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Unpopular opinion: Old school hand planes are better than power planers for trim work
I was talking to an old timer named Joe at a lumber yard outside Portland last week. He said he hasn't touched a power planer in 20 years for baseboards and casings. He claimed his hand plane takes off exactly what he wants and never eats up a corner. Told me my Dewalt planer is just a fancy way to ruin good wood. I've been using power planers for 7 years and never thought twice about it. But then I borrowed his Stanley No. 4 for a door jamb job and honestly the finish was smoother. Is this just old guy nostalgia or am I missing something? Anyone else ditch their power tools for hand tools on finishing work?
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kai7791d ago
That "eats up a corner" line is exactly what made me switch. I had a nice piece of mahogany molding ruined by a power planer grabbing the end grain and splitting it right off. Picked up a used Stanley No. 4 at a flea market for $20 and learned to sharpen it myself. Takes some practice to get the blade right but once you do you can take a shaving so thin you can see through it. For trim work it's really hard to beat the control you get with a hand plane, especially on curves or tricky corners where power tools just want to go straight.
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