Planer-moulding - we make curly surfaces with our own hands! Manual planer - preparing the tool for work and choosing a tool (125 photos) Various designs of planing machines.

16.06.2019

In the present age innovative technologies in production, hand tools are rarely used, and in mass production they are not used at all. However, there have always been, are and will be craftsmen - cabinetmakers, for whom working with wood is not only part of the business, but also a favorite pastime.

For them, making a product with their own hands is always a pleasure. Such specialists have a lot of hand carpentry tools in their workshop.

Introduction

Planer types

A planer is a hand tool for woodworking, which allows you to bring the surface of the product with your own hands to the required quality and size. Having the whole set of types of this tool, you can not only process the surface, but also make various carpentry crafts.

Planer has a whole arsenal of types:

Flat planing:

sherhebel;
jointer;
semi-joiner;
bear;
sander;
cynubel;
end face;
single;
double.

Shape planing:

zenzubel;
federgubel;
false bed;
headquarters or headquarters;
tongue and groove;
mold;
grubbel;
hunchback

Having the whole set hand tools, if desired, you can make works of wood of any complexity. At the same time, an important factor in successful work is do-it-yourself sharpening of planer knives, which is an expensive production service.

From curly planers useful features stand out zenzubel. It is used for the manufacture of grooves, quarters, stripping and finishing to the right sizes spikes and cuts. The manufacture of this type of instrument will be discussed.

The article outlines an algorithm for how to make a planer with your own hands.

additional information

All of the tools listed above are standardized products. Therefore, in order for them to perform their work correctly and accurately, they must be manufactured in accordance with the requirements of GOST 15987-91. Below are extracts from GOST that define the basic requirements.

materials

The list of required materials from which you should make a manual planer with your own hands:

ash;
maple;
hornbeam;
white acacia;
birch (allowed).

The wood must be well dried, without knots, cracks and rot. For gluing parts, you must use waterproof glue.

Requirements for the metal used

Knives are made from the following types double layer steel:

the main layer is made of brand 30, GOST 1050, (U8, U8A, U9, GOST 1435 is allowed);
cladding layer - from grades 9ХФ, 9Х5ВФ, Х6ВФ, 9ХС, GOST 5950.

It is allowed to use metal of other grades, but not worse than those given in the standard. Knives must be perfectly sharpened, and have an appropriate sharpening angle.

Tip: in order for the work surface to be of decent quality as a result of the work of the tool, it is advisable to have a device for sharpening the planer with your own hands in the workshop.

Preparation for work

To make a planer with your own hands, you need to prepare the following tools.

Equipment and tools

Name	Quantity
Ruler	1
Joiner's goniometer	1
Pencil	1
Reismus	1
Circular saw	1
Electric jigsaw	1
Drill	1
Drill, 10 mm	1
Planer	1
Miter saw	1
Band-saw	1
Vertical drum grinding machine	1
Milling machine	1
Finger cutter, 10 mm	1
Half round cutter	1
Chisel, hammer	1
Metal file	1
Clamps	8

Materials and accessories

Name	Type and dimensions, mm	Quantity
metal knife	according to the drawing	1
Light wood	Ash 270x100x25	1
Wood dark	Oak 200x80x15	1
Glue	Carpentry waterproof	1
Sandpaper	Grain 100, 500X100	1
Sandpaper	Grain 600-800, 500X100	1
Varnish on wood	Colorless, waterproof	50 g

Description of the manufacturing process

The material of the heel, nose and sole of the planer is ash. Cheeks and wedge - oak. The thickness of the planer should be equal to the width of the knife blade, 20 mm.

Then you need to cut a hole for the hand. For this:

Using a drill, drill holes of 10 mm for a file;
An electric jigsaw makes a cutout for the hand along the marked contour;
On the grinding machine process the inner surface of the hole.

If the workshop has mastered such an operation as sharpening a planer with your own hands, then the sharpening angle of the blade should be 45 degrees so that the protruding cutting edge of the knife is parallel to the plane of the sole.

To do this, the oak blank is cut into two halves, the surface and ribs are cleaned with a planer.

Similarly, a cutout is made on the second cheek. On both cheeks, with the help of a trimmer, a hacksaw and a chisel, a hole for the knife is cut out.

