Global Machinery Company 420W - Manual (Page 4)

OnlineToolReviews.com - GMC (Global Machinery Company) PPM Palm Planer - Detailed Review
1.5mm of material with each pass. The
adjustable front base and depth control
knob allows changes in 0.25mm
increments with click stops for each
0.25mm setting. Maximum cutting width
is 60mm, about 22mm less than a
conventional full sized power planer, but
still more than enough for the majority of
planing tasks, and certainly plenty for
door edge planing and edge chamfering.
At the rear edge of the tool is a dust
extraction port where the supplied
shaving adaptor tube fits. You can use
this to either guide shavings and debris
away from the user, or to hook up a shop
vacuum hose for more efficient
extraction. In use the dust extraction port
works reasonably well. I won't say very
well as it can sometimes get clogged
easily, particularly when taking full width
passes on softer materials like pine. The
curly shavings this softwood sometimes
produces can block the port, particularly
if you make a planing pass too quickly,
not giving the tool enough time to
efficiently remove the mass volume of
shavings and debris it creates. The
problem seems less evident on
hardwoods, and almost non existent
when chamfering or making smaller width
passes. In these instances the dust port
works a treat.
A nice feature of this tool is the blade
protection foot mounted on the back end
of the rear base. It is a little pivoting foot
that lowers under gravity to provide
clearance for the blade and cutterhead
when the tool is put down on a work
surface. This ensures the blade does not
gouge your workbench, table or concrete
floor (!!!) when the tool is placed down
and the cutterhead is still spinning. It
readily pivots up and out of the way itself
as you make a planing pass and the edge
of the timber pushes against the
protection foot. This was a feature I first
noted on some of Ryobi's power planers,
and it has proved very useful and handy,
both protecting your work surfaces and
your blades from damage. Thumbs up for
that inclusion on the PPM!
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/gmcPPMPalmPlaner.htm (4 of 6)6/02/2007 2:36:28 AM