Great Planes: Power plane

Model Airplane News, Jun 2002 by Yarrish, Gerry

Save time and elbow grease

Removing material from leading edges, nose blocks and wingtips can be a time-consuming job. First, you have to carefully cut away chunks of material and then use a razor plane to smooth the part so you can sand it to its final shape. Don't get me wrong; I love my building time in the shop, but like anyone else, I like to save time, too. The new Great Planes' Power Plane is a handy workbench tool and a great timesaver.

The Power Plane removes material from flat surfaces as easily as an electric-powered rotary cutter, but you can also set the depth of the cut accurately (as finely as 0.030 inch at a time). It has a spiral rotary-cutting blade.

I had excellent results the very first time I used it. The tool is plugged into any 110V AC outlet for power, and it is light and easy to hold. It feels a lot like holding a curved sanding block, but it removes a considerable amount of material with each pass. Its two power buttons allow you to operate it with either hand. Since you have to depress both buttons, the unit can't be turned on accidentally by tipping it over on its side, nor can it be left on by mistake.

The cutting blade is easy to remove and can be replaced when it gets dull. I have used the Power Plane on balsa and lite-ply sheeting, and it works very well. The instructions recommend that you not use the tool on hardwoods such as oak, maple and birch.

If you're looking to save a little time and want the newest gadget for the workshop, the $29.99 Great Planes Power Plane is just the ticket. -Gerry Yarrish

Great Planes Model Mfg. Co., PO. Box 9021, Champaign, IL 61826-9021; (800) 637-- 7660; www.greatplanes.com.