At the next stage, you need to glue all the parts into a single structure with your own hands. First, the nose and heel are glued to one cheek. To do this, carefully smearing the parts with glue, apply and press with clamps. After drying, glue the second cheek on the opposite side.

After the glue dries, the workpiece is finally cut along the contour on the band saw and the outer and inner edges are manually processed on the grinding drum. semi-circular cutter milling machine all sharp edges of the planer blank are processed on both sides.

In conclusion, it is required to carefully grind the entire planer blank by hand. Of particular importance is the quality of the sole, which is working part tool. The purity of the workpiece depends on its condition.

The processing of the flat sides of the workpiece is done by hand, using sandpaper pressed against the ideal flat surface. For this suitable stove jointer machine. First grind sandpaper with grain 100-150. The sole is brought to a “mirror state” with a grain of 600-800.

Important! In order to check the quality of the surface of the planer with your own hands, you can use the thinnest probe for measuring gaps. The test is carried out on both sides of the sole.

The tool is coated with a waterproof colorless varnish, and the do-it-yourself planer is ready.

Conclusion

With this tool, in addition to making grooves and sampling quarters, it is very convenient to make thin cleaning of surfaces, trimming corners, which are difficult to handle manually with a chisel.

For a better mastering of the manufacturing process, it is recommended to watch the video.

Do-it-yourself planer video

For a large number people enjoy working with wood. It's nice to make a table for the veranda yourself or make a bench for the garden. You should know that this is a lot of physical labor. However, today the work can be much simplified by using electric planers. Everyone, even a beginner, can work with such a tool.

This device has been around for a long time. Externally, modern electric planers resemble old designs, but in terms of performance they are several times superior to mechanical designs.

With the help of an electric planer, you can process wood, reduce the thickness of wood blanks, plan, adjust, process boards on a bed, bevel edges. With this device, it is not possible to process large surfaces, but in the case of small volumes, it makes sense to use a similar tool.

The planer is more intended for leveling the surface of wood, which has previously been roughly processed. After leveling the base with this tool, all irregularities and defects will disappear from the product, as a result of which it will become extremely smooth. Finishing wood in most cases is done with a grinding planer. With this tool, you can also make a groove or chamfer in the part.

How to make a planer with your own hands?

Figure 1. Scheme of planer elements.

In order to work with concave or convex bases, humpbacks-moulders were invented, with the help of which they produce textured planing of wood blanks. These elements have a special form. They have no special advantages over modern planers. In addition, working with these devices is quite difficult. To produce high-quality processing of parts, you will need to have some experience and special skills.

Today, it is very difficult to find kalevka in construction stores, since almost all stores sell electronic equipment. That is why it is much easier to make a planer yourself.

Elements that you will need in order to make your own planer:

iron element.
Chip breaker.
Wood preparation.
Simple pencil.
Wedge.
Band-saw.
Plywood sheet.
Chisel.
File.
adhesive mixture.
Drilling device.
Clamps.
Bar with a section of 12x12 mm.
Planer.
Micro skin.

A self-made planer with docking points for all elements can be seen in fig. one.

The iron element will determine the dimensions of the tool body, so the first step is to make an iron element and a chip breaker. For planer small sizes you can use an iron element from an old tool, and for a planer with oval-shaped elements, ready-made "pieces of iron" that can be purchased at a hardware store. These fixtures are initially filled with a radius, they can be purchased complete with suitable chip breakers.

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How to select and process a workpiece?

In most cases, the planer is made from the most common types of wood - birch, maple, etc. The workpiece must be made 30-50 mm larger than the final dimensions of the tool being manufactured. The width can be determined by the following formula: the dimensions of the "piece of iron" + 3 mm + 20 mm for the cheeks + an additional 6 mm for processing on the machine. If a small planer is made, then the cheeks can be approximately 6 mm thick.

The marking of the tool must be done in such a way that the rings are perpendicular to the sole, and the fiber runs down from the front to the back. So that after sawing all the elements can be connected in the correct order, on the front of the block you will need to draw a triangle with the top up.

First of all, you will need to make 2 elements of the middle section, between which, with the help of a wedge, you will need to fix the "piece of iron" and the chipbreaker. After that, 2 cheeks are attached.

