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Homemade thicknessing machine. Do-it-yourself thicknessing machine made from an electric planer, other design options

Homemade surface gauge.

Many people, nowadays, are engaged in wood processing. However, with a simple, manual planer, it will take a very long time to process the surface of the wood blank. To the aid of carpenters and simple lovers of woodworking comes a thicknessing machine.

A thicknessing machine is a special machine for smooth leveling of a wood surface.

This equipment performs planing actions, which are called thicknessing. It is in honor of this action that the machine got its name. In turn, before planing the woody plane, it must be perfectly flat. This result is achieved using a jointer, which aligns the horizontal on the tree. However, this work is considered draft.

purpose

The thicknessing equipment has its purpose in many industries where wood is used. With its help, various shields, bars, boards are processed. An ideal result is achieved in all planes of the product.

For example, if you take a wooden beam, then it will be, at the end of the planing actions, very smooth on all four sides. Thickness thicknesses, in particular industrial ones, have such a property as processing large areas and the number of boards with a large width.

Homemade thicknessers weigh quite a bit. This ensures their trouble-free transportation. On homemade machines, it is much easier to adjust the thickness of the chips removed during processing.

Type of equipment

Thicknessing equipment is distinguished by the following criteria, namely, by the number of knives on the cutting shaft:

Unilateral.

Thickness gauge one-sided

Such a machine is the simplest and has only one knife on the main shaft.

Also, a single-sided thicknessing machine is considered a budget option and is designed for homework.

Due to one knife, it is able to process only one side of the product.

double sided

Thickness gauge double-sided

This equipment has in its design two shafts with knives located parallel to each other.

This module is considered more productive.

It has an automated supply of wood blanks.

Professional planer

Thickness gauge special

Such machines have in their design from three shafts with knives or more.

This thicknesser is already intended for professional woodworking, and also has the ability to produce parts in large volumes.

The price category of this equipment ranges from 35 thousand to 100 thousand rubles. However, if the machines are state-of-the-art, then the price, correspondingly, will be quite high. Therefore, it will be easiest and also cheaper to create a hand-written project.

Tip: If your budget allows you to buy a factory installation, then you need to choose the best one. However, if the budget is tight, then try to create an analogue. This will save you time and money.

In addition to the knife difference, thicknessers also differ in scope

Budget household

With their help, it is possible to achieve good performance. Differs in an affordable price category, small dimensions. By purchasing this machine, you can easily build your own house.

Combined

Limited by a small amount of work, low price. It is intended primarily for domestic purposes. For many household purposes, this equipment is sufficient.

semi-professional

They are widely used in carpentry workshops. Such equipment is capable of producing impressive volumes of finished products.

Professional thicknessers

Due to the fact that such equipment is more powerful than its smaller counterparts, it is capable of producing huge volumes of furniture blanks and components. They are used in woodworking factories.

Industrial modules

They are used only at sawmills, at enterprises engaged in the extraction and processing of wood. Such machines have huge dimensions, power, so their use in everyday life will be impractical.

The design of a homemade machine

Planer design.

As you can see their pictures above, design this machine is not so complicated. The front and rear tables, on which the wood is fed for processing, must be even and smooth, and also located in the same plane, for unhindered wood supply. Many joiners create thicknessers from an electric planer And from a router. This design is quite simple.

Tip: The higher the speed of rotation of the shaft with knives, the smoother and cleaner the surface will be when finished!

Principle of operation

Schematic diagram of the gauge device.

The principle of operation of the machine lies in the flat planing of the surface of the wood blank. The most important tool of this machine is a shaft with knives, which does the main work. The bottom line is this. The wooden board is fed by hand or automatically, by special pressure rollers. The material is processed on one side, usually from above. In some cases, top and bottom. The knife shaft is adjusted to the required level of thickness, and the board goes through a full planing. The result is a perfectly smooth surface.

Tip: Before you start planing, you need to prepare the workpiece on the planer to achieve a perfectly flat surface!

Thickness gauges are high-performance woodworking machines. After all, you can’t do a lot of things with a hand planer. For the desired result, it is enough to adjust the equipment to the required dimensions, and then, parts can be produced in batches.

