passes. Really, to get it perfect, this job would be best finished with a hand plane, but the electric model could get you close with proper technique. You would need to be extra careful though, especially with narrow edges.
You can make the fence that comes with the tool larger, as long as you keep it square to the bottom of the tool, effectively making a larger fence that keeps the tool square to a face.
I have been debating purchasing an electric hand plane. This video was very helpful in making that decision. As always, you present the subject clearly and objectively. Thanks James!
Thank you for taking the time to go over safe operation of this tool. It's an unforgiving tool that leaves no room for carelessness when it comes to that exposed blade. But with resect it can be used safely. I use my electric handheld planer just as you show here James for a few years even though I have a jointer in my shop. Mine is the older blue Ryobi model which some will call out as junk but it's still going after a decade of use and does a good job. I watched a couple informative YT videos by *Tips From A Shipwright* about how he tuned up his Ryobi hand planer and he gives some good advice that can be applied to all brands. He also uses the tool in ways that many might not expect in boat building and repairs.
I built a 2500 sq. ft. log house and used a lot of timbers for beams, joists and rafters. My electric planer saw a lot of use doing some of the same things you just described! Good video!
Appreciate this one a lot. I never worked with an electric hand planer before buying one and made some mistakes when I finally got a chance to use it. This video helped me understand how to correct those mistakes for next time.
Another great video. I've been a fan of these things ever since I almost ruined a rather expensive quarter sawn oak commercial knee wall rail with a belt sander, only to be saved by a more experienced carpenter with a power planer. Saved my bacon on that job. I have not idea how he was able to perfectly remove all the waves on what was probably an 8" wide surface with the narrow tool. Currently I have been able to build a nice vanity in my garage from rough lumber with only a power/hand plane for surfacing. Finally, thanks for emphasizing safety! I've managed to keep all my parts for 5 decades so far, as a carpenter and shop teacher. Listen to Stumpy!
I took some woodworking classes where we did this with a manual planer. This video makes me regret not doing sticking it out - it seems like such a good skill to have.
This is a really useful video, and as a hobbyist makes purchasing decisions easier for a small shop - I have an electric planer, which I like and have used a few times but have struggled to maybe think about it out of the confines of the rougher DIY work that I do, but by using this in combination with a smaller thicknesser I now know I can use it for other forms of work. It's also helped me to avoid snipe on the front end of the board, which I have done in the past. Thanks!
i dont care about the criticism on this channel. hands down i love the videos. even with experience, you never lose with another perspective. keep it up!
I'm restoring three park benches with a cast iron frame and 2x3 wood slats. They are about 10 years old and the wood was in horrible condition, with some severely raised grain and starting to rot. I ran the electric hand planer over all four sides of the boards and then used an orbital sander with a couple passes. These Douglas fir boards look fantastic now. I'm going to use 1/4 in oak dowels to fill in the screw holes so that the screws bite really well when I reinstall them. I am putting a couple coats of TotalBoat penetrating epoxy sealer and then about eight coats of marine varnish. I will just let them know that they need to periodically maintain the finish. Fortunately they face east and catch the morning sun and not the afternoon sun The handheld electric planer saved me so much time compared to using a belt sander, which is what I started with.
Not being a carpenter I have become a new planer owner recently (one 13" & a handheld) and very much did enjoy your info-clip. which I like to thank you for this way. As impressive (or even more) as your information video is, I have to say that you tool collection in the shelves behind you did knock my socks off - sort of speak - take care!
Hi, I'm about to start to build furniture with metal and wood and don't have too much money, and this video is critical to me and my wallet, I don't have too much experience, so I'm subscribing from now on, thanks for explaining this topic so well!
I use a Makita hand plane quite a lot I quite often use it to thickness stock: I prepare one face to get it true as per your method then one edge at 90° then the width at 90° then I mark all the edges with a marking gauge ( or more likely an adjustable square and a pencil) I plane one side down to the line then the other side down to the line, then I level between the edges. I find that the electric plane leaves it a bit rough so I finish with a smoothing plane and the boards are true, square and of an appropriate thickness. To be fair it's a bit slow but quicker than driving 90 miles to the planer thicknesser ( as we call it this side of the pond). Wishing you well on your great channel
I am 20 seconds into your video, and you’ve already earned my subscription. Odd flex having all those hand tools displayed behind you, but I am both 100% here for it, and actually impressed….. even slightly envious… Good god man…
I have that very same planer. It's a great tool. I will never use a planer or jointer again. With that tool and level you can flatten anything in a few minutes.
James, what a great explanation of the uses of an electric hand planer. As usual for you, this was info packed and with great tutorial. Much appreciated, thank you!
I'm building a bass guitar out of a bunch of junk mail glued together with epoxy resin. The electric plane is truly a saving grace, I don't have the money for a thickness planer, but the electric planer did the job, all I had to do was some touch ups with a card scraper. So, just in case anyone is wondering, yes, the electric planer works on epoxy too.
I LOVE Your channel James! I restore 1920`s Cars, a lot of wood was used then, and the wood has many curves and concaves, after several AWESOME videos, I have learned a whole lot more then I thought I knew, and You have given Me some serious safety tips and better ideas that will make My restorations much safer and faster, Your "What not to do on a "Table Saw" was a eye opener, as I have had a kickback happen before, You gave Me some great ideas that will eliminate this issue! Thank You for Your VERY Professional videos!