The body of the tool is assembled from a blank, which is sawn into 2 parts. Cheeks are cut out band saw. Next, the middle section is sawn into several parts. At the same time, it will be necessary to form the bed of the iron element and the opening of the chipbreaker. The wedge can be sawn from the unused trim. Upon completion of the assembly, the body and sole must be machined to shape. At the end, the planer is adjusted.

The middle element should be 4 mm wider than the piece of iron. In addition, there should be an allowance of another 4 mm for processing the middle structural element to the shape of a rectangle. You can mark the cheeks using the same saw. A bed of "piece of iron" is placed at an angle of 45 ° so that chips can easily exit. At an angle of 60 ° there is a notch of the front opening. The middle element is sawn into the front part, which is called the toe, and the back part, which is commonly called the heel.

Next, you will need to make an ordinary template from plywood sheets, with which a groove for the screw head is selected, which ends at a distance of approximately 20 mm from the bottom of the case. The groove can be selected with a chisel.

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Pre-assembly of the structure

Before assembling the planer, the mouth of the middle element must be lightly filed using a “piece of iron” shape. Further, the rear part of this section is installed on the edge, the iron element is put in place, after which the front part is moved towards it. At the end, you need to check the correctness of the fit.

Further, the structure is moved apart so that a gap of 3 mm is formed between the parts of the middle structural element for an iron element 4.5 mm thick, which forms the mouth of the tool. After that, all parts of the planer will need to be aligned and compressed. Through the cheeks in the middle section on the 2 sides, you will need to drill holes in order to install the dowels and glue them.

In most cases, planers are rectangular in shape; you should not waste time on ennobling the structure. In the side walls, you should choose small niches for the fingers. To make it convenient to grip the tool, you need to chamfer the corners.

When the planer has its final shape, the bevels will need to be sawn off. Up to this point, they will be able to ensure the exact exhibition of all elements, so that it is possible to fit the transverse rod. So that during the process of gluing the elements of the tool, the dowels do not interfere, they must be sawn off flush with the cheeks.

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Completion of the construction

On the extreme parts of the rod, you will need to install round spikes that will go into the holes in the cheeks. Due to these spikes, the structure will be able to rotate at an angle to the wedge. In order to be able to make holes for the rod on the top of the planer, an additional line must be drawn at right angles to the side parts. Next, 1 cheek is removed from the assembly, and with the iron element and chip breaker installed, the line is transferred to another cheek. The second cheek is removed from the middle part and at a distance of 20 mm from the bottom of the structure and 12 mm from the top of the chip breaker, the center of the hole for the rod is marked.

To ensure the exact location of the rod hole, you will need to make a hole on the drilling device.

The cheeks are aligned along the drawn lines, compressed with clamps, after which a hole is drilled.

The rod can be made from a bar with a section of 12x12 mm. The length of the rod should be equal to the width of the tool, taking into account the cheeks. The length of the spikes is determined based on the thickness of the cheeks. At each end of the rod, you need to make 4 shoulders. After that, the spikes are rounded with a knife.

To ensure smooth chip exit, the upper ribs of the middle core element will need to be rounded off. After manufacturing the rod, you will need to check its fit to the tool. The rod must rotate freely.

It is extremely useful, fits comfortably in the hands and is inexpensive to manufacture. This beautiful tool will make your lips stretch into a smile when you feel the beauty of working with it.

Dimensions, homemade planer mm: 54x178x76 (width x length x height)

The cost of high-quality planers with wooden inserts, which are produced in limited series, is measured in hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars. This tool is similar to them, but it is smaller and more convenient, and better suited for working with small details. Craft it from inexpensive maple wood with contrasting exotic porosity accents, adding an S25 blade.

How to make a planer block

1. Start with a maple blank measuring 64x60x230 mm. Mark vertical and oblique lines on the side face (Fig. 1) and extend them to the other three [workpieces. Via drilling machine make a 6mm hole in the center of the workpiece. Then drill four 6 x 25 mm holes in the corners on both sides (photo A).

2 Saw off cheeks A from the workpiece (photo B) and draw lines again on the rest of the workpiece. Saw the workpiece according to the markup so that saw blade passed close to the lines, and separate the heel B and toe C (photo C).

