S8HS
Planer / Thicknesser
Colleagues must be aware that the planer / thicknesser should not be used by pupils in compulsory education.
Colleagues must be able to demonstrate, thorough practical activities, their capability in using a
planer/thicknesser and their knowledge and understanding of:
1. The types of planer and thicknesser commonly used in school workshops with reference to start/stop controls,
safety devices, guards and dust collection/extraction
2. The HSE L114 Safe Use of Woodworking Machinery, Approved Code of Practice and Guidance 1998 based on
PUWER 1998 and its relevance to school workshops
3. The procedures for electrically isolating the machine in order to carry out such procedures as changing the blades
and routine maintenance procedures when changing blades, ensuring they are fitted as a balanced set and that they
are cutting at the same height
4. The correct repositioning of both the feed and the receiving tables
5. The correct adjustment of fences and guards
6. The setting of the correct feed speeds to maintain safe cutting operation
7. The correct procedures for feeding wood into the planer and the thicknesser including how to ascertain the
minimum lengths of materials to be planed
8. Routine maintenance and safety checks
9. The importance of keeping the area around the planer and thicknesser free from clutter