I bought one of these 2 days ago, a battery powered model because my initial job for it would make using a corded device challenging at best. Timely and good tips on the planers use. Thanks.
I once used one of these electric hand planes to create flat surfaces for some s2s cedar I used for some outdoor furniture. Wasn’t a super fast process, but I didn’t have a jointer or planer at the time so it was the solution I came up with. Still have the furniture.
I had a $30 Chicago Electric hand planer. I used some scrap 3/4 oak to make a jig. I swapped out the fixed plate for my jig to plane the edges of a pair of french doors for a smoke house before I put the large over lapping skins on. The jig had one fixed jaw and one adjustable jaw, so it could be kept perpendicular to the faces. The jaws were equal height so they could ride on another jig which clamped onto the door and stopped the cutting at a pre determined depth. One could do something similar on a flat table to surface the face. I've never had to surface a face that way, but the edges only took a couple of minutes to finish up. It was soooo easy, I never looked back.
Yes, I love my $45 Harbor Freight electric hand plane. I first used it in the tillering process when I made archery bows. It saved tremendous amounts of time. I also used it to form the edges of thin boards that were glued up to form the soundboard and back of a Tenor Ukelele I just built. The panels came out perfect. I also buy mostly rough cut boards and all the Cherry, Redwood and Maple used in the Uke build was planed by the machine. Yep, cool tool, really helps having one.
thanks for this video. I like your speaking style. I have never used an electric hand planer, but you make it seem like a valuable tool - especially for poor guys like me!
I have the same Bosche planer. You didn't mention the purpose for the attachment that comes with it. The device sets a 7 degree angle so when you plane the edge of a door in the long dimension it creates an angle in the door to avoid jamming in the door opening. Many people don't know that a door should NOT have a 90 degree corner at that edge. You get much tighter clearances on the door openings. I didn't know about this until I researched it. Learn something new every day....and I am 74. Love your use of winding sticks. I first learned about them when I was in 7th grade Summer School wood shop (my goal was to have access to all those tools so I could build my own slot car track). Our instructor taught us how to plane down a larger board and keep it level from end to end. And yes.... I did build that slot car track and also a large drafting table and cabinet. In those days schools taught you how to use traditional hand tools and technics. While power tools are neat and less work.....you don't get the satisfaction of learning what a human can do with basic tools.
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One problem with the tool you discuss is that, normally, the blades don't cut in the plane of the sole, as they should. I am referring to the Bosh and Makita brands, but I suppose the same applies to other models. Another problem is that the depth of cut doesn't, normally, agree with the indicator nob. These are not isolated or rare issues, they are issues that result from the low quality standards of "affordable" tools, such as Bosh and other like it (I suppose this isn't a problem with Festool, but I don't know for sure.)
I got rid of my Makita and my Bosh power planers for this reason. They are OK for the requirements of construction carpentry, but if you try to use them for fine furniture, I think you'll soon confirm my experience.
@@skwalka6372 An electric planer is not meant to be a precision tool. It's meant to remove material quickly like a belt sander, but with less dust and a bit more control. With care (as this video showed) you can get more precise work done, but I would not suggest it for a finished surface. If you want precision, use a regular hand plane :)
@@StumpyNubs You present them as substitutes for jointer/planers, and they won't do for that purpose (except in construction, where the tolerances are a lot loser.)
@@skwalka6372 He specifically said it's not a replacement for a floor/larger model. Each has their place.
Every time i have used an electric hand plane it has literally destroyed the piece i was working on. And im using literally literally.
I've found a good tip when working with power tools such as these is at the very beginning, with the tool off, do a practice run just above the workpiece to ensure the cord/hose will reach. Nothing worse than getting part way to realise the cord wasn't long enough or it was snagged on something. This will also ensure you're aware of your work area to pick up if there's something in the way or a bit that would require stretching too far.
Yep that’s a habit that welding has taught me. Really applies well to anything where a single pass motion is needed for consistency.
Excellent advice. Thank you. I was just planning a class for beginners unfamiliar with hand power tools. This will be a highlight 🍻✌️
Used to do this all the time myself, now that I've build my own workshop all my power is celling mounted on rails so the sockets follow me around it's amazing 🙂
I also find it useful to take a double sided velcro strap (loops on one side, hooks on the other) and screw through the strap to the edge of the work bench at the point where my power and vacuum comes over the edge. Then I pull enough hose and cord onto the bench top to reach the furthest part of the workpiece. Starting about a foot from the tool, and then for each additional foot I wrap a piece of velcro strap around the vacuum hose and power cord so that they move together as a unit. Then when I get to the edge of the bench, I wrap the piece of velcro secured to the bench edge around them. Tying the hose and the cord together means I don't have to separately keep track of where the hose and cord are to make sure they don't end up in the way. And then the piece on the edge of the workbench makes sure that the slack needed to go to the furthest part of the workpiece doesn't slide back over the edge and I end up having to try to tug it back over the edge mid-cut.