Add a planer sole to the block

1 Assemble the last by gluing cheeks A, heel B, and toe C together (photo D). When the glue dries, sand the underside of the last to make it flat. Brief advice! Use spray adhesive to attach a piece of sandpaper to a cast iron table saw or a piece of thick glass to level the underside of the block.

2. To add a durable outsole D, glue a 19x57x185mm cocobolo piece to the underside of last A/B/C, center aligned, and secure with clamps.

3. With a pencil, mark the thickness of the sole D by drawing a line parallel to the bottom edge of the shoe at a distance of 3 mm. Remove excess material with a band saw (photo E). (- save the cut to make a wedge of it E. Then file the protruding edges flush with the cheeks of the last. Sand the sole in the same way as before and remove all traces of sawing.

Form a mouth

1. Extend the oblique marking lines from the cheeks A to the underside of the sole D. Drill holes for the mouth (photo F) and trim the edges with a chisel (photo G).

2. Make a copy of the side template of the last (Fig. 1), and attach to one and: * Cheeks A using spray adhesive. Cut along the contour with a band saw (photo H), then widen the gap of the mouth so that a planer blade can pass through it (photo I).

Finish planer to final shape and add wedge

1. Glue a 6 mm brass rod into the holes of the cheeks (Fig. 2, photo J) and align its ends flush with the cheeks A using a file.

Then make a copy of the profile template (Fig. 3) and stick it on a piece of thick cardboard. Carefully cut out the template along the contour lines and mark the shape of the bell with it (photo K). File off the excess material with a band saw and sand the planer smooth.

2. Mark and cut the wedge blank E from the rest of the sole blank (photo L). Sand the beveled edge flat and check how the wedge fits into the shoe (photo M). Further sand or file the clip so that it fits snugly between the brass rod and the blade.

Note. If you have the same rounded blade for the Scherhebel planer, make it square before sharpening it at a 25° angle. We also shortened it to 95 mm with a hacksaw, but you can leave the original length and this will not degrade the properties of the blade.

3. File the wedge to the final length and shape (Fig. 4). Then round off the top corners of heel B and toe C to make the planer comfortable to hold. Sand all the flying with #220 sandpaper and apply wax paste for finishing. Use a wooden mallet to adjust the blade reach. If you hit it lightly on the heel of the block, the blade will retract and the chips will be thinner. With light strokes on the blade, it can be extended, as well as tilted to the right or left.

Do-it-yourself planer - photo

A. The workpiece is first sawn into pieces, which are then glued together again. Auxiliary holes will help to accurately align them when gluing.

B. Saw off cheeks 6 mm thick from the workpiece. To safely guide a short workpiece and control the cut, use a pusher from a wide board cut.

C. To keep your fingers at a safe distance from the blade and make precise miter cuts, clamp the workpiece to the cross fence pad.

D. Apply glue evenly on heel B and toe C, glue cheeks A and insert 25 mm dowels into the holes.

E. Sole blank D protrudes beyond the cheeks of the last. To ensure that the block is horizontal when sawing, attach a 6 mm board with double-sided tape.

F. With a 5mm center point drill, carefully make a series of holes between the marking lines and remove excess material at the edges of the gap.

G. Resting the blade on the bevels of heel B and toe C, guide the chisel to trim the edges and corners of the gap, removing excess.

H. While cutting along the dotted lines of the template, remove the dowel ends and shape the last into the shape shown.

I. Widen the gap first with a coarse file, then file the surfaces with a velvet file until smooth.

J. Apply cyanoacrylate ("second") glue to the top edges of the holes so that the inserted brass rod will push the glue into the depth.

K. Using a cardboard profile template, draw smooth lines from toe to heel. Press the template firmly so that it does not move.

L. Mark a 10° angle on the edge at one end of the workpiece. Tape the blank to the rectangular cut and cut along the line with a band saw.

M. Insert the blade into the block, then the wedge blank (without shortening it yet) and make a few light blows with a mallet. Dents will appear on convex places.

List of materials and parts
	Final dimensions, mm



D* outsole

How to make a do-it-yourself planer simply and effectively

In order to carry out work with curved or concave bases, they came up with hunchbacks-moulders, with the help of which textured planing is performed. wooden blanks. These elements have a special shape. They do not have special advantages in comparison with planers. In addition, it is quite problematic to work with such devices. In order for the processing of parts to be of high quality, it is necessary to gain some experience in such work, as well as special skills.

