Written by Trevor
This hand planer is great. Being fully transparent, this is the first one I’ve owned or used, but I can tell you it’s a high quality tool. I wasn’t sure if I’d have a use for one of these, but now that I have it, I can tell it’s going to be a favorite tool for smoothing things out around the shop OR since it’s cordless, out of the shop.
First Impressions & Quality
I got this in the mail and when I pulled it out of the package I could immediately feel the quality. Metal parts where they should be, razor sharp blades, and comfortable rubber grips on the high quality plastic handle. The adjustment knob turned easily, but also had very defined detents at each increment. It also came with some accessories like an edge guide, tools for removing blades, and a dust bag.
Putting the Planer to the Test
I didn’t have a specific project in mind for it right away, but it’s such a cool tool that I just had to try it out. I went out in the yard and found an old fence post that was really weathered and cracked and grey. I believe it’s original to the house which was built in the mid 80’s. I set the hand planer to a low setting and made a few passes. That smoothed a little bit, but it wasn’t going to cut it for this old messed up post, so I cranked the setting to full depth.
The hand planer had plenty of power and it cut through the weathered outside wood with no problem whatsoever. I didn’t even notice it bogging down! This is just old soft cedar so maybe not the toughest test, but still very impressive. After a handful of passes, I had one side of the post smooth and looking like new. I don’t think this is necessarily a practical use to refresh the whole fence since it’s pretty large and has a lot of posts, I just thought it was a great test to show what the machine can do. There were some deep grooves, I didn’t want to keep making passes till they were gone, but the flat parts next to them were buttery smooth.
Smoothness & Finish
I was extremely impressed with the finish they left. I have a cheap lunchbox style thickness planer, that doesn’t leave a finish this smooth. I also have a nice spiral head jointer. The finish left by this hand planer was very similar to how smooth that jointer leaves old cedar posts.
Versatility & Future Use
The edge guide is a great tool, I’ll be using this to do rabbets or rebates on projects in the future. I think that would be an easy way to quickly get accurate depth and a perfectly straight edge. It would be great for cabinet/box building where a rabbet joint can really add strength and also make assembly easier.
Now with this tool, I’ll probably buy more rough lumber and save money as opposed to buying surfaced lumber and I won’t have to dig out my heavy jointer and planer every time. I can use this tool to get a very smooth and flat edge!
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been on the fence about getting a planer, I hope this review lets you know that you won’t be sad if you buy this cordless one from Woodstarter!