It definitely requires such a check in advance. Plus, if possible, set up the workspace/bench in such a way both the feeder wire and the suction hose come from above. A handy tool, or installation, is an industrial overhead rail system, on which both leads can be flexibly mounted. This, so any ‘run’ along, or across the workbench, or other surface can be followed by the leads, wherever our hands lead our machines.
Having investigated way too many “accidents” where basic safety, that you always stress, was either ignored or “skipped, just this once”. I appreciate your consistent inclusion of safety instructions. Thanks for the great videos!
Not to mention that 0% of housewives wear protective glasses when frying a food. And nobody cares...
The biggest risk to “skipped, just this once” is when nothing bad happens, so there is a second time, then a third, and soon the dangerous shortcut becomes, “that’s just how we do things around here”.
Mistakes vs. Accidents
@@MarcosElMalo2 - Complacency.
@@MarcosElMalo2 - As a 30 year tree climber, I can attest, that things like ladders, or fatigue, are far from the biggest threat, which is complacency.
Your ability to give your presentation in a video in nearly one take is crazy. No uhs or ums….just straight and to the point!
That is a good point
or no go aheads
The timing of his voiceover with the detail video clips is really great. Just the right amount of words to match the length of the detail clip. Also, just exemplary camera work. There are too many videos where the camera is a handheld phone and the guy is trying to do the work one-handed.
I just started serious woodworking. I’m 65 and retiring in a couple weeks. I tore down a 100 year old barn a year ago and have made a few pieces out of the siding. I’ve made a bed with two endstands, a bookcase, and a bench with storage under the seat for gloves,wool caps, and scarfs. I’ve also turned out some shelves and coat hangers. One thing about using reclaimed wood is it’s not cabinet making so it doesn’t have to be as precise but you still have to marry edges together. This video helped a lot. I have an electric planer and several hand planers. I use the electric for taking a bow or cup out and then use one of the regular planers for my final face. I so enjoy your videos as it would take much trial and error to correct problems I would have had if it wasn’t for your instruction. Thank you again. This is a wonderful hobby for me and an excellent way for me to supplement my income
Thats a gold mine for wood workers..... I love old wood . I combine copper and steel to wood working.Two of my favorite things together!!
My woodworking father passed in 1993. 2 yrs ago I went through some of his tools and found a brand new Bosch planer in it's case. It was like opening a Christmas gift on Christmas morn. But finally after 2 yrs I've learned the nuances of this tool from your vid. Thanks.
There has been such a lack of content on TH-cam about electric planers and how to use them properly. This video hits all the spots. I remember Stumpy had uploaded a video a long long time ago and that was the only video that was relevant to me. If I had seen this video 2 years ago I wouldn’t need to have find the uses for the electric planet myself by experimenting. Thank you Stumpy.
@Rosetta Stoned did this make you feel better about yourself?
I've been using electric handheld planers for years, and in the ways mentioned here. I used one on a job today. The 12v cordless bosch with a 6ah battery is a great little tool. It isn't super powerful, but is perfect for many of the things I use it for.
One Application not mentioned here that I have used corded handheld planers for is to strip the finish off of table tops. If the top you are refinishing has some thickness to play with, rather than taking a couple hours sanding the finish off, you can remove it in a matter of minutes with a planer. Typically, I set it at about 1/64th and do two passes-Then clean it up with a sander. A job that normally takes hours can be done in about 30 minutes to an hour if you know what you are doing and have the right sander.
i've got 12v Bosch planer too and i find myself creating twist when plaining a board... i must be my technique, but looking at the video here i think i do it the same. But with bigger bottom plates it may be easier to apply uniform downward pressure 🤷
@@zoladkow make sure the blade is parallel to the base plate. Sometimes these small planers do not have perfect alignment and therefore it causes one side to remove more material than the other.
You just saved me hours of removing multiple paint-layers from my wife's Pawpaw-built 70 year old table...a job I've avoided for 10 years. Edit: Wifey just told me it's Pawpawpaw-built, so it's more than 70 years old. All I know is that it's a very useful, sturdy table in my workshop. Oh...she just told me it's cypress. We do live in Louisiana.
Great video. I bought my Bosch electric planner back in 2006 when I built my 12'x24' barn. My need was for this planer was satisfied when I was able to level all of the roof truses. Also, I recently used it to recycle many of the 2x4's and 1x6's on my fence that I took down. Great tool!
RECLAIMED WOOD: A portable hand planer can also save expensive blades. I use mine for cleaning up the rough and often dirty surface of reclaimed lumber. Doing that gets the dirt and other things that could nick or chip a planer knife, jointer cutter, table saw blade , etc off of the wood so that it’s much cleaner when you go to process the wood with your equipment. Replacing a power hand planer blade is pretty cheap compared to other tool cutters and since you’re going to process the wood even further anyway, it doesn’t matter if there’s imperfections in the surface left by a nicked blade there. Keep up the good work!
Very good point! I didn't think I'd need one if I had a router, but this is a good idea!
Thanks a lot for this great and practical advice! ❤
Man I love that you brought out and showed how to use winding sticks. For some reason It was the best explanation I’ve seen on how to use them.
Great video... one addition worth noting is substituting for a thicknesser. After getting the one side flat as you have perfectly demonstrated here, simply scribe the edges of the board using a marking gauge set to the required thickness, using the plane, take the rough side down almost to the marks around the edges only, almost like a broard chamfer . Once that's done you simply remove the 'crown' that's left before a few final fine passes to take the whole board down to the gauge lines.