It is important to know! To achieve high-quality manufacturing of manufactured products, you should not immediately set a large depth of planing. Such actions will only worsen the expected result.

Assembling a thicknessing machine with your own hands according to the drawings

Assembly does not take much time and does not require a large amount of materials. However, in order for the assembly to take place, you must have the following tools and equipment:

Lathe

It will be needed for the manufacture of elements of rotation, in this case rollers.

Drilling machine

Useful for making holes for fasteners and so on.

Welding machine

In turn, welding is the main tool for assembling the bed, the feed table.

Drill

Useful for smaller holes, possibly for driving bolts if appropriate.

Bulgarian

Before assembling the structure, it is necessary to cut off all the necessary parts correctly, according to the drawings with dimensions.

Tip: When working with a grinder, you should take into account the dimensions and thickness of the cutting disc, otherwise the design may not turn out to be even.

If you don't know how to do and from what parts you can assemble the machine, then on the Internet you can easily find free drawings and photo for assembly. Below will be presented one of these drawings, which we will analyze.

As a rule, all home-made thicknessing machines have dimensions of 1x1 meters. This allows you to transport it and move it to the place you need. However, it is worth considering that the equipment must be located in such a way that it is accessible from all sides. That is, the approach to it should be free.

Before assembly

It is very important to familiarize yourself with the layout of all parts on the machine:

  • Table of giving and delivery of preparation. (1)
  • Directly wood harvesting.(2)
  • Safety device. (3)
  • Top feed roller with a corrugated surface. (4)
  • The front block is clamping, the so-called "chip breaker". (5)
  • Main shaft with knives. (6)
  • Clamping pad rear. (7)
  • A feed roller having a smooth surface located at the top. (8)
  • Smooth roller located below. (9)

Tip: First you need to sketch drawings with dimensions.

Drawing of the bed.

First thing

A bed is being made for a future invention. To do this, you can use an iron corner measuring 50x50 mm, or a profile, square pipe measuring 40x40 mm. The large size of these parts can cause unnecessary vibration when working with the machine.

After all the elements of the bed are ready, the welding machine comes into operation and a frame for the machine is created. The drilling machine pre-makes all the necessary holes needed for future assembly. It is desirable to concrete the frame in order to eliminate excessive vibration in the future.

When the frame is welded, the knife and other shafts are installed. The best option would be to purchase them in finished condition. This will improve the quality of future products. But, if not possible, they can be made on a lathe.

Motor pulleys and shafts

It is advisable to purchase gear, which will allow the use of a chain. The motor can be selected asynchronous, with a power of 4 - 5 kilowatts. If it is possible to get a manual laundry wringer from old Soviet washing machines, its rollers can be used as pressure rollers.

The rubberized coating of these rollers will allow less deformation of the wood. The frame for the rollers is made by welding, and is mounted on bolts with springs on one side. This allows them to move vertically.

On the other side

A piece of tie rod is welded as a limiter. The tabletop itself, which consists of two parts, back and front, is mounted on prepared adjusting mounts. This allows you to adjust the height of the table.

Tip: Before starting work, it is important to make sure that the knives on the shaft are sharpened correctly, as well as their location.

It is important to know! In no case should a workpiece be processed that will not be pressed by both shafts. And also, it is strictly forbidden to carry out repair work and cleaning the equipment during its operation! Failure to follow these rules may result in injury.

When everything is ready, you can start woodworking.

Equipment setup

The whole machine, before work, at home, must be set up properly. The adjustment is made by tightening or loosening the feed rollers. If the working table on the machine is almost completely filled, then it will be necessary to increase the pressure of the rollers on the feed.

If small parts are processed, then this pressure must be reduced, this is done so that the wood is not dented, in the truest sense of the word.

If dealt with correctly with planer equipment and understand its entire mechanism, then setting up during subsequent work will not be difficult.

Work safety

All safety precautions in working with machines are the same and extremely demanding. The list of this technology includes the following:

  1. Do not put your hands where the rollers are spinning - this can lead to serious injury.
  2. The machine must be grounded to avoid electric shock and fire.
  3. The presence of rubber mats near the machine is essential.
  4. It is strictly forbidden to clean the machine during its operation.
  5. It is forbidden to repair parts of the equipment when the machine is connected to the electrical network.
  6. Before turning on the machine, you must make sure that all mechanisms are working.
  7. Before switching on, make sure that the electrical wire is in good condition.

