Planers
This is the machine that turns cheap rough-sawn timber into stock you can build with. It changes what a workshop can afford to make more than any other purchase.
Surface one face flat. Square one edge to it. Then thickness to the second face. Skipping the first step is the single most common frustration with these machines, and it is not a fault of the machine.
Indexed carbide inserts in a helical cutterhead are markedly quieter, do not tear out on figured grain, and rotate rather than needing to be reset. No machine at the entry price has one, and it is the upgrade that changes this category most.
The surfacing operation, and the one that has to come first. Without a flat reference face, thicknessing only copies the twist.
Against the fence, after the face. These two operations are what a surfacer is for.
Bringing the board to a consistent thickness parallel to the flattened face. It cannot flatten; it copies.
Where these machines earn their place: a pile of rough boards becomes usable material in an afternoon.
| The operation | The machine | What it cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Flatten a face | Surfacer | Make two faces parallel |
| Make parallel | Thicknesser | Flatten a twisted board |
| Square an edge | Surfacer with fence | Correct a bowed edge alone |
| Both, small space | Combination machine | Avoid changeover time |
These machines live on sharp knives and clean, waxed tables. A dull knife tears rather than cuts, and a sticky table makes the operator push, which is exactly what produces snipe and uneven results.
An exposed cutterhead on the surfacer, and powerful feed rollers on the thicknesser.
1,250 W · surface and thickness · €240
The cheapest machine that does both jobs — flattening a face and taking a board to thickness — and the one most first workshops buy.
Best for: A first workshop buying rough-sawn timber instead of pre-planed stock
≈ $835
2,800 W · 260 mm (10.2 in) · cast-iron tables
The only machine on this page with cast-iron tables and a 2,800 W motor — and the only one that publishes every figure that matters.
Best for: A permanent workshop that processes rough timber regularly and wants to stop compromising
1,100 W · 317 mm (12.5 in) wide · €289 in Britain
A 317 mm (12.5 in) portable thicknesser — the widest capacity on this page — and a price that swings by nearly €300 depending on the country.
Best for: A workshop that already flattens faces some other way and needs width
Both, and in that order. A thicknesser references the face on its bed, so it makes a cupped board thinner and still cupped. You need a way to flatten one face first.
You manage it rather than eliminate it. Feed a sacrificial board nose-to-tail with the real one, or cut stock 150 mm (5.91 in) over-length and trim the ends.
Surfacer, always. It creates the flat reference face; the thicknesser then makes the other face parallel to it.
Because it went through the thicknesser first. The rollers press a twisted board flat, plane it, and it springs back exactly as it was.
Support and roller pressure at the ends of the pass. Infeed and outfeed support, and a slightly raised feed at the ends, removes most of it.
Straight knives are cheaper to maintain and noisier; helical heads are quieter and handle figured grain better. It is a genuine trade rather than a clear winner.
More than for a saw: these machines produce shavings in volume, and inadequate extraction clogs the machine before it becomes a health question.
Only after checking it for nails and grit. Embedded metal ruins knives instantly, and that is the expensive part of the machine.
For cutting: A first workshop buying rough-sawn timber instead of pre-planed stock
Where it shines: One reference and one EAN across all six markets
Where it disappoints: Straight knives, so figured grain will tear out
For cutting: A permanent workshop that processes rough timber regularly and wants to stop compromising
Where it shines: Cast-iron tables — flat, and they stay flat
Where it disappoints: 2,800 W on a domestic circuit needs checking before you buy
For cutting: A workshop that already flattens faces some other way and needs width
Where it shines: 317 mm (12.5 in) of width, which takes a glued-up panel rather than just a board
Where it disappoints: Thicknessing only — it does not surface, so you still need a way to flatten a face
Blades, inserts and spares from the same aisle, at the price we recorded. Check they fit the saw you pick before ordering: it depends on the bore and the part number, which the listing states.
Saw against saw, where the comparison already exists in this guide or this aisle.
The saws above are drawn from the catalog of this site. Specifications are the published ones, from the maker and from the Amazon product page; prices are the Keepa figure for the date below, and both shift. Ranking uses declared specifications, the balance of stated strengths and stated limits, and price. No machine here has cut wood for us, and the page claims nothing else.
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Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
Table saws and planers swing by a hundred dollars or more across the year, and the biggest "discounts" often land at prices the same model sold for six weeks earlier. UniverTrack tracks the real price history across retailers, spots fake reductions, and alerts you when it is genuinely the moment to buy.