Great advice!
Thank you. Most of us are not only on a budget but space is a premium.
I have this exact hand planer, and it's great to see different uses. Thank you.
For edge jointing, I will just use my table saw. I affix the board to a piece of straight plywood with double-sided tape and just cut off the offending wood. Since the board is never touching the fence, it should be as safe as possible :)
It is VERY weird to see one of my favorite youtube bakers in the comments under a video about electric planers!
@@arnoldkotlyarevsky383 TH-cam magic brings us all together!
Thank you James for making fantastic videos. I'm an old bloke & I was taught by my Grandfather who was a Victorian Cabinet Maker. He was trained at Gillows of Lancaster. Using a hand plane to make a board 4 square we used a marking gauge referencing on the trued face side to make a mark on the edge. That's all the way around, Then plane down to that mark so you end up with parallel faces. I think it's a standard pre-power tool technique.
How do you get the first face flat?
@@MichaelBrown-kk6ck The same way as James did. He used an electric plane we used hand planes like the ones displayed behind him in the video.
@@MichaelBrown-kk6ck Check out Paul Seller's youtube channel and website. He has a detailed series on using hand planes to square and true a board. He also has a million other videos about use of handtools for fine woodworking.. as well as smaller projects.
One of best narrator who doesn't add non sense audio or other in each video. Great and thanks!
Because he likes to hear himself talk...and talk...and talk.
Living here in the Philippines these are used everywhere since there is no such things as dimensional lumber here so every board is custom built and everything needs adjustment to fit.
By far the most important thing to get right with one of these is aligning the blades properly with the rear plate. It was mentioned but the skill to set the blades at the right height is vital to get a this machine to do the kind of things described in this video.
Is there a situation where the front plate should be lower?
@@megsman4749 I'm not sure what you mean. The front plate in relation to the blades is always lower when making a cut as it is the one that is being used to set the depth of the cut.
Having said that I had a harp making friend who was one of the most creative and ingenious craftsman I know who would use many different tools for purposes outside their intended use. I'm sure this tool is much more versatile in the right hands.
Like him I like to encourage people to experiment with caution.
As I'm sure you're aware this tool would do enormous damage to flesh and bone instantaneously and brutally in an instant if not given the respect it demands.
My father in law uses recycled nails of all sizes and Christmas tree lights to build things. Only wood he uses is branches. Or some old crap he finds. He tied a piece of a A frame ladder to an extension ladder with Ti leaves and Christmas tree lights. He’s crazy. Luckily he might be less than 5’ tall and might weigh 100 lbs.
What? No dimensional lumber in the Philippines? Lots of lumber comes from there.
A beginner workworker would like to say a heartfelt thank you to you Sir. Thank you!
great video James. A cool tip i use to plane a board flat is lay the board on a flat surface, using shims if needed so there is no rocking, and scribe around the board with a pencil scribe set to the thickness i want the board. This gives me a good visual guide to plane down to, all across the board. In addition, I bought the specialty dust bag which is much less in the way, it fills up fast but I just quickly vacuum the bag out and resume.
I just got a deal from my neighbor for a “hand planer” and this guy is showing me how to use it. Love it!
Possibly the most instructional woodworking channel out there.
I don't think anyone has taught me more about safely and confidently using the tools in my shop than Stumpy!
You are a legend
Fantastic to see you doing this. I did a deep renovation of my bedroom and finished it off with a set of shelves for the alcove which I made from reclaimed wood from scaffolding boards. Safe to say that used my electric planer to face and joint the surfaces took as long as the whole of the rest of the renovation. Hard work indeed!
Thank you! I am new to wood working and when I was planing a table top, I had that horrible huge snipe at the end and I had no idea what I did wrong. I so appreciated this video :)
There are many woodworking videos, but yours are true tutorials and are loaded with info about techniques, safety and often include largely unknown uses . Thanks for sharing your “wood wisdom”😊
Hi, my name is Mike. Been watching your videos for about a year. Lots of good information. I've been woodworking for about 2 years. I'm retired, and woodworking is a side business for me. Keep up the good work.
Thank you, James. I’ve watched this twice - once when deciding whether to buy a hand planer (I did), and once before fixing a door that had a toe that dragged on the floor, causing it to stick. No snipe, thanks to you. And my daughter no longer has to push hard to get into the laundry room - no dragging on the floor. I got a cheap Black & Decker and it does what I need.
The consistently high quality and great value of your videos truly sets them apart. I'm VERY grateful for this solid advice and instruction on using a portable electric plane, a tool that I have avoided until now because it scared the crap out of me. Now, however, armed with your guidelines, I'm ready to use one. Please keep up the great work.
Thank you for this video. I had purchased an electric hand plane and, long story short, made a lot of saw dust without accomplishing anything. I look forward to practicing the techniques you shared. Keep up the good work.
Edit: autocorrect sabotaged me
Stumpy, how do you do it? Having made multiple YT videos myself I am in awe of how you can make such clear, perfectly timed and presented long takes. Of course your content is top notch! You’re a natural presenter
I had been looking for a solution to leveling twisted boards for weeks. I tried water and a vise and a hand plane that caused awful tearouts. Without a jointer or a planer, I thought I was sunk. But thanks to this video and a cheap hand planer, I'm set. Thank you for helping me FINALLY find a solution to the problem.