Compliance with simple safety rules when working with homemade machine will save your health and life.

Video reviews

Overview of a homemade thicknesser machine with automatic feed

Overview of the phased assembly of his own thickness gauge

Overview of the operation of the thicknessing machine

Making a thickness gauge with your own hands is far from the most difficult task. A homemade device may have similar characteristics to simple factory thicknessers, but at the same time such a tool will cost several times less, if not at all for free. It all depends on how many components needed to assemble the device will have to be bought or ordered from the craftsmen.

  • The thickness gauge is a device designed for planing blanks, giving them a complete appearance;
  • Such a device allows you to change the thickness of the product, create a perfectly smooth surface;
  • Thickness gauge is an indispensable tool in the field of furniture production;
  • With the help of a thickness gauge, you can finish the premises, create building materials, decorative elements;
  • A factory tool is not a cheap pleasure. In this regard, home-made surface gage gained great popularity;
  • You can make a planing tool with your own hands, based on the drawings and understanding the principle of operation of the unit.

A homemade device is a budget analogue of a factory machine. If you often have to deal with wooden blanks, or you are building your own buildings, creating furniture for your home, it is not necessary to buy an expensive factory thicknesser. For such purposes, a homemade tool will fit perfectly.

Machine elements

Homemade thicknesser, like its factory counterpart, includes several main components that you will need to make and assemble with your own hands:

  • Table;
  • Frame;
  • knife shaft;
  • Billet feeding system;
  • Adjustment bolts.

So that in the process of work you do not have problems and questions, we will consider the features of assembling each of the presented elements of the machine separately.

Frame and table

  1. Before starting the assembly of the thickness gauge itself for woodworking, determine the features of its future design. It is advisable to be based on ready-made drawings or sketches developed in detail with your own hands.
  2. The desktop serves to accommodate the entire structure of a homemade thickness gauge.
  3. In this case, the table should be arranged so that you can move freely around it. This is due to the supply of blanks on the desktop.
  4. A homemade thicknesser is usually compact in size, which allows you to place the frame and desktop inside your own garage.
  5. When making or choosing a material to make a desktop, give preference to perfectly flat surfaces. Otherwise, increased vibrations will occur during the operation of the installation.
  6. The classic solution for a homemade thickness gauge is a desktop and a frame welded with an appropriate apparatus from a square pipe and metal corners. It is recommended to choose corners measuring 50 by 50 mm, and a pipe - about 40 millimeters.
  7. The more massive you make the desktop, the more vibration-resistant the device will be. Therefore, it makes sense to use heavy, durable materials when making a table and a frame.

For self-assembly of the surface gauge, you may need the following tools:

  • Electric drill;
  • Welding;
  • Turning tool;
  • Drilling machine;
  • Angle grinder or just a grinder.

Shaft

  • An important component of the planer machine is the knife shaft. Without it, a home-made thickness gauge simply will not be able to fulfill its direct duties;
  • The knife shaft is the main element with which workpieces are processed;
  • Trying to make a knife shaft yourself is not recommended, since it is almost impossible for a beginner to achieve its perfect balance;
  • Experts with experience in assembling planers advise choosing a 300 mm knife shaft with three knives;
  • The knife shaft has pulleys and is connected to the motor. In the case of a thicknessing machine, give preference to stepped models;
  • On the machine, the knife shaft must rotate at a certain speed. For home use, the optimal speed limits are 4000-700 rpm;
  • The shaft should be connected through an asynchronous electric motor. Its power can be 4-5 kW. This is quite enough to work at home;
  • The principle of operation of an asynchronous 4-5 kilowatt motor allows you to make such a connection through a single-phase standard power supply. Your machine will be powered by 220 volts. This will reduce the cost of electricity, significantly simplify the process of maintenance, prevention and operation of the surface gage;
  • Pinch rollers are required to operate the machine. You can carve them with your own hands, or use rollers from washing machines. In the second case, we advise you to choose parts from Soviet washing machines;
  • The frame for rollers is manufactured as a welded structure using spring-loaded bolts.

