Normally, I am totally on the side of our colonial brethren when it comes to matters of spelling, and nomenclature. I relish the simplicity of "honor " rather than than “honour” , and I much prefer "aluminum " to “aluminium”, to take but two examples out of many …
However …I really do not see why the woodworking machine which we call a “thicknesser” over here in the UK ever came to be designated a “planer” in the US.
Correct me if I am wrong, but would you not think that the function of a “planer” would be to create a plane surface?
That is why, over here, we call the machine which does this a “planer” … (over in the US you call it a “jointer”). Now, I have no great issue with this machine being called a jointer, but I really do fail to understand why the machine which is used next, to create a parallel face to the already planed surface, would be called a “planer” when, what it actually does is "thickness " the wood rather than planing it.
There may be some weird historical reason for this, if so I would love to hear it …
The terms joiner and jointer are both used for small planing machines. The term planer or thickness planer is used for thickness planers. Joiners and jointers also have a fence which allows a piece to be squared and not just planed for thickness. The term planer is used because it is doing a job once done with a hand plane.
Thicknesser is just jarring to the ears, but thickness planer is often used to avoid confusion about what type of machine is referred to. And the planer does create a plane. It exposes a new plane on the surface of the board that used to be inside the wood.
Using the** jointer**, plane one face of the board flat.
Using the** jointer** again, place the flattened face against
the fence and joint one edge perpendicular to the face.
Using the thickness planer, plane the opposite face parallel.
Using the table saw, rip the board to width with the jointed edge against the fence.
Except for the rip cut these operations may take several passes on the machines.
Now lets take a moment to talk about shop safety. Be sure to read, understand and follow all the safety rules that come with your power tools. Knowing how to use your tools properly will greatly reduce your risk of personal injury. And rememvber this: There is no more important safety rule than to wear these (tap, tap) safety glasses. ~Norm Abram~
Soon we will replace all these tools with lazers. They will be just like “lasers”, but the difference in spelling is to illustrate that woodworker will become comparatively lazy.
I worked in cabinet shops in the US for several years, and not once did I ever hear the machine referred to as a “joiner”, it was invariably called a “jointer.”
I would be really intrigued to see any cite for an instance of the machine having been being called a “joiner” at any time, either in the US or elswhere.
It sounds awful to my British ears too, and online dictionaries seem to know little about it. (Note that for regular words, Onelook Dictionary generally returns links to a couple of dozen or more definitions. Note also that the small handful of links it returns for “thicknesser” do not actually lead to definitions of that actual word.)
Wikipedia does seem to confirm that the term is in use in Britain, but it is hardly a word in common use, although I suppose it may be familiar jargon for woodworking professionals.
It appears to be an elaborate industrial machine, not something the ordinary carpenter would have in his toolbox.