Can you use an electric hand planer as a jointer? – know the advantages and disadvantages!
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A jointer and a power hand planer are primarily milling machines and are connected to each other. A jointer flattens one side of a board, then, putting it on a planer, it flattens the opposite side of the board and makes it parallel to the first, making your workpiece superior.
But the thing is, if you don’t have a jointer, you can use an electric hand planer instead of it to make the workpiece straight, flat, and square and reduce the thickness of your workpiece.
Let’s look at the detailed description and other aspects and see can you use an electric hand planer as a jointer?
Contents
Jointer vs Electric hand planer
A planer is a thicknessing tool, whereas a jointer is a straightening and flattening tool. A jointer is essentially just a planer, as a jointer can flatten the twisted or warped board like that, shaving extra wood chips from a twisted, warped, or unequal surface; an electric hand planer can also flatten the workpiece.
Can you use an electric hand planer as a jointer?
A jointer is an expensive and large machine to afford and takes up much space in your workshop to make it available all the time. In that case, if you don’t have a jointer in your workshop or the workpiece you want to flat, or square is too large to fit on your jointer, then you can use an electric hand planer as a jointer.
An electric hand planer uses two or three blades on its back and has a wide platform to cover more board surfaces. The blades run at a very fast speed, and when they rotate, it trims or shaves off the extra wood or unequal wood to make the surface straight, flat, square, and smooth without a jointer.
As using blades and cutting the extra wood from the surface, a jointer does the same work; for that reason, you can easily use an electric planer can be used instead of a jointer.
Also, by building a base and fence and putting an electric planer upside down, you can make it like a benchtop jointer and use an electric planer like a jointer.
Advantages and disadvantages while using an electric hand planer as a jointer.
Every tool is made to do its dedicated job. So if you try to do the exact work with another tool, it won’t be as much perfect as the dedicated tool does that project. But sometimes it may do better in other aspects. Here also, you will get some advantages and disadvantages while using an electric hand planer.
Advantage
Board capacity: An electric hand planer is a free-hand tool for that reason; you can cover or handle more long and wide boards, which won’t be possible to fit on your jointer as it is a stationery tool and has a fixed size.
Portable: A jointer is a large and heavy-weight stationery tool to move and takes much space in the workshop, but an electric hand planer is a small tool you can carry anywhere on the work sides and won’t take much space to store.
Disadvantages
Time: At a time, sliding the workpiece on the jointer, you can flat it fast, but for small sizes, you have to slide the electric planer on the workpiece multiple time and shave the exact high locations, which takes more time than a jointer.
Perfection: Sliding the workpiece on the jointer table, you get a perfect flatted workpiece, but to get perfection, you need to have great control on an electric planer and have to slide it multiple times and have to check with a flat scale after every slice to have perfection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you joint long boards with an electric hand planer?
Yes, using an edge guide, you can easily joint long boards with an electric hand planer. For that, first, set the edge guide on the power hand planer, then grip the board well on a flat surface, and after that, place it on the board slide, maintaining the edge guide to have straight, flat, and smother results to joint board.
How do you turn a power hand planer into a jointer?
Building base and frame, you can turn a power hand planer into a benchtop jointer or mini jointer. To make the base and frame, take the size of your electric hand planer, then use wood pieces and screws to attach them all.
After that, put the planer upside down on the base, then set the depth of cut and attach the fence, and you are ready to straight and flat like a jointer.
Should I plane or jointer first?
For better results, you should use a jointer first, then you should use a planer. A jointer will straighten, flat, and square the twisted and warped board perfectly, then reducing the thickness by planing on the planer, you will get a perfectly smooth surface.
Conclusion
Although an electric planer has all the capabilities to do the task a jointer does, even you can accomplish more with it.
I hope I covered all the aspects and you understand all those and got the answer; Can you use an electric hand planer as a jointer? Now try an electric hand planer instead of a jointer and get the desired result. Thank you.