Feed system and adjustment bolts

A manual woodworking thicknesser is somewhat inferior in efficiency and productivity to a machine, so the manual version should be used in certain cases. For most craftsmen, the principle of the machine is suitable, which they decide to make with their own hands.

  1. Homemade thickness gauge, according to the drawings, is installed on the desktop with adjusting bolts. This principle of the device allows you to adjust the position of the structure as necessary.
  2. To ensure precise table adjustment that allows effective use of the knife shaft, many use sprockets from bicycles, connecting them to the chain. Such an assembly principle will eliminate the need to adjust each bolt separately and change the position of the table with maximum accuracy.
  3. To assemble such a design, springs are required. Borrow them from truck engine valves. Finding them in the auto parts market or in landfills is not at all problematic.
  4. In most cases, the thicknessing homemade tool has a manual feed. Over time, a homemade thickness gauge can be improved by adding an automated feed system for workpieces to the desktop. This will allow the workpiece to move smoothly on the machine, removing a uniform layer of wood from the surface.
  5. Experienced craftsmen are advised to use special rollers to press the workpieces to the desktop during processing. It is difficult to make clamps on your own, but ready-made rollers can perfectly cope with the task.

As you can see, the principle of assembling the thickness gauge is quite simple. We advise you to reinforce your knowledge with video lessons, where the masters will tell you the secrets of creating effective thicknesses on your own.

Before starting work

  • Before you make the first run of the workpiece, be sure to make sure that all the elements of the machine assembled by yourself are working. Without this, it is strictly forbidden to operate the tool;
  • Check how well the knives are sharpened. With blunt shafts, you will not be able to achieve at least some result. And make sure they are properly installed;
  • Don't forget the importance of a permanent shaft guard;
  • Never process parts on a homemade thicknesser whose length is less than the distance between the two shafts of your tool;
  • Do not clean, repair or attempt to adjust the thicknesser settings while the tool is running.

Otherwise, we only wish you good luck in assembling an efficient, reliable and productive thicknessing machine.

Craftsmen who often work with certain wooden blanks are faced with the need to plan a large number of boards to give them an attractive appearance. At the same time, it is also necessary to equalize their thickness, make their surface smooth, so that the material can be used for the production of furniture, interior decoration or for many other similar purposes. A wood thicknessing machine is best suited for such work.

Now the cost of this type of equipment is quite high, even if it is a small machine for use in a home workshop. As a result, not everyone can make such a purchase. In this case, the right decision would be to make a thicknessing machine with your own hands according to the finished drawings. As a result, on an ordinary desktop, it will be possible to plan a variety of wooden blanks quickly and efficiently.

Table and frame of the future machine

Before you start making a thickness gauge on wood yourself, you should decide on its design, familiarize yourself with the finished drawings (at the end of the article). The entire structure should be located on the desktop so that it is possible to walk around it freely to supply material. Such a tool can also be used in a home workshop, since its dimensions are very small.

The main thing is that the surface of the table where it will be located is as flat as possible to prevent the occurrence of strong vibrations.

To make such equipment for home use, the following design is usually suitable. The working table of the machine and its frame are welded, for this a metal corner and a square pipe of dimensions 50 × 50 and 40 mm are used, respectively. In principle, when assembling the table and the base of the machine, you can use materials not only of these, but also of any other sizes, but it should be remembered that the more massive the elements used, the more stable the equipment will be, and the less vibration will occur during its operation.

To make a thicknessing machine for your home workshop, you will need:

  • drilling machine;
  • lathe;
  • welding machine;
  • drill;
  • Bulgarian.

knife shaft

The next element, the presence of which is mandatory in the thicknesser machine, is the knife shaft. This is the main part of the machine, which carries out the processing of wooden blanks. The best option is to buy a finished design with axle boxes, since homemade shafts are very difficult to make well balanced. A suitable option would be to use a three hundred millimeter shaft, in the design of which there are three knives. The pulleys of the shaft and the engine are best chosen as stepped, as for the shaft revolutions, the best option would be 4000-7000 revolutions per minute.

