Shopsmith Forums

My standalone planer is now ready for use, since the dust collection chute arrived today. The owner's manual covers very well the proper use and operation, but I do have a question since I've never owned a planer before. It is best to feed the wood with the same face being planed until you reach the desired surface goal or is it best to alternate the faces with each pass through the planer. Anxious to put this "new to me "tool to work, just want to make sure I'm using proper technique.

I think(assuming the down side is 'done' planing(to dimension???) on the face repetitively with a final minimal cut is a good procedure.

That said the progress of the workpiece and the intermediate results may alter that to suit.

i.e. there is no 'always right' way.

It depends on what you are trying to do. If you have flat stock with no twist or cup (like S4S from the big box store) then alternating sides to get the desired thickness is the proper way. That way the stresses in the wood are relieved equally from both sides of the stock and the moisture content is also equalized. If you are talking about rough sawn stock, that is a whole other issue. The planer will not flatten cupped, twisted or warped stock. The planer is used in that process but not the only tool needed.

Thanks for the input, guys, the trial run stock I was thinking of using is some rough red cedar 2" x 8" x 6 ft live edge, planed on one face only. There is a bit of cupping and twist on some of them, so I think I will use some clean red oak I have to learn how to properly use the planer.

When you do get to that rough cedar, try Phil Thein’s planer sled technique. I’ve used it many times with my SS planer, and it works great.

https://www.jpthien.com/ps.htm