To date, it is very difficult to find kalevka in construction stores, since almost all stores sell electronic equipment. It is for this reason that it is much easier to make a planer yourself.

The iron element will determine the dimensions of the homemade planer body, therefore, first of all, it is necessary to start manufacturing the iron element, as well as the chipbreaker. For a planer of small dimensions, you can take an iron element from an old product, and for a device with oval-shaped elements, you can purchase "pieces of iron" at any hardware store. Such devices are littered along the radius initially, you can buy them together with suitable chip breakers. The planer drawing is very simple and understandable, almost anyone can create it.

Selecting and processing workpiece

In a significant part of all cases, planers are made from the most common types of wood - maple, birch and others. The workpiece must be made 30-50 millimeters larger than the final dimensions of the manufactured device. The width can be determined using the following formula: the dimensions of the "piece of iron" + 3 mm + on the cheeks 20 mm + additional 6 mm for the possibility of processing on the machine. If the planer is made of small dimensions, then the cheeks may have a thickness of about 6 mm.

The instrument should be marked so that the rings are parallel to the sole, and the fiber goes down to the back from the front. So that after sawing all parts of the structure can be connected correctly, a triangle should be drawn on the front of the block, the top of which looks up.

First of all, it is necessary to make two parts of the middle section, between which a “piece of iron” and a chipbreaker are fixed with a wedge. Then you need to fix 2 cheeks.

The body of the planer is assembled from a workpiece, which is sawn into two parts. Cheeks are cut out with a band saw. Then the middle section is sawn into several elements. At the same time, it will be necessary to make a bed of the iron element, as well as a distance for the chipbreaker. A wedge can be cut from a cut that will no longer be used. At the end of the assembly, the sole and body must be processed into shape. At the end, the planer is adjusted.

Note that the middle element should be 1 mm wider than the piece of iron. In addition, take into account the allowance of 1 mm for processing the middle part of the tool up to rectangular shape. Cheeks can be marked using a saw. We place the bed of the piece of iron at an angle of 45 degrees, so the chips can come out without any difficulties. The notch of the front opening is placed at an angle of 60 degrees. I saw the middle element into the front part - the toe and the back part - the heel.

Then you need to make a simple template from plywood sheets, with which you select the groove for the screw head, it ends at a distance of about 20 mm from the bottom of the case. The groove can be selected with a chisel.

Tool pre-assembly

When making a homemade planer, it is necessary to slightly process the mouth of the middle element with a file, using the outline of the "piece of iron". Then the rear part of this section is placed on the edge, the iron element is put in place, and then the front part is pushed up to it. In the end, you need to check the correct fit.

After that, the structure is moved apart so that a gap of 3 mm appears between the components of the middle element of the planer for a “piece of iron” with a thickness of 4.5 mm, which forms the mouth of the tool. Further, all parts of the structure will need to be aligned and compressed. Through the cheeks in the middle section on the two sides, holes will need to be drilled so that the dowels can be installed and glued.

It is worth noting that a significant part of the planes has the shape of a rectangle, so you should not waste time ennobling the design.

In the side parts, you need to choose small holes for the fingers, if they are available, it will be convenient to hold the tool. Corners need to be chamfered.

When the planer has its final shape, it will be necessary to saw off the chamfers. Until that time, they will be able to guarantee the exact alignment of all parts so that the adjustment of the cross rod can be carried out. So that during the gluing of the parts of the structure, the dowels do not interfere, it is necessary to saw them flush with the cheeks.

Completion of tool making

On the extreme parts of the rod, you will need to mount round spikes, they will go into the holes in the cheeks. Thanks to these spikes, the structure will be able to rotate at an angle to the wedge. In order to be able to make holes for the rod on the top element of the planer, an additional line should be drawn at an angle of 90 degrees to the side parts. After that, 1 cheek is removed from the assembly, and with the installed “piece of iron” and a chip breaker, the line is transferred to another cheek. The second cheek is removed from the middle part and, with a gap of 20 mm from the bottom of the tool and 12 mm from the top of the chipbreaker, mark the center of the hole intended for the rod.