For the operation of such a shaft, an asynchronous motor with a power of 4-5 kW is suitable. An important advantage of this choice is the fact that by making a machine with such an engine, it can be started from a single-phase electric current, which significantly reduces costs and complexity in the use of equipment.

It is best to grind the pressure rollers yourself, it is also a good option to use ready-made parts from old Soviet-style washing machines. The frame of the rollers must be made welded on spring-loaded bolts.

Adjustment bolts and workpiece feed

According to the drawing used, the table for installing the thicknesser machine must be installed on the adjusting bolts, which will make it possible to adjust it if necessary. In order to adjust the plane of the table as accurately as possible, as well as to prevent the need to adjust each bolt individually, bicycle sprockets can be welded to them by connecting them with a chain. Springs can be taken from valves from the engine of any truck.

In the drawing used, manual feeding of blanks. But there is always the opportunity to improve the design by equipping the machine table with an automatic workpiece feed system. In this case, the workpiece will be very smoothly fed into the machine, which will ensure accurate removal of the required layer of wood during planing.

In addition, it would be useful to use special rollers that will press the workpiece to the working surface during its processing. It is very difficult to do this manually qualitatively, while the rollers cope with such a task “perfectly well”.

This completes the assembly of the thicknessing machine. To prevent the formation of corrosion and fungi, it is recommended to paint all metal parts of such home-made equipment. It is not necessary to paint only the lower working part of the tool, which will process the material.

Preparing the machine for work

Regardless of which thickness gauge is used - homemade or factory, before carrying out any work, it must be configured for work. Not only the quality of the work performed will directly depend on this, but also the safety of the worker who uses such equipment when processing wooden blanks.

In addition, when preparing for work, it must be remembered that in the event of a significant filling of the table, if it is necessary to simultaneously feed several parts across the entire width of the table, in the process of planing a board of large width or similar work, the pressure in the feed rollers must be adjusted so that it is increased, because in such cases, cutting resistance increases significantly. If the processing of parts of small width is carried out or the table is not completely filled, in order to prevent the wood from collapsing during its processing, the pressure in the rollers should be reduced to the desired level.

Safe machine operation

Before each start of work on the machine, it is necessary to carefully check the correct position of the knives, as well as the level of their sharpening. The knife shaft must always be guarded. On a home-made thicknessing machine, it is impossible to process parts whose length is less than the distance between the shafts.

To prevent the possibility of getting one or another injury, it is strictly forbidden to repair, adjust or clean the machine, as well as clean the work table with the machine during its operation.

It is necessary to feed wood blanks on the desktop and into the machine itself end to end, while using the entire width of the table.


Thicknessing machines are often used during construction work. In fact, such equipment is an improved version pencils and rulers. If desired, a thickness gauge can be made with your own hands from a conventional electric planer. To do this, it is enough to have basic skills and a little patience.

Planer appointment

The thicknesser machine is a tool that allows you to perform precise lines on almost any surface. In this case, it will be possible to avoid most of the errors that are observed when using a ruler and a pencil. Even if you make a thicknessing machine with your own hands from improvised materials, you can avoid uneven or broken lines. The accuracy of the tool will be 100%, because a very sharp blade is provided here.

The thickness gauge is really relevant during large-scale construction, because it allows you to handle a huge number of boards of different widths with your own hands. It should be noted that modern machines knife change is carried out more simply, which means that it will be possible to remove chips of a certain size. This is facilitated by the presence of control of the cutting depth.

It is important to take into account the fact that wood must be pre-treated for planer. If it is planned to work with polymers, insulation and plastic, then only those thickness gauges are suitable, in which the feed rollers are covered with a layer of rubber.

Such equipment is indispensable in the carpentry and furniture industry. However, it is worth remembering that, under the condition of constructing a thicknessing machine, it is unlikely that you will be able to process thin workpieces with your own hands, because the surface quality may deteriorate due to vibration.

Preparation for the manufacture of the machine

Before constructing a machine from an electric planer, it is worth deciding on the dimensions of the parts that will subsequently be processed. This will help you choose the required width of the device case, the dimensions of all guides, as well as the length of the stud.