We use the electric hand planer for shaping surfboards. Thank for your sharing you woodworking perspective.
As someone who doesn't have the money or the room for a large jointer, this is a pretty valuable video. Glad I stumbled across this one.
I learned a great deal about using an electric hand plane with Louis Sauzedde (Tips from a Shipwright). They are great for almost all planing tasks where I usually use a manual hand plane. By keeping the cuts as thin as a manual plane, I can sneak up on a line with confidence. Their major advantages are not having to continually worry about grain direction and their labour saving. Perhaps this tool has a larger audience with boatbuilders, so for me, it’s a necessity.
what is great also is that he visited Chile and said that boatbuilders there, instead of the whole shebang of tools, only used chainsaws and electric planners
when you do not have money to buy all the tools, you prioritize, and is great to see what a builder community tends to understand as indispensable, versatile tools
James, I could not put a dollar value on the worth of your lessons.
Especially this one! I bought a good electric planer a couple of years ago and it’s still in the box. Can’t wait to practice with it and use it. Your target audience loves and respects you! MANY thanks!
I love that your videos are no nonsense and to the point! I have learned a lot from these and I really enjoy them. Thanks!
Thanks for all your excellent videos. I bought a electric hand planer particularly for helping a friend make a live edge gas fireplace mantle from Black Cherry wood. The Black Cherry had been mill cut with a chain sawmill hence rough cut but somewhat flat. I could not use my surface planer for the live edge. However, with the electric hand planer I smoothed out the top flat taking small increment passes until it was ready for the belt sander and then random orbital sander. My friend applied shellac on top and a glaze coat epoxy sealer on the live edge. The best part is he and his wife love it! Since then I have used it for other tasks since then, To me an electric hand planer is a great addition to any home shop.
I've used one of these tools in my shop for years but you've given me a few more techniques to make my jobs even better. Thanks keep it coming.
Thank you for this, Mr Stumpy Nubs. Very clear and informative. A cautionary tale: I started using electric planers as an occasional boat builder in the late 1970s. I was very well aware of the dangers. A few years later, around 1984/5, I worked with a guy who was missing most of a finger. Something distracted him when he was putting his planer down after a cut. The finger somehow wandered under the sole of the planer. He said that he didn't feel any pain for a second or two. He just watched a red spray coating his shed wall and wondered what it was. If you chop a finger off, the surgeons can often re-attach it. They can't reconstitute a finger from a red spray on your shed/shop/garage wall. In those days, the planers didn't have the built-in kickstand. I always put a short length of 19 mm square scrap wood in the working area to use instead.
Thanks James, great video! I've owned a Makita 1100 planner for over 30 years... and have maybe used it a dozen times.
This video is motivating me to take it out of mothballs, especially since it's a long discontinued model that is much longer than the ones currently sold... 16", which is between a Stanley #5 Jack and Stanley #6 fore plane in length.
This was one of the best, most informative yet still concise woodworking videos I’ve seen in a long time. As someone who has just picked up an electric hand planer, this answered all of my questions and gave me exactly the kinds of tips I needed to get started the right way. Thank you!
I found a very easy way to straighten a board on its edge was to clamp a straight edge board to each side then keeping the back base on the two clamped on boards, I would move the plane forward. I could slowly work my way across through several passes until I’d straighten the edge. It takes a couple of minutes to make sure everything’s all square and parallel but it’s a easy way to use a electric hand plane as a jointer. If I was gonna do it on a regular basis I would probably create a jig they could easily be clamped that’s eliminating a lot of the individual adjustments to get everything lined up just so.
Stumpy, love your videos!
Thank you! Have had an electric have planer for years and use for do many purposes that you described! You always take time to explain what's important and don't prolong just to jabber on to fit another advertisement in like some other TH-camrs... Many thanks!
I appreciate what you do and how you are professional yet seem right down to Earth, as if you'd be approachable in person. Great teacher!
Says this video was posted only six hours ago and you have over 150 comments that's amazing.... Let's see how many other YT channels post something new on the hand planer now.... Lol
I find myself having more success with a long hand plane (jointer) than with the electric one for jointing. Cool video anyway, thanks.
I tend to agree, because woodworking sometimes requires finesse, which can be achieved using hand tools, rather than electric ones... I've been there. 🤭
I like my electric planar for getting rough lumber or prelumber (?) ready for the table saw, etc.
@@davidhawley1132 why not just a jack plane for that? I liked this video but didn't see much that I wouldn't just do with a scrub plane or jack plane.
Really appreciate this, due to various health issues I can no longer hand plane and bought an electric one, now I know what to do and what not to do with it, as well as using it for more than just shaving a piece of wood, Thank you Stumpy 👍
I really enjoy the videos you put out Stumpy, thank you. I almost always find some useful tip, idea, or info from your videos. I can't speak for others, but I find it easy to ignore useful tips and the the like sometimes due to having been a wood worker/ carpenter for so long. But we're never too old or too experienced to learn. Prime example being ear protection. I came in a era that didn't place a lot value or importance on hearing protection. Thankfully we've learned better and I really try hard to save or protect what hearing I have left, and try really hard to encourage the younger guys to use hearing protection. Thanks for your content and keeping us old guys updated on things.