Note that in order to guarantee the exact location of the hole in the rod, it must be done on a drilling device.

The cheeks are aligned along the drawn lines, then they are compressed with clamps, after which a hole is drilled.

You can make a rod from a bar, which has a section of 12 * 12 mm. The length of the rod should be equal to the width of the structure, taking into account the cheeks. The length of the spikes is determined based on the thickness of the cheeks. At the ends of the rod, four shoulders must be made. Next, the spikes are rounded with a knife.

In order for the chips to exit uninterruptedly, it is necessary to round off the upper ribs of the middle part of the rod. After the rod is ready, you need to check its fit to the tool. The rod should rotate without problems.

Final Assembly of the Element

about a small wooden planer with your own hands

After fitting the rod, you need to check the location of the dowels and spikes. These parts of the structure should be flush with the cheeks. All parts will need to be glued and secured with clamps, while the cheeks must be protected with gaskets. When the glue dries, it is necessary to start cleaning the protruding solution. In order to be able to level the sole over the joints, it is necessary to walk over the product once with a planer.

The wedge can be made from cutting from the middle part, it must be installed between the rod and the chipbreaker. If the wedge is flat, it will be hard to knock out. If the angle is too large, then the wedge can be knocked out even with minor blows.

After the planer is assembled, it will be necessary to make a sole and remake the mouth in order to finally fit it to the iron element, taking into account the purpose of the manufactured product. A narrow gap in front of the "piece of iron" is a prerequisite in order to finely remove chips. And a gap of 0.8 mm is more suitable for coarse chips.

The most labor-intensive part of making a planer is fitting the mouth of the tool to the piece of iron. The letok must be rounded according to the bends of the iron element. This can only be done through a small opening in the sole of the planer. If the product is made to remove thin chips, then care must be taken to ensure that the gap of the mouth is as narrow as possible.

The iron element should be fixed at the uneven line of the front of the middle element, after that, begin to give the correct shape to the sole. To do this, you need to clamp the manufactured product in a vice with the sole up and from the ribs to the middle, where you need to remove some wood. Then the design should be processed with a planer with a flat sole.

When a distance of 0.8 mm remains in the planer to the radius of the “piece of iron”, you need to switch to the cycle. They do this in order to be able to remove traces of the planer. Then fixed on the plate fine skin and with long equal passes they clean the lower part of the planer, while rocking the tool from side to side. Then they examine the contours of the sole of the "piece of iron". At the end, the sole of the micron skin should be cleaned, which is attached to a flat base.

After stripping, the piece of iron will not be able to pass through the mouth of the product. For this reason, it is necessary to remove the wood in front of the "piece of iron" with a small file. Remove until the iron element matches the mouth. As a result, the “piece of iron” should come out of the sole a little.

If the quality of the product made suits you, then the tool can be varnished. On the sides of the planer, it is advised to apply an additional layer of varnish.

Note that during the gluing of all parts of the product, it is necessary to remove all excess glue in a timely manner, which can stick out after being compressed in the vice of a planer.

Making a planer out of wood is not difficult if you take into account all the available nuances. You must follow the correct procedure, as well as have all necessary materials and tools.

If you decide to make yourself a thickness gauge from an electric planer with your own hands, drawings, visual videos and our recommendations will help you achieve your goal. By itself, the electric planer is useful tool in the economy. But to buy a thickness gauge for domestic purposes is quite an expensive pleasure. Therefore, many decide to assemble the equipment on their own, based on an electric planer.

To assemble a thickness gauge from an electric planer, you will need a set of materials and tools necessary for the future machine.

If you need a thickness gauge in order to generate income from products that you will process on the machine, then best solution will be the purchase of a finished device. If the thickness gauge is a purely domestic use tool for homework, then you can safely make it yourself.

The main components for assembling the unit are:

Electric planer. Please note that each time it will not be possible to re-equip the thickness gauge into a conventional electric planer and assemble the machine from it back. Therefore, it is better to make a unit from a planer, which is not a pity;
Blueprints. You can make your own drawing, based on the characteristics and features of the electric planer, the planned work and the parts that the machine must process. It is more difficult to adapt ready-made drawings for yourself, since each of them is based on certain models of an electric planer, materials used, parameters, etc .;
Wooden blocks and plywood. Of these, you will assemble the body of the future thicknessing machine;
Free time. To make a machine with your own hands, you do not need much time. But you should not try to assemble the unit in a couple of hours, otherwise the result may disappoint you.

