Woodworking Machine Insider: Planer Thicknesser

If you are new to woodworking, you may be wondering if there is a way to reduce the thickness of a board to avoid buying different stock, or if you can get by with rough sawn wood by using a special machine to smooth out the rough face of a particular wood stock. The short answer is yes.

The planer thicknesser does these jobs with ease - making it a wise investment for the avid woodworker. This machine will more than pay for itself after just a few projects when you are able to use less expensive wood - dress it up yourself - and still come out with great looking wood stock for use in a plethora of projects.

Advantage Over Hand Planing

In days gone by, the jobs and tasks described above were done by hand - and yes, they are tedious using a hand planer. Hand planing takes a long time and produces results that are inconsistent - even for those who are well-versed in the skill of hand planing.

Buying

There are various types these machines which are also called PT machines, in the tool market - and they are almost as common as any other tool - which has made them come down significantly in price in the past few years. The budget that you have for this tool will more than likely dictate the type of PT machine that you buy.

You can find this type of machine being built by all the big tool makers out there - and a good rule of thumb is that if you have a particular tool or collection of tools by a particular company - go with a planer thicknesser that is made by your favorite tool manufacturer.

Look for one that has a two blade system (although three blades are superior for a PT), is easily portable for those times that you might want to use the machine outside of your shop, and that has an included cutter head block. You should also look for a PT that has a gauge measure built on to the machine, and look for a machine that has a warranty of at least three years (although ten year warranties are pretty much standard on most good quality tools).

This is definitely one piece of equipment that may prove to be invaluable to you as you work on woodwork projects if for no other reason than the fact that it can take the roughest lumber and plane it down to where it is most attractive for nearly any purpose you may have.

And although the planer thicknesser cannot straighten a twisted or curved board like you might be able to do with a jointer, it can definitely turn out some very usable boards and wood stock from inexpensive lumber.