I work for a acrylic company. We specialize in custom viewing panels for pools, spas, aquariums. We use planers to shave panels that are of level to save time sanding. The technique we use to plane acrylic is different in some ways compared to wood. Great teaching video on how to plane wood correctly and safely
Love using the electric planer to flatten rough lumber. At first I had an issue with snipe but I've gotten better over time with practice.
Yep , early on I would hit glue like a foot of board on each end , that were like the same width , so if any sniping occurred it would be on the 2 end scrap pieces , but now after gaining a lil experience with the hand planer no longer need to add scraps
Thank you, I hope this helps. A bench plane costs me a lot and with all the shipping and the high taxes in my country, it is prohibitive for me. I think this is a great solution for me to do carpentry.
I bought the same planer a couple of years ago, I probably used it 2 times just because i couldn't get the hang of it, so i put it away and is been in the case since then. I saw a couple of videos but they didn't explain the techniques like you did. Now i feel more confident and I want to thank you for this video. 👍👍
My favorite use I've found for my electric hand planer is actually drywall. I had a crack form in my drywall and I used the planer along the crack to make a groove to set drywall tape into rather than surface taping and feathering out the joint compound. Worked great!
No. Please tell me you're not serious. Don't do that.
@@jessedover6175 I can't imagine that being a good idea for so many reasons 😂
Thanks for an amazing job on this planer video! I just bought my first Makita planer and your instructions and tips have made me feel confident in using this "new" tool. Your attention to detail, the speed in which you proceed, and important safety concerns, makes this the ultimate in professional grade tutorials. THANKS very much!!!
Great video. As a hobbyist with a small work space I make use of an electric hand plane regularly. I’ve used it to flatten cutting boards (test of patience!) I still fall victim to snipe with it from time to time and any dip in concentration can cause havoc.
I watched this video two years ago and returned today because I found another unusual use for this handy tool. In adition to building furniture and other like things I am a wood turner. I admit that when I am butchering logs to make bowl blanks my chain saw cuts are far from perfect and I get less than perfect cuts. I dawned on me last week as I was trying to attach a face plate a less than flat piece of ash that that little planer would be perfect for flatening the bowl blank..... worked great.
For a thikness planing or at least making it parralel - you can use an "indicator" hand jig (simmilar to machinist indicator stand). Fit it with pencil and it will automatically mark thicker sides to plane out.
As a painter i like to build my own strecher bars and besides mitre saw this is my most used tool, bought it by accident and after uses was angry on my self for not buying it sooner. Top notch advices, thanks man.
They are excellent at finding nails and screws, with the last good blade, after all the stores are closed, in the middle of nowhere, on a job that was promised to get done that day.
It happens. Get a handheld mini metal dectector to check any repurposed lumber before you start working on it.
I do the water trick, you dip 1 oz water into blood, drip this onto a soul. If the soul shrinks or crys, this means you have a nail in your wood, thus use the cross of saint judith to remove the nail by waving it 6.66 inches above the wood in a counterclockwise rotation.
This is one of the best videos i've seen about explaining how to use eletric planners, thank you!
A friend persuaded me to buy an electric plane, it soon became a paperweight / dust collector. I then bought a hand plane and I've used them ever since.
Just noise reasons or just not that applicable to your woodworking?
I'm a newbie and you solved my planng issues in 10 minutes with this video - many thanks!
STUMPY: May I humbly suggest you to take a serious look on the MAKITA 1912B electric hand plane, because of its size (a wider 4 3/8" wide and correspondingly longer model) that I have found much more convenient for using it BOTH by hand, and mounted in a DIY jointer. This machine has been my favorite due to a combination of unique size, precision and smoothness, together with adequate power. The oddly shaped shavings port is not its best feature, but I was able to make an adapter for my vacuum. With the recently issued Carbide blades, it is now an almost "perfect buy" and definitely, a "keeper".
I have a couple of 1911B, which are really cheap second hand. If the bearings go, they are easily fixed from standard parts.
Yep, I hate the dust port on mine also, I made a coupling out of pvc and heated it up with a heat gun to reshape it to fit, how did you do yours?
Thank you for this video. I can either afford a jointer nor the room for one but this informative video has shown that I don't have to spend the money or try to make room for one. I do have an electric planer and with that being said I will move it from my shed to the shop and begin using it for the edge and side of boards that need flattened. Thanks for the knowledge.
I made a holder/table that allows me to use the hand planer upside down, like how a jointer works.
I considered doing this. Does it work well?
I found Mathias’s alter ego
Tell me how you feel about homemade table saws
I was going to make this comment. It helps with making a square edge because the one thing missing is a fence. The fence this unit comes with is pretty clumsy. Otherwise, Stumpy is spot on. This planer is a gem.
Wouldn’t recommend doing this because you miss a lot of safety precautions.
Brother, I've been using electric hand planers for my whole construction/woodworking career. This is my new go to video for teachin newbs.
And well I learned a lil too!
You are appreciated.
