Originally Posted by
Mark Bolton
Imho there is no way edge planed material is going to compare to any shaper/molder based result. The finished width will of course be consistent over its length but the planer option does virtually nothing to further straighten the workpiece. A long fence (shaper or jointer) far exceeds the capabilities of a short planer bed and additionally with proper setup the shaper feeder will not exert enough force on the piece being edged to flatten a bow out of the workpiece. A planers feed rollers are going do do exactly as they do with a face planed board and squeeze it down flat, thickness it, and when it comes out the other end its just going to spring back to where it was.
With light feeder pressure the workpiece is straightened just like it is on a jointer if you present the workpiece with the crown out. Edge squareness is a given.
Im not saying edge planing/sandingg is not acceptable for certain operations, it surely is. But in the time it takes me to crank the handwheel on the planer down to 6" to feed a half a dozen 1x6s' on edge through the planer, I can stick a back fence on the shaper and be done.