Even though not all woodwork shops have one, the best jointer planer is an essential tool to have. It’s an excellent tool for evening out the edges of your lumber, leaving you with a smooth finish to straight edges. When using it to even out lumber that’s meant to make cabinets or tabletops, a jointer planer will ensure you’ve got straight edges for your woodwork projects.
Even though it’s a great tool to have, using it comes with some risks, and it’s best to take precautions while using the jointer planer. Here are some safety tips that you should be careful to follow.
Use Protective Gear
When working with powered tools, accidents can have in a flash. When it comes to working on wood projects, pieces of wood can very quickly fly into your eyes. Therefore, to prevent any damage, you should have safety goggles on. Earplugs are also vital because they’ll protect your hearing from any loud or constant noise coming from your tools.
Don’t Put Your Hands Over The Cutter Blades.
It would help if you used your hands to hold each side of the wood as it’s getting cut by the jointer. With a push block, you should use your left hand to move the wood piece through the blade. Once a significant amount of timber has gone through (about 10 inches), you can now keep the wood against the fence using your right hand.
Once most of the lumber has gone through the cutters, and you’ve only ten inches of wood to go, keep your weight on the right side of the wood and, using your right hand, move the wood along. Next, you should push the block with your left hand to avoid getting onto the cutter blades.
Remove Anything That Would Cause Obstruction
Before you start any work on your jointer planer, you should ensure that your space is clear of any objects or materials. Your workspace should be free of anything that can cause any accidents. Objects such as tools or boxes on the floor could cause you to trip and injure yourself.
Take Note of the Size of The Wood
Using a jointer cutter is great, but before you start to straighten the edges, ensure that the piece of wood you’re working on isn’t too short to get through the cutter. If the wood you’re working on is too short, then make sure you’ve got a block plane to push the wood through.
Make sure don’t try to use your hands to help the wood along as it could cause you injury or, worse, loss of your hand.
Have a Push Block Ready
The jointer cutter has a cutting blade that’s exposed and moves very fast. When using it, you should ensure that your push block is ready to be used if the wood needs a little kick. When trying to get the wood through the cutter, make sure you’re using a fence because it’ll help keep your wood straight and lessen its damage.
