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A thickness planer is a power woodworking tool designed to produce boards of consistent thickness and perfectly flat surfaces. It is a desktop tool, which means it is a non-portable, floor-mounted device with a working mechanism mounted on a flat, adjustable table or work surface. The thicknesser consists of four basic components: a height-adjustable table, a cutting head perfectly perpendicular to the table, a set of feed rollers and a set of output rollers. The machine works by automatically feeding the slab through the table, thereby scraping off a nominal amount of material as it passes through the cutting head. If necessary, the plate is turned over and the process is repeated, producing a product that is flat and of the same thickness over its entire surface.
Woodworking and woodworking projects often require a machine that can cut large slabs into various thicknesses, can produce those thicknesses evenly throughout the slab, and achieve perfectly flat surfaces. The rough planer, often called the rough planer, is one such machine. This machine is equipped with a wide cylindrical cutter head with two or more slitting knives. The cutting head is positioned above and perfectly perpendicular to a flat work table, which can be adjusted in height to accommodate various thicknesses of finished board. Two sets of rolls, one in and one out, at each end of the table automatically feed the card across the table and under the cutting head.
As the board passes under the cutting head, the cutting head cuts a certain amount of material along its surface. Due to the flat surface of the table, the perpendicular orientation of the cutter, and the pressure of the cutter, the board remains flat during the cutting pass. Once the cut is complete, the board can be flipped over and passed through the roughing plane to cut the opposite side if necessary. This produces a plate that is exactly the same thickness on its face, with perfectly flat surfaces.
The coarse planer works best if one side of the board is relatively flat and even to begin with. This generally allows the board to be completed in a single pass. If a board is warped, it must first be passed through a gasket or electrical plane to reduce deflection. If this is not done, the pressure of the cutterhead on the thickener will simply push the board horizontally as it passes, only for it to spring back as it exits the machine. Coarse planers are quite dangerous if used incorrectly; Operators must always follow standard operating procedures and wear hand, eye and hearing protection at all times.