Which planer, thicknesser to choose?

Which planer, thicknesser to choose?

In carpentry, as in any other field, there are products with different parameters that are intended for different types of companies and applications.

In today's article, we will focus on choosing the right thickness for a carpenter who makes small products, as well as for large companies producing large-scale furniture.

What is a thicknesser?

A thicknesser, also known as a one-side planer or a thicknesser, is used to plan a layer of wood on one side of the material in order to collect the material thickness. This is done by means of a knife shaft mounted in the center of the machine. In front of and behind the knife shaft, there are pulling shafts that allow easy material movement. Some models also have pulling shafts in the table top, making it easy to process wet wood. The thicknesser works on both hard and soft wood. Some models also have a sequential pulling shaft from above, also called split or segmented. Thanks to it, you can plan several elements at the same time, independently of each other.

Which thicknesser to choose for a large carpentry workshop?


Factories of mass production of furniture with many employees should pay special attention to the construction of the thicknesser. Due to the long work (usually several shifts), it should be solid and durable, preferably made of cast iron. Depending on the company's needs, the thicknesser should have high planing parameters. In contrast to small thicknessers, in this case we recommend machines with:

  • Engine power - we propose engines with higher power, usually from 5,5kW.
  • Planing width - the best solution is to choose a single-sided planer with a machining width of 600mm.
  • Feed - with large amounts of processed material, planers with several feed speeds, reaching speeds of up to 30 m / min, are perfect.
  • Knife type - the most popular are ordinary shaft knives (we recommend hard HSS knives) that can be sharpened multiple times. You can also use the so-called Ters knives (disposable, not sharpened) or a spiral shaft on which are mounted in a spiral shape across the entire shaft, square knives with a blade on four sides. These knives are reusable - they can be sharpened.
  • Segment roller - when processing narrower elements, it is possible to plan several materials at the same time. Thanks to this, we increase work efficiency.

If a carpenter is guided by the above factors, then he should definitely choose the perfect planer for his plant.

What thicknesser for a DIY enthusiast?

In plants producing small, wooden products, a machine with not very large and basic parameters is sufficient, such as:

  • Planing width - for smaller elements, the range from 300mm to 500mm will be sufficient.
  • Engine power - we usually propose smaller motors due to the small parameters of the processed materials, as well as the frequent problem in small carpentry shops, which is too small "over-current" protection.
  • The amount of feed speed - in contrast to mass production factories, small plants do not need high feed rates because they do not produce large quantities of products.
  • Machine body - DIY enthusiasts most often recommend planers made of a metal body, which can be easily moved at any time. Some thicknessers have wheels specially mounted at the bottom.

In small, one-person companies, a great advantage is that the machines are used by one operator. Thanks to this, the thicknessers are very well-kept and serve for many years.

Below are some of our proposals from the current offer Thicknessers:

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