The main emphasis in designing a thickness gauge based on an electric planer is on matching the characteristics and capabilities of the machine with the workpieces being processed. Make sure before starting assembly that the equipment will receive a body, studs, guides that perfectly match the parts you will be dealing with.

Studs and guides

These components of the thickness gauge based on an electric planer should be discussed separately, since they play a significant role in the efficiency and effectiveness of the thickness gauge.

Studs allow you to lower and raise the surface gage when processing workpieces.
Often, beginners install a hairpin exactly in the middle of the machine body. But this decision is wrong. If you decide to make a machine, the pin should be installed in the middle between the front and rear handles of the device. This arrangement will provide convenient work with the equipment, will allow you to securely fix the tool in the desired position. Problems during operation will be much less.
When converting an electric planer to a thickness gauge, try to give the tool pin maximum mobility. To do this, install a rolling bearing on the top cover with your own hands.
On the middle plate of the machine, which will be responsible for adjusting the height, fasten the nut. This solution will provide you with the ability to adjust the position of the equipment with a small step and increased accuracy. This is true for particularly delicate processing with a thickness gauge.
Guides are used for precise and efficient processing of workpieces. They are made from wooden bars, so the cost of assembling equipment can be considered minimal.
When making guides for an electric planer, make a certain margin in length. They are not recommended to be made identical to the length of the processed workpieces. Perform these elements a little more.
The lower plane of the thickness gauge from an electric planer is made so that when processing the product, it moves immediately parallel to the cutters of the device. If the plane starts under the power tool, you will not be able to obtain high machining accuracy. Therefore, the efficiency of such a machine will be reduced to a minimum.

Security measures

Any home-made power tool, machine tool imposes increased requirements on safety issues during operation. Therefore, if you decide to make a thickness gauge based on an electric planer with your own hands, be sure to familiarize yourself with the basic rules for its use. This will protect you from injury and also extend the life of the tool itself.

When cutting blanks with your own hands with a thickness gauge, always wear special safety glasses;
When working with dense, rough workpieces, keep your hands in gloves;
Before turning on the equipment, make sure that all its elements are securely fixed, the wiring is not exposed. This must be done before each new working day;
Knives and studs must not have defects, damage, cracks on their surface. If they are found, these elements are subject to immediate replacement;
Make sure that the workpieces being processed do not have metal components - staples, nails, screws, self-tapping screws. When they hit the thickness gauge, this threatens not only with injuries, but also with the complete failure of the machine itself.

Rules for working on the machine

Having assembled a workable thickness gauge from an electric planer with your own hands and familiarized yourself with the recommendations on safe operation, you can start processing blanks.

In this regard, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with a few practical tips.

There is nothing complicated in working on a home-made thicknessing machine built on the basis of an electric planer. Therefore, a beginner can handle such a unit.
Install the pin in correct position. It is mounted at a certain distance relative to the edge of the workpiece.
Set the size that matches the part, fix the bar that acts as a guide.
Tilt the equipment slightly away from you. This will expose the cutting stud of your electrical equipment.
Now pull the tool towards you. This ensures the work of the thicknesser, which removes layers of material from the workpieces.
If you correctly assemble the unit, taking into account all the recommendations and following the drawings, a home-made electric thickness gauge based on a conventional electric planer will not be much inferior to factory equipment in terms of its functionality, performance and efficiency.

The abundance of drawings and schemes for assembling a thickness gauge from a power tool allows you to profitably use an old unnecessary electric planer. Without special skills and experience, beginners manage to build excellent machines.

As you expand your needs and gain new experience, the machine can be improved, or modern, high-power electric planers can be used to assemble it.

If you need a thickness gauge for the manufacture of large volumes of blanks with their subsequent sale, homemade device you can hardly get by. For such purposes, it is recommended to purchase factory equipment from trusted manufacturers. Due to the quality and productivity, the cost of buying a machine will justify itself over time, and you will receive a net profit.