Be blessed 🙏🏽 and know love ❤️
Really excellent tips, James! Thanks! 😃
I've seen someone making a jig to use an electric planer as a thicknesser. You know? Something similar to a router sled. The issue is that you need to glue some wood pieces to the rear part, so it can be supported... Which isn't an idea I like too much.
Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
immediate subscribe where you got to the part about safety, it's a thing a lot of people neglect. I always wanted to get into woodworking as a hobby, but not knowing safety rules and tips always made me fearful of it, and it is a good thing to be fearful of tools like these. I know what some people will say - the instructions include safety rules and etc. but I am certain that most of us never read the damn thing, as they are often either written poorly or too excessive. In short, what I wanted to say is - I really appreciate your work.
There's a good video out there from Tales from a Shipwright on how he "tunes" his planers. He does remove the kick stand which I also did, but I think I wouldn't have needed to if the spring weren't so strong. With how overkill the spring was on my cheap Harbor Freight planer, it was jumping and sniping in a very dangerous feeling way when it was being pushed down.
A coworker and i were talking about this. Thank you for this video (which I plan on showing him). Lowe's or Home Depot should be thanking you as well.
I always wondered how this tool could be used successfully! Thank you!
One thing I was wondering, though, was how you might use that to work with an edge that isn’t mostly perpendicular to the face.
A jointer can do this by running the flattened face along the fence to square up the edge. Any tips for doing that with this tool?
Instead of centering the planer over the edge, you could align the edge of the planer down the middle of the board with the rest of the tool covering the high side of the edge you are flattening. This will bring down the high side, but leave the low side intact. It will give you a bit of a “step” that runs down the length of the edge of the board. Once you get both sides of the edge roughly even with each other, then center the planer over the edge and clean it up with a few passes. Really, to get it perfect, this job would be best finished with a hand plane, but the electric model could get you close with proper technique. You would need to be extra careful though, especially with narrow edges.
See the comment about making a holder. It turns the hand planer into a tiny bench planer, which is adequate for small stock.
You can make the fence that comes with the tool larger, as long as you keep it square to the bottom of the tool, effectively making a larger fence that keeps the tool square to a face.
I have been debating purchasing an electric hand plane. This video was very helpful in making that decision. As always, you present the subject clearly and objectively. Thanks James!
Looks like the kind of tool.that will make small mistakes into big ones.
You can apply that statement to a great deal of power tools if you aren't watching what you are doing.
Thank you for taking the time to go over safe operation of this tool. It's an unforgiving tool that leaves no room for carelessness when it comes to that exposed blade. But with resect it can be used safely. I use my electric handheld planer just as you show here James for a few years even though I have a jointer in my shop. Mine is the older blue Ryobi model which some will call out as junk but it's still going after a decade of use and does a good job. I watched a couple informative YT videos by *Tips From A Shipwright* about how he tuned up his Ryobi hand planer and he gives some good advice that can be applied to all brands. He also uses the tool in ways that many might not expect in boat building and repairs.
It’s a lazy man’s scrub plane. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I built a 2500 sq. ft. log house and used a lot of timbers for beams, joists and rafters. My electric planer saw a lot of use doing some of the same things you just described!
Good video!
I knew all these points but I must tell you , You are an Excellent Teacher Sir !!!! God Bless
Appreciate this one a lot. I never worked with an electric hand planer before buying one and made some mistakes when I finally got a chance to use it. This video helped me understand how to correct those mistakes for next time.
Another great video. I've been a fan of these things ever since I almost ruined a rather expensive quarter sawn oak commercial knee wall rail with a belt sander, only to be saved by a more experienced carpenter with a power planer. Saved my bacon on that job. I have not idea how he was able to perfectly remove all the waves on what was probably an 8" wide surface with the narrow tool.
Currently I have been able to build a nice vanity in my garage from rough lumber with only a power/hand plane for surfacing.
Finally, thanks for emphasizing safety! I've managed to keep all my parts for 5 decades so far, as a carpenter and shop teacher. Listen to Stumpy!
I took some woodworking classes where we did this with a manual planer. This video makes me regret not doing sticking it out - it seems like such a good skill to have.
This is a really useful video, and as a hobbyist makes purchasing decisions easier for a small shop - I have an electric planer, which I like and have used a few times but have struggled to maybe think about it out of the confines of the rougher DIY work that I do, but by using this in combination with a smaller thicknesser I now know I can use it for other forms of work. It's also helped me to avoid snipe on the front end of the board, which I have done in the past. Thanks!
Loved this. You’ve just saved me from needing to buy a jointer that I don’t actually have money or room for. Money can go into the thickness planer.
i dont care about the criticism on this channel. hands down i love the videos. even with experience, you never lose with another perspective. keep it up!
I'm restoring three park benches with a cast iron frame and 2x3 wood slats.
They are about 10 years old and the wood was in horrible condition, with some severely raised grain and starting to rot. I ran the electric hand planer over all four sides of the boards and then used an orbital sander with a couple passes.
These Douglas fir boards look fantastic now. I'm going to use 1/4 in oak dowels to fill in the screw holes so that the screws bite really well when I reinstall them. I am putting a couple coats of TotalBoat penetrating epoxy sealer and then about eight coats of marine varnish. I will just let them know that they need to periodically maintain the finish. Fortunately they face east and catch the morning sun and not the afternoon sun
The handheld electric planer saved me so much time compared to using a belt sander, which is what I started with.
