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At time of writing, I am busily
engaged in some renovations of my own home. In particular,
replacing some water damaged walls and framing from a
non-waterproofed shower that leaked! In addition, I have
enclosed an open staircase with a new plaster wall and door frame,
ready for a new door to go in any day now. Some of these tasks
are ideal for the tool type we are reviewing today, the 82mm
power planer.
Triton have recently released
their handheld power planer, and I have been using it for my
renovation work and in the workshop. Let's see what it offers
and how it performed for me...
The Triton 82mm Planer
Firstly, you will instantly recognize that familiar Triton
color if you have seen or used Triton tools before. The Triton
orange covers most of the body and handles of the planer. All
orange components (as seen in the tool photos) are made from
hardened plastic, which is fine as these incorporate the main
body of the tool and the handles - pretty common material for
most tool handles these days. All components affecting accuracy
are metal construction for strength and durability. The bases
of the planer are cast aluminum and are virtually flat according
to my straight edge, which they should be of course! The
design of the planer itself is somewhat unremarkable in the
sense that it follows the traditional design and shape of most
common handheld power planers, however, there are some subtle
differences. The first being the front auxiliary handle, which
instead of just having the depth adjustment knob as a grip
handle, as on many planer designs, there is actually a separate
auxiliary handle to provide a better grip on the tool, which
also aids in controlling it better (in my opinion). The
carry-style front handle design provides the user with a
comfortable barrel-type hold on the tool. In fact, it is perhaps
the most comfortable planer I have used to date. A rubber overmold on the front handle provides
both additional comfort and grip too. The main handle is traditional in
design with a carry-style barrel shape with your main power
controls on the underside. It too features the rubber overmold
on the top side of the handle for user convenience, and added
safety. Power controls feature a standard push button trigger
plus a trigger release switch to prevent accidental start-up.
These are standard fare.
The dust collection port is a
dual direction port, meaning that it can deflect chips either to
the left or right side of the tool, depending on which direction
the user has selected via the deflection selector knob located
under the front auxiliary handle. This can be handy at times,
particularly if you are working in confined spaces. You can
easily move the dust extraction to the side of the planer where
more room for debris ejection can be provided, or where the
debris can be deflected away from the user. However, of
course, you really want to catch as much of the chips and dust
as possible before it escapes into the immediate environment,
particularly if you are working indoors. To
do this, you need to attach either a vacuum extraction hose (and
unit) - not supplied - or a dust collection bag, which is
supplied. Dust and debris ejection from the unit is actually
very good, but it is reduced markedly, as you would expect,
when the dust bag starts filling up. This is fine, and emptying
the bag quickly remedies that problem, however, when planing
more than 1mm at a time, a lot of shavings are created which
fills up the collection bag quite rapidly. This is not any
different from any other planer I have seen, and certainly not a
fault of the tool, but if you want consistently effective dust
and shaving collection from the planer without frequent bag
emptying, consider hook up to a vacuum extraction system with a
large capacity collection container when working indoors.
The planer is called an 82mm
planer because that is the maximum width cut capacity it offers
in a single pass. So if you have an 82mm wide or smaller board,
door, or whatever else, you can make a planing pass and remove
material across the entire surface in one stroke. Planing depth
can bet set from 0mm up to a maximum of 2mm per pass. Planing
depth is adjusted via the depth adjustment knob located on the
front of the tool. When this knob is turned, the height of the
front base of the tool is changed. It is lifted up to provide
the depth offset to make a depth planing pass in relation to the
rear base, which is fixed at the same height as the cutter blade
tips. So, only the front section of the base before the blades
moves when depth adjustment is changed. This is the standard
method of depth control used on most power planers. The
adjustment knob will adjust the depth by 0.2mm per indexed turn.
Interestingly, the depth adjustment knob shows the adjustment
increments in both metric and imperial measures. This is handy
if you regularly work with both systems, or at least it will
make the tool more attractive and suitable for a wider audience.
Now, the depth settings are really only a guide. Don't take them
as gospel, because with most handheld power planers, the settings
are rarely very accurate. This is the same on the Triton model.
On the "0" setting, the front and rear base sections should, in
theory, be aligned with each other. This is not the case on the
unit I have. The front base is too "low". So just take the
settings as marked as a rough guide, and if you require
precision planing, choose an alternative measuring method to
ensure accuracy. Thankfully though, both front and rear bases do
appear to be parallel to each other, and each base is, for all
intensive purposes, as flat as they need to be for this type of
tool.
In terms of power, the Triton
planer features a 720W motor. This is more than enough for most
planing tasks. Sure, you can bog it down somewhat attempting a full 2mm
depth cut in dense hardwood when planing at the maximum 82mm in one
pass, but trying to cut that deep in hardwood with maximum width
is not really advisable to begin with anyway, even if your
planer had twice the power. In fact, I never take more than 1mm
per pass in hardwood on my 3HP thicknesser! Plus, planning deep
in a single pass, particularly in hardwood, doesn't produce a
very clean finish. Smaller, successive passes of 0.5mm or less
in hardwood saves the tool, saves the blades and gives you a
better finish. I was testing 2mm passes in softwood at about
40mm width and it did the job, despite being showered in plenty
of shavings and debris! So take smaller depth cuts per pass, and
a few more of them to guarantee good results, and you wont be
straining the motor either. A belt drive system transfers the
motor power to the cutterhead.
