Portable Power Planes, Routers, and Sanders Unit 17 Portable Power Planes, Routers, and Sanders Portable Power Planes • Routers • Portable Power Sanders

A portable power plane is used to fit doors and smooth rough surfaces on the sides and edges of boards. Portable power planes consist of a straight or spiral cutter driven by an electric motor. The spiral cutter pro-duces the cutting action of a plane. The depth of cut of a portable power plane is changed with a depth-adjustment lever, which loosens and tightens the front shoe. A portable power plane is used for fitting doors and for smoothing rough surfaces on the sides and edges of boards. See Figure 17-1.

Routers are used for mortising and shaping operations. A router is used for on-the-job mortising and shaping operations, such as mortising door hinges or rounding the edges of a countertop. See Figure 17-2.

Router bits are inserted into a router chuck to make different cuts. Depending on the operation being performed or the edge shape desired, different types and shapes of bits are available. The bits are inserted into the chuck of a router and secured into position. Router bits and the types of cuts they produce are shown in Figure 17-3.

Laminate trimmers are used to trim and shape the edges of countertops. A laminate trimmer is a specialized type of router. See Figure 17-4. Laminate trimmers are used to trim and shape the edges of plastic laminate countertops.

A belt sander should be used with care to avoid gouging the wood. A belt sander uses a rotating abrasive belt to produce a smooth finish. See Figure 17-5. Abrasive belts are 3″ or 4″ wide, and range in length from 21″ to 27″. Various grades of abrasives are available, which are selected according to the material being sanded and the amount of material to be removed.

Finish sanders are used for lighter and finer sanding than belt sanders. A finish sander is used for lighter and finer sanding than a belt sander. Three types of finish sanders are available—orbital, random orbital, and detail. See Figure 17-6. An orbital sander operates with an orbital (circular) motion. A random orbital sander has oscillating (back-and‑forth) and orbital movements. Detail sanders operate with an orbital motion.

Grit numbers, typically stamped on the back of the belts, sheets, or pads, indicate the coarseness of the abrasive grits. Abrasives are divided into fine, medium, and coarse grades. The grades are further divided into various grit numbers, which are stamped on the back of an abrasive belt, sheet, or pad. A chart of grit numbers is shown in Figure 17-7. Grit refers to the number of abrasive par-ticles per square inch. The lower the grit number, the larger the grit, and the rougher the abrasive paper. The higher the grit number, the smaller the grit, and the smoother the abrasive paper.