About this deal
Starting with the build quality. It’s a nicely put together bit of kit that’s heavy enough at 2.8 kg to feel solid in the hand. But it’s not so weighty that it’ll slow you down. The handle is at the best angle and rubberised for a positive, comfortable grip. The trigger and safety button work smoothly, and the depth adjuster is easy to read and turn. Removing a controllable amount of material is what the best planer does. They’re all controlled in a similar way- an adjustment knob on the front of the tool can be turned to move the spinning blade in relation to the front plate or “shoe” up or down in tiny increments- usually by 0.1 or 0.2 mm per turn. Planing Width The large 710 Watt motor spins up the single cutting blade to an impressive 18,000 rpm. You can adjust the planing depth down to 2.6mm. The spring-loaded “parking foot” keeps the fixed rear shoe up off the workpiece. This helps to avoid taking chunks out of your workbench when you put it down. Also, look for reversible planer blades with a sharp edge on both sides that can be flipped through 180° for longer life.
Forming part of Bosch’s “blue” line of professional quality tools, the GHO 26-82 D is one of the best electric planers you can get. The DKP180Z looks like the KP0800. It features the same comfortable anti-vibration grip and accurate depth adjustment. The build quality is what you’d expect from Makita: tough, refined, and easy to use. There’s one thing you can count on in woodworking- if the tool is loud, spins fast and removes a lot of material, there’s going to be a lot of sawdust. It goes everywhere and gets into everything, so having an effective way to remove this stuff is vital.More and more power tools are becoming battery-powered. Thanks to powerful 18V battery systems, even hard-working tools such as planers can be used “off-grid”. Cutting annoying cords has set professional carpenters and savvy DIYers free to plane wherever they want. Cutting speeds are generally slower and they’re heavy when high Ah batteries are installed, however. Planing Depth Making use of a powerful brushless motor, you can get up to 15,000 rpm from the cutting blades. It really squeezes out every last drop of torque, and all without needing to change brushes. The rubberised handle is comfortable and helps to keep your hand at the optimum working angle. The brushed motor delivers 14,000 rpm and can cut to a maximum depth of 2mm per pass. It has a maximum rebate depth of 9mm and can cut up to 82mm wide. Thanks to a pair of quality double-edged carbide blades, it cuts smooth. It even performs well when you drop the depth down past a few tenths of a millimetre.
The first thing to note about this planer is the handle. It’s comfortable and uses Ryobi’s signature rubberised GripZone found on most of their tools. It makes up for the fact that this is a heavier planer than some on my list at 3.1kg. It’s not too heavy, but you can feel the difference over longer sessions. Forming part of Bosch’s “green” line of DIY level tools, the PHO 1500 is a formidable bit of kit. It won’t take as much of a bite out of your wallet either. Compact and light design at its finest – Bosch electric planers for comfortable and precise carpentry Planing and rebate depths are features you should definitely factor in when choosing an electric planer. The best cordless and electric planers have a planning depth per pass of around 2-3mm and a maximum rebate depth of 9-12mm.
If you want to spend a bit extra for a planer without annoying power cables, the Makita DKP180Z is for you. Making use of the Japanese tool masters’ brilliant LXT 18V technology, you can go “off grid” when you need to. It performs as well as most corded planers too.
Although they’re probably better known for their battery-operated power tools, Japan’s Ryobi make one of the best corded planers, the RPN780-S. It’s a powerful tool that can remove a serious amount of material when it needs to. Cordless electric planers are more versatile but they are also more expensive, not least thanks to the cost of a battery and charger. The 620 Watt motor spins up the twin cutting blades up to 34,000 cuts per minute (CPM) at 17,000 rpm. You can adjust the planing depth down to 2mm. The adjustable front shoe has a neat “V” groove for chamfer cuts. And the rear fixed shoe features a spring-loaded catch to help avoid damaging the workpiece.
My Top Recommended Electric Planers
You can certainly go for a cordless electric planer too, although speed can be somewhat slower for these (10,000-15,000rpm). A ny power planer should feel comfortable to hold and use. They typically weigh between 2.5 and 3kg. The best electric planers should be powerful yet precise enough to shave fine slithers off a piece of wood with minimum vibration and noise.