The Ultimate Buyer's Guide for Purchasing Electric Planer Manufacturer

Hand held electric planers are a versatile power tool when it comes to woodworking projects. The smooth metal plate hides powerful rotating blades that strips off slivers of wood, plywood or man-made board into a smooth, flat finish.

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Adjustable planing depths allow you to tackle a range of woodworking tasks. Perfect for trimming a new door down to size or taking a small amount off a sticking door. They are also ideal for making or finishing a wooden shelf, cupboard or wardrobe door and they make light work of trimming uneven joists.

Planers can also be used for chamfering the corners of deck and stair posts as well as hand rails. Rebates (or rabbets) can also be cut into timber with a plane; ideal if your woodworking project needs to accommodate a panel or pane of glass for instance.

A handheld power planer has much of the maneuverability and flexibility of a traditional hand plane but adds high-speed rotating blades for greater productivity, with much less effort. Not surprisingly then, these tools are very popular with DIYers and all kinds of contractors.

We’ve been looking at the current models to help you decide which is best for your needs, and we’ve put together a concise buyer’s guide, which includes recommendations at the end, to make shopping easy. Our top pick, the Bosch Woodworking Power Planer, has power, precision, and great versatility for both keen amateur and professional users.

Considerations when choosing handheld power planers

Key performance choices

This is one of few areas where corded tools remain as numerous as cordless models, perhaps because power demands are quite high. Most corded tools are between 6 amp and 7 amp, with a few at 10 amp. Cordless can be 12 volt, but you really need 18 volt or 20 volt for equivalent performance.

There can be considerable difference between planers of different voltages, but corded and cordless comparisons are difficult (although battery run time is worth checking in case it’s restrictive). Another performance indicator is rpm, the rotation speed of the cutter block that holds the blades. Higher rpm means faster cutting.

Although most power planers have a 3-1/4″ maximum cutting width, their depth of cut varies. You won’t always use the maximum, but if you regularly need to remove lots of stock fast, it will have an impact. You’ll also want to check rabbeting ability. It’s usually included, but not always.

Power plane construction

Cheap handheld power planers often have a lot of thin plastic in the body. While it does make them light, it also makes them prone to damage in a busy workshop or jobsite environment. It might also indicate lower durability. In general, we’d look for heavy-duty moldings and more metal.

The sole (base plate) is often aluminum, though it might be steel with a chrome plating. The latter, though harder, will rust if the finish is chipped, or with general wear and tear. A few use magnesium alloy, which is light, strong, and doesn’t rust, but is expensive.

Rubberized areas around the handle make for better grip, and thus more comfort in use. A parallel fence is a very useful addition that some offer, but by no means all.

Waste handling

All handheld power planers seem to share one failing — the waste collection bags are either too small or perform poorly, leading to blockages or dust and chips getting everywhere. They also tend to get in the way, so many users just leave them off and put up with a shower of wood shavings! This isn’t good for your work quality or your health, so we recommend attaching a shop vac or other extraction.

Price

You’ll find cheap handheld power planers for as little as $45, and if you’re mostly working with softwood, they can do a decent job. Good-quality corded models from recognized names start at about $70, with cordless planers (bare tool, no battery) from $100. The most expensive 3-1/4″ models can reach $250. Large and specialist models get close to $1,000.

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FAQ

Q. What is the groove through the middle of the planer base for?

A. It’s used as a guide. It has no impact when you’re planing a flat surface, but it’s ideal for jobs like when you need to start a 45-degree chamfer along the corner of a post.

Q. Standard blades are High Speed Steel (HSS). Are Tungsten Carbide Tipped (TCT) versions better?

A. In performance terms, yes. TCT blades are considerably harder, so they are more durable and stay sharp longer. However, they are quite difficult to sharpen and more expensive. As a result, they are more likely to be used for quality woodworking. HSS blades are fine for general-purpose use.

Handheld power planers we recommend

Best of the best: Bosch’s Woodworking Power Hand Planer

Our take: High-performance model for the pro offers outstanding feature set.

What we like: Powerful 6.5 amp motor delivers fast, efficient cutting. Guide fence can be fitted either side, so can dust bag/extraction. Depth scales in inches and metric.

What we dislike: Occasional motor brush problems.

Best bang for your buck: WEN’s 6-Amp Electric Planer

Our take: Very popular low-cost but fully featured tool, ideal for the DIY user.

What we like: A power planer for less than some unpowered tools! It’s light, reasonably powerful, and easy to adjust. Includes rabbeting guide and parallel fence bracket.

What we dislike: Inconsistent quality control results in various problems, though not significant numbers.

Choice 3: Hitachi/Metabo’s 18-Volt Cordless Handheld Planer

Our take: Great all-round performance from a tool you can use anywhere.

What we like: All the features you’d expect from a quality planer. Good capacities. Well-balanced. Battery indicator shows remaining charge. Built-in kickstand.

What we dislike: Bare tool. Battery and charger could add $100 to the price.

Bob Beacham is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money. BestReviews never accepts free products from manufacturers and purchases every product it reviews with its own funds.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.

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