Planing hardwood – utilising the variable feed rate of our planers

One question often asked is how well our planers manage Australian hardwoods. The answer is “very well indeed”.

There are usually at least two configurations of Logosol planer models. One variation will have a fixed speed feed motor resulting in typically 6m/min feed rate. The other variation will have an infinitely variable speed gearbox attached to the feed motor, resulting in typically 3m/min to 12m/min feed rates.

Unless specifically requested, we bring in from Sweden the variable feed rate configuration. That way the planer can cope with a far greater variety of timber species, stock dimensions, and desired finish quality.

For small dimension stock where the planer is not under any great load during planing, it might be desirable to run at a really fast feed rate like 12m/min. For larger dimension sotck where the planer will be under greater load during planing, operating the planer at a lower feed rate like 3 to 6 m/min would be better. And of course, the lower the feed rate the more cuts per inch, so a higher quality finish is achieved.

The main objective is to provide you with a machine that can be optimised to best fit the species/dimension/finish requirements, utilising the variable feed rate at your disposal.

Here are two videos, one showing our PH260 planing the top and bottom of a 260mm wide Vic Ash lintel for use in a woodowrking project. The first video shows the PH260 operating at 6m/min for faster removal of this wide stock, and in the second video the PH260 is running at 3m/min for quality finish ready for final sanding.