Background and Identification
A planer is a power tool used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a piece of wood.
Most planer designs are some variation of an adjustable rotary cutting head that has to be moved across a surface.
A handheld planer has to be moved by hand, the width of the planing surface is limited to the width of the cutting head in the planer. Most handheld planers have the ability to attach a dust collector or vacuum.
A machine planer can be used to plane larger surfaces and uses powered rollers to move the surface across a stationary cutting head.