The cutterhead houses two 82mm,
reversible TCT plane blades. These rotate at 17,000 RPM (no
load), so there are potentially up to 32,000 blade passes on
your material per minute. At this rate, a clean, smooth finish
is attainable on the planed surface. Maintain sharp blades and
you will have no problems at all. And of course, when the blades
dull, simply reverse them to expose a new sharp edge again! The
blades themselves appear to be very generic in design, so
sourcing replacements shouldn't be a problem, even if
Triton-branded blades are not available. There should be no
problem with matching other branded 82mm TCT blades if you cannot
source Triton ones, so you won't be left out in the cold at any
stage in the future with dull blades and no replacements to be
found on the planet! Blades are secured via three clamping
screws/nuts which hold each blade in position. A wrench to
tighten/release these screws is stored onboard the planer, just
behind the belt drive cover. You wont lose it at least when it
can be stored directly on the tool.
The Triton planer not only planes
flat surfaces, but it can also create rebates up to 8mm deep. To ensure consistent depth accuracy, a
depth stop guide is included which is adjustable to a maximum
depth of 8mm. Additionally, a parallel guide fence (included)
can be added to the planer to ensure a parallel rebate to an
edge. These two fence/stop additions allow the user to create
rebates with the power planer with good accuracy. Certainly
as accurate as they need to be for carpentry or even cabinetry
purposes (with a little practice).
The front base features a
V-groove designed to cut chamfers on the edge of boards. The
corner of a board or length of material sits in the groove with
the planer tilted to a 45 degree angle. It quickly removes a
sharp corner with ease. This is useful to either protect edges
from chipping, or to remove a sharp edge for comfort or safety
reasons, depending on the project in question.
In Use
Before using the Triton planer (or any other planer for that
matter) on the material to be planed, check first that there are
no hidden screws, nails, staples or the like embedded in the
material. If the planer happens to hit one of these, not only
will it likely damage or ruin the planer blades, but parts of a
blade could be projected in any direction and the planer could
kick out causing a safety hazard. So check for foreign objects
in the material before you power up the planer.
While the Triton planer is fairly
similar in function and features to most planers on the market,
I did notice that vibration on the Triton planer seemed much
less than other similar spec'd planers I have used. This planer
runs extremely smooth, and if it wasn't for the sound the planer
makes as it revs up (which will require hearing protection) you
might not even know it is turned on! Well, you would know of
course, but the point is that the planer produces VERY little
vibration, which helps add to the level of control the user can
have over the tool in use. Plus the low vibration helps deliver
excellent and smooth planing results.
Planing a door edge to fit in door frame
As mentioned above, the Triton
features a 2-blade rotating cutterhead. Some planers now feature
triple blades. So does only having two blades affect the final
finish on material planed? Well my personal experience with
power planers, and with the Triton planer reviewed here has told
me that it is not really a factor in final finish quality,
assuming you have sharp blades fitted. I successfully planed
through softwoods, hardwoods, and even MDF on a hollow core door
bottom edge (I had to extend the length of the door with an
additional piece) with the planer and it produced a excellent,
smooth and flat finish with no blade marks that I could easily
see. In regards to snipe, particularly when finishing a cut, I
had no problems with the Triton, although this issue basically
comes down to technique. Even the best planer can dig in at the
end of a cut unless the user takes diligent care to relocate the
pressure on the tool to the backward base as the cut is
finished. This can be tricky, and I often create a bit of snipe
when not taking enough care regarding technique.
Perhaps the best feature of this
tool is the front handle. Many handheld planers don't even have
a front handle, and you have to hold onto the depth adjustment
knob to get a 2 handed grip. The Triton's front handle provides
a comfortable and large grip zone for horizontal, vertical and
chamfering planing tasks. The tool is really a pleasure to use
comfort-wise.
Blade changes are quite simple
using the included wrench. The biggest issue is getting them set
to the correct height, which should be level with the rear base
surface. The included user manual explains the process if you
need help. I use a special magnetic jig for setting my planer
and jointer knives which works well for me, but after changing
blades, check they are set correctly by running the planer over
some scrap material. Both blades should be set to equal height
so one blade is not doing all the work, cutting deeper than the
other. This might also show up as a rough finish, or a finish
with fine ridges if the planer is run over the material too
rapidly.
Surface planing at full 82mm width.
Overall I am pretty impressed
with the Triton planer. It doesn't really have any
revolutionary/evolutionary features as found on some other
Triton tools, but it does get the job done, and it runs really
smooth... Perhaps the only thing missing is a drop-down foot at
the rear of the planer that holds the base off the ground/table
when the planer is set down. This is a feature on one of my
Ryobi power planers and I really like it. But then again, that
Ryobi planer doesn't have a front handle either, so give a
little, take a little...
But for the asking price -
AUD$99 (retail) - the Triton 82mm planer offers excellent value
for money and performance! I'd certainly rate it up against a
Makita or a Bosch power planer in terms of performance, accuracy
and final cutting results.
For more information, or to find dealers
worldwide of Triton products, visit
www.triton.com.au |
Triton TP720 Photos
All photos copyright onlinetoolreviews.com. Use without prior
written permission prohibited
The TP720 82mm Planer
Depth setting knob with measurements in both metric
and imperial.
Dust chute direction control switch.
Rebate depth guide.
Trigger and trigger release switch.
On-board blade wrench.
The dust chute.
Cast aluminum front and rear bases, with V-groove notch
on front base for chamfering tasks.
Cutterhead and blade.
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