Tools Review: Bosch Planer (Model GHO 26-82)

Model: GHO 26-82, Bosch Power Tools India
MRP: Rs 9,550; Street Price Rs 6,500 in Chawri Bazar, New Delhi
Date: 2 February 2011

Planing is a key operation in woodworking. I use hand planes extensively for planing surfaces and edges. Jack planes are excellent for smoothing and evening out flat surfaces. But squaring edges has always proved problematic for me. I have never found it comfortable to use a regular shooting board to square edges of stock. This is a big problem when working with hard woods like Teak and Sheesham.The plane blade does not cut very well and the pressure required to make a clean cut can be quite great.

The problem is that unless the edges of stock are planed to perfection, joining operations can go out of kilter. This is esepcially so with dovetail joints that are made with regular dovetail jigs. Squareness is a strict requirement. Perhaps the best option would be to have a precision, high quality (and of course highly expensive) sliding compound mitre saw. Without that a power planer is one simpler and cheaper solution.

I decided to use a power planer as a solution to my problem of squaring lumber. There are two models available in India currently and I went for the somewhat larger GHO 26-82 model as opposed to the smaller GHO 10-82. Both models appear to be similar but the bigger model has a larger chipping range or cutting depth. A third model has appeared in the UK with even more chipping depth but has not yet been released here.

[The underside of the planer]

The Bosch power planer comes with a chip bag, which is pretty essential because while planing, the chipper sends out small wood chips flying out of its side. They can make a mess and get into one's eyes. Then there are two guides: one for rebates and the other for holding the planer square against the sides of lumber. The latter is a very useful function because it allows me to make accurate square cuts along edges, even end grain. For added accuracy I usually clamp two peices of stock and run the planer along that with the edge guide. This gives me a pretty good square edge.

One problem is that of sniping. Snipe is a slight gouge caused at the beginning or the end of a piece of board as it is being leveled. This can ruin the most carefully prepared piece of lumber and is a major problem with most machine planers, jointers and also with this power hand plane. The woodworker using a power plane must be careful while starting and finishing a planing action. Any wobble in the beginning or end will result in snipe. While starting the planing action, the pressure must be on the front of the plane so that the cutter does not hit the wood at an angle and take off an extra slice of material at the beginning of the pass. During the pass, hand pressure should be even and at the end the pressure should be at the end of the planer so that it does not dip down as it comes off. The other way to prevent snipe is to put two sacrificial blocks of wood at the beginning and end of the peice to be finished. This of course will require a whole lot of extra clamping but it is better to be safe than sorry.

The planing quality otherwise is good though it is advisable to do it in small steps rather than make one long deep pass. The controls (see image) are easy and accurate.

I hope that Bosch dealers will stock spare blades and dust bags. The planer comes with the following: Dust bag, Stop bracket, Guide bracket, Allen key and Planing knife.

Its specifications are as follows:
Rated power input 710 W
Adjustable chip thickness 0 - 2,6 mm
Weight without cable 2,6 kg
Adjustable rebating depth 0 - 9 mm
No-load speed 16500 rpm
Length 284,0 mm
Width 163,0 mm
Height 173,0 mm
Planing width 82 mm

Publish Post

Overall I liked the machine even though it lacks a carrying case - it is sold in a cardboard box. I suspect I will be using it a great deal like my belt sander, which does excellent service cleaning up joints, flattening panels and of course coarse sanding. However, I feel the planer should not be considered a precision tool. It is a roughing tool that makes it easier and quicker to flatten rough surfaces and to reduce stock to smaller sizes. For finishing nothing can beat a properly sharpened and tuned hand plane.