When developing a drawing, make sure that all main components:

  • clamps;
  • barbell;
  • blade, that is, a hairpin;
  • pads.

Particular attention should be paid pin location, since it is she who is responsible for the movements of the electric planer. Accordingly, it is not worth installing this element in the central part of the case. To ensure a strong fixation and ease of use of the machine, it is important to place the hairpin between the two handles. In addition, it is worth making sure the mobility of this part. It is enough to place the rolling bearing at the top, and weld the nut closer to the middle. Such a fixation will allow you to accurately adjust the height of the hairpin.

To make a structure from an electric planer with your own hands, it is worth preparing wooden blocks that act as guides and sheets of plywood. It is important to pay special attention to the design of the lower plane. Smooth lines can only be achieved if the workpiece moves parallel to the sharp blades.

Creating a device with your own hands

The manufacture of a structure from an electric planer is carried out in strict sequence, taking into account a pre-prepared drawing:

If you perform all the steps correctly, then the thickness gauge will allow you to end up with a perfectly flat surface. In this case, it is important to press the workpiece very carefully, otherwise the device may fail.

  1. Types and design of the surface gage
  2. Essential elements
  3. Step by step build process

Thicknessing is the final, finishing planing method. The jointer performs a rough process, after which grinding is carried out. Thicknessing machine for one pass removes chips from a wide board with an accuracy of a millimeter.

There are massive industrial designs and compact household ones, suitable for work in small workshops.

According to the drawings from the Internet, you can independently assemble a small, mobile thicknessing machine.

Types and design of the surface gage

  • unilateral,
  • bilateral,
  • multiknife.

A single-sided woodworking tool only planes workpieces from the top side. Bilateral sample - from top and bottom. Multiknife machines have three or more knives in their design, they are suitable for processing sawn timber of complex configuration.

The article discusses how to assemble a one-sided tool from an electric planer.

Essential elements

The table of a one-sided machine is a solid, polished plate. The guide line is missing. There is a milling cutter, an automatic feed system responsible for clamping and pulling the board.

For industrial samples, height adjustment is possible, there is protection against reverse motion of the workpiece. Unit bed with a one-piece cast structure, in most cases made of cast iron. The role of the support table is performed by a metal corner, fixed with clamps or bolts. Above the table is a knife shaft. The workpiece is fed by means of paired rollers. Some of them are in front of the knife shaft, others are behind it.

The lower shafts must be installed strictly under the upper elements, they are driven by a gear train. To improve traction with the material, the front shaft has a corrugated surface.

Assembly materials and tools

Required:

  • electric planer;
  • plywood with a thickness of at least 15 mm;
  • wooden planks with a section of 15 x 15 mm;
  • wooden beam with a section of 25 x 25 mm;
  • drive sprockets (4 pcs.);
  • chain for a bicycle;
  • washers of different sizes, threaded screws;
  • screws, nuts;
  • sockets for screws (4 pcs.).

It is necessary to prepare an electric jigsaw, corner, ruler, screwdriver, keys, screwdrivers, the size of which depends on the fasteners.

Step by step build process

The base is made from a sheet of plywood by cutting a rectangle 400 x 500 mm. Then they make fasteners for the stand of the electric planer. All parts of the structure are assembled together with screws. Then they proceed to mount the main element of the unit - a working attachment with an electric planer.

A platform for the cutting mechanism is being built. In its center, with the help of a jigsaw, a technological hole is formed, exactly repeating the shape of the planer. The electric planer is fixed with clamps and screws.

A lifting mechanism is assembled from threaded screws and drive sprockets. To do this, long screws with a large thread are placed in the corners. Screws fix the cutting depth.

The platform is installed on stands. All connections are fixed with screws. The scheme for laying the electrical cable is determined. It must not be damaged during the processing of wood.

The homemade tool is equipped with a handle for adjusting the platform in height. To do this, use a long threaded screw. The resulting thickness gauge is tightened with nuts and washers. To prevent the planer from falling off the seat, one of the screws is drilled through. This ensures that the nut is tightly clamped.

The final stage is the assembly of the machine, the installation of a measuring bar and an indicator. A ruler is usually used as a measuring bar that allows you to determine the thickness of lumber.