Planers
Planers
EXPERT KNOWLEDGE PLANNERS
Planers are indispensable, especially in solid wood processing. With mobile machines, typical workshop tasks such as dressing, jointing and planing to thickness can be supplemented by construction site activities such as assembly work, for replaning carcasses, panels, plinths, mouldings, etc.
Our Planers from the Shinko brand impress with their solid construction, simple operation and perfect planing results.
Our range includes
- Surface planers
- Thicknessers
Surface planner:
With the Shinko surface planers, we offer the largest selection on the market of bench top surface planers. We offer different sizes and table materials for a wide range of intended uses. Whether 150 mm or 260 mm table width, whether with cast iron or aluminium tables, the highly efficient planer shaft, the adjustment mechanism and the machine housing have the same design.
Differences between aluminium and cast iron for planer infeed and outfeed tables:
Some of our Shinko surface planers are available with different table materials. Cast aluminium tables are available mainly to reduce weight and cost. The abrasion-resistant cast iron tables should be the first choice for any woodworking professional when it comes to jointers.
Planers with cast iron tables
- Less sensitive to foreign bodies in the wood (sand, soil, nails, etc.)
- For all types of wood, knotty wood and plastic-coated board materials
- Signs of wear are not visible as quickly as with aluminium
- Ferromagnetic surface, e.g. when joining with magnetic pressure combs
Planers with aluminium tables
- Preferably for softwoods and knot-free wood as well as homogeneous wood-based panels
- Wood stored outdoors should be checked for impurities (sand, soil, etc.) before Planing. Even small grains can scratch an aluminium surface
- Total weight of the machine is lower, easier to transport for frequent assembly work
- Insensitive to rust. Less maintenance required, especially when working on damp wood
Another important selection criterion for a jointer is the adjustment options for the infeed and outfeed tables. Inexpensive DIY machines often have preset and fixed machine tables that cannot be readjusted by the user. However, this is an important quality criterion. It is always necessary to readjust the tables if
- The feed and take-off tables are not exactly level with each other
- Hollow or pointed joints are too large during joining
- A new table needs to be fitted (e.g. in the event of damage)
All machine tables on Shinko surface planers can be infinitely finely adjusted to achieve perfect planing results.
Thicknesser:
Indispensable for solid wood processing. Maximum planing width, clearance height and chip removal are the decisive criteria for the thickness planer. However, special attention should be paid to the planer shaft. There are three different types of planer shafts for this type of machine.
Spiral, offset indexable insert knives - installed on Shinko Planers!
Advantages:
- Lower noise level
- Lower resistance = lower power consumption
- Smooth, silky matt surface (without the typical planing marks)
- Small chips for better extraction performance, no clogging of the extraction hoses
- Smaller number of indexable inserts compared to spiral cutterblocks = lower costs and less time spent changing knives
- Simple and perfect alignment of the inserts thanks to the contact edge on the planer shaft
Spiral cutterhead or helix
Advantages:
- Lower noise level
- Lower resistance = lower power consumption
- Drawing cut, smooth, silky matt surface (without the typical planing strokes)
- Small chips for better extraction performance, no clogging of the extraction hoses
Disadvantage:
- Higher number of inserts compared to Spiral, offset insert knives = higher costs and time required
This type of cutterhead makes perfect sense for large stationary machines. For semi-stationary small machines, however, there is no advantage over spiral, offset insert knives, as is the case with Shinko Planers.
Continuous planing knives (strip knives), usually two - three knives per planing shaft on small machines.
Advantages:
- Inexpensive to purchase.
- Knives can also be resharpened.
Disadvantages:
- Higher resistance = high power consumption
- High noise level
- Surfaces often have the typical planing strokes (depending on the feed rate and number of knives)
- In case of foreign bodies in the wood that leave chipping on the cutting edges, all knives must be replaced at the same time (increased costs)
- Separate setting gauges are required to set the planing knives (the cutting edge protrusion)
These planer knives are mainly used on inexpensive hobby machines.
General information on size ratios for planners
Large Planers with planing widths over 600 mm and 400V Mains connection are available for professional use. Our range focuses on small semi-stationary machines and benchtop units for smaller workshops with 230V connection, which are comparable to larger machines in terms of surface quality. However, it should be noted that the compact dimensions of these machines also limit the maximum workpiece dimensions that can be processed. The chip removal, planing width and clearance height are limited by the design of the machine. The user must set realistic limits for the length and weight of the workpieces.
Thicknessing machines:
With thickness planers, there is theoretically no limit to the length of the workpieces to be processed. However, if heavy beams or large-format workpieces are processed, table machines with a dead weight of less than 40 kg can reach their limits. The construction of such machines is not designed for processing heavy workpieces (e.g. long and heavy beams), as is the case with large stationary machines.
Surface planers:
The overall length of the planer in relation to the workpiece length is decisive here. A jointer with a table length of 76 cm, for example, cannot be used to precisely plane planks with a length of 4 metres. A common rule of thumb used by many users is: maximum workpiece length = 1.5 times the machine length. This rule has proven itself in practice, even if there are no official specifications.
