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Structuring rustic-look wood with the wood planer

Special application using the HL 850 EB planer
Structuring wood
A special structure can be created on the surface of furniture or workpieces in order to give them a rustic feel. This illustrated guide shows how wood can be structured using a wood planer and takes you through the process. A range of planing heads can be used to draw even lines in the material and to machine the surface in just the way you want.

    Description

    Rustic structured surfaces are very on-trend at the moment. The rustic look emphasises the character of the solid wood used to make furniture and interior finishings. 
    If you are planning to complete a similar project, you need the Festool HL 850 EB; this power tool has three different planing heads which can be used for structuring. This illustrated guide is intended to show a range of design possibilities.

    Tools/accessories

    We recommend the use of a dust extractor with a large container such as the Festool CLEANTEC CTM 36 E. This can be fitted with a pre-separator to collect the chips. In the long run, this is more economical than SELFCLEAN filter bags.

    Preparation/set-up

    • Insert the selected rustic planing head according to the operating manual. 

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      Inserting the rustic planing head

    • Important: The clamping flange must always be fitted during installation. 

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      Fitting the clamping flange

    • Because the rustic knives stick out 1.5 mm beyond the planer foot, the chip thickness must not be set to more than 0.0 mm. To do this, screw the cutting depth limiter onto the side of the planer. 

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      Screwing on the cutting depth limiter

    • Lock the support foot in the upper position by pushing on it from the side.

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      Locking the support foot

    Procedure

    • Different guiding methods and different working directions allow you to create attractive individual designs when structuring the surface. These are explained here with a number of examples. 

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      Structuring the surface

    • A hand-carved effect can be created using the HK 82 RW rustic wave planing head. To do this, place the planer irregularly on the surface in different directions and make short planing movements. 

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      Hand-carved effect

    • A heavily weathered effect can be created using the HK 82 RF fine rustic planing head. To do this, guide the planer in wavy lines in the direction of the grain. This effect can be intensified using brushes.

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      Weathered effect

    • You can use the same planing head to produce a completely different effect by guiding the planer diagonally compared to the grain direction. 

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      Guiding the planer diagonally

    • The third planing head – the HK 82 RG coarse rustic planing head – can be used in a similar way to the HK 82 RF fine rustic planing head. The planing effect it creates is similar to the surface effect produced when working with a scrub planer. 

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      Planing effect similar to the effect produced when working with a scrub planer

    • In this example, the wood has been structured diagonally again. This allows you to create a hand-scrubbed look. 

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      Diagonal structuring

    1. Our illustrated guides and work results are documented working steps that we have performed in practice. They are individual examples and do not guarantee or promise that users will obtain the same results. The results will depend on the user's experience and skill, as well as the material being used. Illustrated guides do not replace any Festool operating manuals and/or safety instructions. Liability for ensuring that the information, instructions and applications are free from content defects and defects of title, in particular with regard to the absence of defects, correctness, freedom from third party intellectual property rights and copyrights, completeness and fitness for purpose, is excluded. Claims for damages made by the user, regardless of their legal basis, are excluded. These liability exclusions are not applicable if the damage was intentional or caused by gross negligence, or in cases of statutory liability.

      We cannot accept liability for damage resulting from defects.↑