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A Small, Inexpensive Planer Alternative

StewMac's Safe-T-Planer lets you flatten boards with your drill press

By Rain Noe - December 20, 2016

in Hand Tools

If your work requires you to flatten thin pieces of wood, but you don't have the space for a planer—or you just can't afford one—here's an intelligent alternative if you've got a drill press. A company called StewMac has been providing tools to luthiers (guitar manufacturers) since 1968, and here's their Safe-T-Planer:

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I've heard that non-drilling items like spindle sander attachments for drill presses are a bad idea as the bearings aren't meant to withstand lateral forces over time; but as the Safe-T-Planer is only removing 0.005" at a time, the stress on the bearings is probably minimal to non-existent. And at just 50 bucks, this thing looks like a steal.

Thanks Porter!

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Marc B

8 years ago

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Reminded me of my paint shaver

http://paintshaver.com/

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Jim Lewis

7 years ago

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At .005", you really aren't doing much. And at greater depths, the average drill press is severely underpowered.

I bought one thinking of putting tapered rebates on maple. A table saw or a router turned out to be much more efficient, though more trouble to set up.

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Juan Cano

8 years ago

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StewMac is a great place and they have quality tools. And Dale's videos are always interesting!

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