Plane and simple
Ive gotten another assignment to do a tool article on something I rarely use. I love when that happens as it gives me a chance to broaden my skills …
Ive gotten another assignment to do a tool article on something I rarely use. I love when that happens as it gives me a chance to broaden my skills and play with new toys.
The tools this time around are 3-1/4 hand-held power planers, and Ill be doing a meet the tool kind of an article what is this tool, what can it do, what cant it do, what to look for, that kind of thing. Ive had a planer for years an older-model Makita my father-in-law gifted me nearly two decades ago. And, although well familiar with its use, I just dont have call to use it all that much. But as Ive geared up for the article, its starting to come back to me just how much fun these planers are to use.
I look at using tools I often neglect much in the same way as other things I like, but tend to forget. For example, I make the trip from here to Cincinnati to visit family several times a years and I always take the fastest, most direct way (which is always the easiest way, since it seems that truckers arent aware of this route). But there are about four other ways I can go, and sometimes just to change things up Ill take one of those alternate routes and be surprised how enjoyable they are. Sure, theyre slightly longer, but far more scenic and with cooler things to stop and visit along the way than my regular fast route.
The same is true in the shop. I love my random orbit sander, but when I was out of a particular grit of discs recently I got out my sanding block and went to town doing it by hand. Took a little longer, but Id forgotten the pure, tactile enjoyment of hand sanding.
I still dont have a lot of call to use a power planer, but as I unbox these shiny, new machines for testing and photo setups it occurs to me Im not playing with new toys at all. Im having a good time with some old friends.
Whats the point here? Simple. Take a look around your shop and dont stop looking till you find something you havent used in a long while. It could be that you have a new one of whatever it is and just stopped using the old one. Or, maybe its something you just havent done in a while like dovetails, which has left that dovetail jig gathering dust.
Whatever it is, get it out and put it to use. Im betting itll bring back some good times.
Youre welcome.
Till next time,
A.J.

A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.