Thickness Planers: A Jointer’s Best Friend

hile you can get by as a woodworker without owning a thickness planer, shop life certainly improves once you make the investment! For one, you’ll no longer have to be satisfied with just a few common lumber thicknesses — namely ¾", ½" or ¼". When the time comes that you need some ⅞", ⅜" or any other thickness for that matter, a planer puts you in control. It also expands your lumber buying options, because you don’t have to settle for ordinary pre-milled stock at a lumberyard or home center anymore. With a planer, you can purchase roughsawn boards in any species and from any source you like (even that guy down the road with a portable sawmill!), usually at big savings. And when used with a jointer, a planer closes the loop of the surfacing process, creating a parallel, smooth face opposite the joined “reference” face. It will help to ensure that every piece of lumber you need for a project starts out as close to perfect as you can hope for with machines: accurately thick, flat and uniform with the rest of your supply. Here’s what you need to know