You are such a great help to us Newbies...and probably everyone else.
Not being a carpenter I have become a new planer owner recently (one 13" & a handheld) and very
much did enjoy your info-clip. which I like to thank you for this way.
As impressive (or even more) as your information video is, I have to say that you tool collection in
the shelves behind you did knock my socks off - sort of speak - take care!
Hi, I'm about to start to build furniture with metal and wood and don't have too much money, and this video is critical to me and my wallet, I don't have too much experience, so I'm subscribing from now on, thanks for explaining this topic so well!
Much respect for actually disconnecting power for demonstrations.
I have used these for basic jobs in the past but learned a few things today. I appreciate it much. Keep up the great work!
I use a Makita hand plane quite a lot I quite often use it to thickness stock: I prepare one face to get it true as per your method then one edge at 90° then the width at 90° then I mark all the edges with a marking gauge ( or more likely an adjustable square and a pencil) I plane one side down to the line then the other side down to the line, then I level between the edges. I find that the electric plane leaves it a bit rough so I finish with a smoothing plane and the boards are true, square and of an appropriate thickness. To be fair it's a bit slow but quicker than driving 90 miles to the planer thicknesser ( as we call it this side of the pond).
Wishing you well on your great channel
Thanks for promoting safety. So many channels ignore it.
I am 20 seconds into your video, and you’ve already earned my subscription. Odd flex having all those hand tools displayed behind you, but I am both 100% here for it, and actually impressed….. even slightly envious…
Good god man…
I have that very same planer. It's a great tool. I will never use a planer or jointer again. With that tool and level you can flatten anything in a few minutes.
The electric planer has to be one of the most under valued tools ever, but what a wonderful tool. Great video!
James, what a great explanation of the uses of an electric hand planer. As usual for you, this was info packed and with great tutorial. Much appreciated, thank you!
I'm building a bass guitar out of a bunch of junk mail glued together with epoxy resin. The electric plane is truly a saving grace, I don't have the money for a thickness planer, but the electric planer did the job, all I had to do was some touch ups with a card scraper. So, just in case anyone is wondering, yes, the electric planer works on epoxy too.
I LOVE Your channel James! I restore 1920`s Cars, a lot of wood was used then, and the wood has many curves and concaves, after several AWESOME videos, I have learned a whole lot more then I thought I knew, and You have given Me some serious safety tips and better ideas that will make My restorations much safer and faster, Your "What not to do on a "Table Saw" was a eye opener, as I have had a kickback happen before, You gave Me some great ideas that will eliminate this issue! Thank You for Your VERY Professional videos!
I have had one for many years and enjoy using it. I use it to taper legs on tables, fast and easy. Keep the lessons coming, they are great.
That's a good idea. I end up building a bit too utilitarian, all my legs are square. I should put some time into aesthetic weight reduction.
I bought one of these 2 days ago, a battery powered model because my initial job for it would make using a corded device challenging at best. Timely and good tips on the planers use. Thanks.
I once used one of these electric hand planes to create flat surfaces for some s2s cedar I used for some outdoor furniture. Wasn’t a super fast process, but I didn’t have a jointer or planer at the time so it was the solution I came up with. Still have the furniture.
I had a $30 Chicago Electric hand planer. I used some scrap 3/4 oak to make a jig. I swapped out the fixed plate for my jig to plane the edges of a pair of french doors for a smoke house before I put the large over lapping skins on. The jig had one fixed jaw and one adjustable jaw, so it could be kept perpendicular to the faces. The jaws were equal height so they could ride on another jig which clamped onto the door and stopped the cutting at a pre determined depth. One could do something similar on a flat table to surface the face. I've never had to surface a face that way, but the edges only took a couple of minutes to finish up. It was soooo easy, I never looked back.
Yes, I love my $45 Harbor Freight electric hand plane.
I first used it in the tillering process when I made archery bows. It saved tremendous amounts of time.
I also used it to form the edges of thin boards that were glued up to form the soundboard and back of a Tenor Ukelele I just built. The panels came out perfect.
I also buy mostly rough cut boards and all the Cherry, Redwood and Maple used in the Uke build was planed by the machine.
Yep, cool tool, really helps having one.
thanks for this video. I like your speaking style. I have never used an electric hand planer, but you make it seem like a valuable tool - especially for poor guys like me!
I have the same Bosche planer. You didn't mention the purpose for the attachment that comes with it. The device sets a 7 degree angle so when you plane the edge of a door in the long dimension it creates an angle in the door to avoid jamming in the door opening. Many people don't know that a door should NOT have a 90 degree corner at that edge. You get much tighter clearances on the door openings. I didn't know about this until I researched it. Learn something new every day....and I am 74.
Love your use of winding sticks. I first learned about them when I was in 7th grade Summer School wood shop (my goal was to have access to all those tools so I could build my own slot car track). Our instructor taught us how to plane down a larger board and keep it level from end to end. And yes.... I did build that slot car track and also a large drafting table and cabinet.
In those days schools taught you how to use traditional hand tools and technics. While power tools are neat and less work.....you don't get the satisfaction of learning what a human can do with basic tools.