#import "/meta-environments/env-features.typ": *

= Planer

The _planer_ (or _thickness planer_) removes material from the top face of a board to make it flat. The resulting surface will be parallel to the opposite face.

== Notes

=== Safety

- Never attempt to plane engineered products like MDF, plywood, particleboard or
  chipboard, or any workpieces with loose knots or splintered wood. 
  They will splinter and the resulting shrapnel can injure you and damage the machine.
- Do not attempt to plane stock shorter in length than the distance between the feed rollers.

=== Care

- Do not over-tax the motor. 
- Turn the crank no more than a quarter turn between cuts.
- If the table was lowered after stopping the motor, reset the cut depth for its thickest point and set the table height for that thickness.
- For flattening or reducing the thickness of thin stock, a drum sander may be a better choice.

== Parts of the Planer



#figure(
  image("images/planer-front_quarter-annotated.png", width: 100%),
  caption: [
    An annotated front quarter view of the planer.
  ],
)

=== On/Off Switches

Use the *green button* to turn on the machine.

Use the *red button* to turn off the machine.

There is no emergency stop button on the thickness planer.

=== Bed

The bed of the planer supports the workpiece as it moves through the planer.

=== Lock Knobs

The two lock knobs on the left side of the table lock the position of the bed on the screw posts.

The lock knobs must be loosened before adjusting the bed height, and should be tightened while cutting to keep the table from drifting during an operation and to help prevent chatter. 

In daily use these are often not locked (against manufacturer's instructions) when making a series of cuts at different thicknesses to the same workpiece, but should definitely be locked if feeding multiple pieces through that should end up being the same size.

=== Height Adjustment Crank

The hight adjustment crank raises and lowers the bed.

A quarter of a crank is the maximum depth adjustment that should be made between cuts. Limiting the depth change will help prevent bogging.

=== Cutter Housing

The cutter housing stays stationary over the bed. The cutter housing holds the cutter head, infeed and outfeed rollers, and kickback pawls.

=== Kickback Pawls

The kickback pawls prevent the workpiece from being ejected backwards from the front of the machine. 

Once they engage with the workpiece, the workpiece cannot be pulled out of the front of the planer without first lowering the table. Do not try to pull material back out of the planer against the kickback pawls.

In severe situations when the material has bound or failed in some fashion, the machine should be turned off, the table lowered, and the material manually pulled out the back of the machine.

=== Infeed Roller

The infeed roller is a toothed roller powered by the motor that pulls the material toward the cutter head. 

At no time should your hand be remotely close to the infeed roller. The roller will embed itself into the surface of the workpiece, so if the depth of cut is too shallow, perpendicular lines will be visibly imprinted in the surface of the workpiece when it exits the machine. When the infeed roller first grabs the workpiece, it can sometimes lift it off of the infeed table briefly, creating a pinching hazard. Keep your hands away from the bottom of the workpiece when feeding it.

The infeed roller should do the work of moving the workpiece through the machine. If you have to force the workpiece through manually, you are taking too deep a cut. It may be necessary to push the work forward manually past a thin spot where the feed rollers are not able to touch the workpiece.

=== Cut Depth Limiter

The cut depth limiter is a small piece of metal on the top edge of the mouth of the planer that prevents the user from running a wide board at the maximum depth of cut. 

Narrower boards can be run through to one side or the other at a deeper cut, but it can be used as a good guide for determining a good height for your first cut. Do not crank the workpiece upward underneath this, potentially damaging the height screws or table. Instead, adjust the table height, then check to see if the workpiece fits under the limiter.


=== Power Feed Handle

The power feed handle adjusts the speed at which material is fed past the cutter head. 

Leave the power feed handle pulled out to the 16FPM position. It is less taxing on the motor and yields a better surface finish. The feed rate should only be changed when the machine is running.

=== Support Rollers 

The support rollers can easily return stock to the front of the machine for subsequent cuts.

=== Digital scale

The digital scale measures the depth of cuts, keeping track of how much material should still be removed. 

Take a skim cut and zero the scale. Measure the thickness of your workpiece and determine how much material you wish to remove. Take cuts and raise the bed until the scale indicates the appropriate distance has been moved.

// Should this be "take cuts and adjust the bed until enough material has been removed"?

== Basic Operation

=== Setting Up

+ Place the workpiece on the infeed table.
+ Unlock both lock knobs.
+ Adjust the table height so that the thickest part of the workpiece barely fits under the cut depth limiter.
+ Lock the lock knobs.
+ Turn on dust collection.
+ Make sure the workpiece is not engaged with the kickback pawls or infeed roller. 
+ Turn on the motor.

=== Pass the Workpiece Through the Planer

+ Push the workpiece slowly into the machine until the infeed roller engages. 
+ Allow the feed rollers to pull the workpiece completely through the machine. 
+ Support the workpiece at the front and rear of the machine as necessary. 
+ Remove the workpiece from the outfeed table once the outfeed roller has disengaged.

Adjust the planer height as needed and repeat to remove more material. Do not adjust the planer table height by more than a quarter crank between cuts.

=== Cleaning Up

+ Turn off the motor.
+ Turn off the dust collection.\
  _If other members are still using the dust collector, leave it on._
+ Brush off any dust, and sweep any chips from the surrounding area.