I'm in need of a planing machine but I'm short on both space and funds. My maker space only has a handheld band sander that resembles an electric hand plane. I'm considering building an adjustable table for both ends of the sander, mounting it upside down, and adding a 90-degree fence to create a DIY table planer. My thoughts are that it might be safer than using an actual planer, but I'm unsure if it'll even work. I worry it could be slower, too. YouTube has tons of DIYs for electric planers, but they're deemed too dangerous for my workspace when inverted. I'm looking for any thoughts or insights on this idea!
4 Answers
There have been some experiments with this setup on YouTube, but to be honest, it doesn't usually work that well. A band sander isn't designed for precision like a proper planer, so you'd probably be better off considering other options.
Honestly, you might be better off just using a few hand planes. They're great for smaller projects and can give you nice results without too much fuss!
I'm not sure a belt sander with homemade infeed and outfeed tables will give you the precision you’re looking for. There are actually a bunch of easier methods to get a straight edge, like using a hand plane, table saw jigs, or even a router with a template. Those will save you a lot of hassle and yield much better results!
If you're set on this idea, just keep in mind it won't be super efficient. You'll need to manually push the material through since you won’t have any automated feeders. You might want to consider orienting the sander at 90 degrees with a horizontal fence instead. That way, you can keep the top open and use a push stick. Also, I recommend checking for used bench top planers—they're compact and fairly affordable!
Great suggestion! I'll definitely look into bench top planers too.