Go for the Big Stuff
I’m not sure if I qualify as a tool nut–machine crazy is more like it. I started out using a ShopSmith, but I now have 17 industrial-grade machines. It all started when my wife saw an ad in [...]
Perfectly Square Edges Using a Planer
I’ve had trouble making square and smooth edges on face frame parts, but this planer jig solved all my problems. It produces accurate and consistent results. For the jig’s base, cut T-slots in a [...]
Precision Planing Jig
Achieving exact thickness is really important when making splines to reinforce box corners. The splines have to fit perfectly in the saw kerfs—a few thousandths of an inch one way or the other [...]
Self-Cleaning Blast Gate
When sawdust got packed into the back end of my planer’s blast gate, I couldn’t close the gate all the way. I solved this annoying problem by cutting a notch in the gate. Now, when I close the [...]
Oliver 10044 Planer Review
Tool: Thickness Planer 10044 Shop Now Manufacturer: Oliver MSRP: $999.99 Oliver Machinery, a name recognized as a manufacturer of vintage woodworking machinery, has returned to the [...]
Universal Planer Sled
Let’s face it: running a twisted board through the planer doesn’t make it flat. The board will still be twisted when it comes out. The trick is to use a sled that prevents the board from rocking [...]
Block Plane Basics
This versatile hand tool should be every woodworker’s first plane purchase. As a “professional woodworker” I often get asked what’s the best bang-for-the-buck tool by people getting into [...]
An Unusual Retirement
In Conversation with Plane Maker Karl Holtey. Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the December 2020 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine. In 2015, acclaimed hand plane maker [...]
Moby Dick, the Great White Planer
Moby Dick, the Great White Planer The newspaper advertisement was brief: “PLANER, 24″, $450. Call.” My friend Charles Poth and I had been looking for just such a machine. We found the [...]
Snipe-free Planing
Like most planers, mine snipes, overcutting a bit at both ends of a board. Sometimes I’ll simply cut off the sniped areas if I can afford the extra board length. However, with precious woods, [...]
Planer Blade Sharpening Jig
I re-sharpen disposable planer blades a few times, using a shop-made jig, before tossing the blades away. I use a set of three diamond hones to sharpen the blade at an angle 5° higher than the [...]
No Flip Jointer/Planer
Tool: MP160 Jointer Planer Shop Now Manufacturer: Wood-Mizer MSRP: $4995 Wood-Mizer has started developing standalone woodworking machinery. This combo jointer/planer caught our eye because [...]