Guide means for manual planing tools

A manual planing or milling tool having a rotary driven cutter is displaceable longitudinally along a fixedly arranged guide rail. The tool is connected with a holder which carries a running part sliding on the guide rail. The holder may be guided pivotingly or nonpivotingly with respect to the guide rail. The guide rail may be fastened to a workpiece support bar rotatable by 180.degree. so that the processing tool may be used in two different positions. The workpiece support bar may have two different surfaces, one being smooth for the working of large workpieces, while the other having grooves to receive smaller workpieces.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to guide means for manual or hand-held planing or 
milling tools with a rotary driven shaft or planer head, wherein a holder 
is fixedly joinable with the working tool and with a guide part. 
Known manual planing tools have been used heretofore exclusively for the 
smooth planing of surfaces or to perform fitting work for example on 
window frames for wall openings or to plane doors to floor height, etc. 
Rabbets may also be finish-planed. The feed plate or chip thickness 
limiter is displaceable in parallel relationship with the guide or 
discharge plate. The discharge plate is generally set exactly tangent to 
the circle of rotation of the planing cutters and is thus not variable. 
Consequently, the planar structure of the workpiece to be processed 
remains unchanged. It is therefore not known to shape wood with manual 
planes to the extent required, for example, for the profiling of moldings, 
picture frames, contoured panelings of all types, profiled covering 
boards, etc. 
At the present time, such work is effected essentially on large, stationary 
specialized milling machines, etc., which are capable only of producing 
commercial profiles or shaped boards, respectively. Special moldings, 
etc., are produced at this time, in a cumbersome manner on conventional 
milling machines by advancing them manually. This often requires special 
guide means. Certain stops fixedly joined with planing tools are known, 
whereby the planing tool may be guided along the longitudinal edges of the 
workpieces. 
It is the object of the present invention to provide guide means for manual 
planing or milling machines having motor driven tools, permitting mobile 
applications, for example by craftsman, but also for do-it-yourself work 
in the home. This has not been possible heretofore with peripherally 
cutting manual tools, in particular, manual planing tools. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention is characterized in that a guide assembly comprises a guide 
rail associated with the workpiece and a running part joined with the 
holder and positively attached to the guide rail. Adjusting means are 
provided to adjust the position of the working tool with respect to the 
holder and of the holder with respect to the running part, respectively. 
The novel guide means are especially suitable for the production of 
moldings, lamp fixtures, radiator covers, and cover boards of all types. 
A particularly simple guide device is provided by combining the profile 
angle, the profile depth and the cutting rate setting essentially in one 
guide element. This is obtained by means of a guide rail comprising a 
hollow, tubular round guide groove, open at a longitudinal slit to define 
a pivoting angle for the running part which is mounted within the groove. 
Alternatively, the guide rail could comprise a rod on which a sleeve-like 
running part is mounted. 
The guide groove is more advantageous since additional surfaces which 
receive workpieces or fasteners are more easily applied to it. 
Furthermore, it is possible in a simple manner, with only two or three 
spherical rolling bodies fastened to an axle on the guide slide, to obtain 
an easy rolling and additionally adjustable longitudinal guidance. 
Obviously, two barrel-shaped sliding bodies may perform the same function 
(sliding friction). 
In order to embody the necessary adjusting devices, it is especially simple 
to provide the holding means in the form of a holding plate, to which two 
parallel rods are fastened, which may be inserted into bores in the 
working tool, e.g., a manual planing tool, and clamped therein. This 
configuration permits in a very simple but stable manner the transverse 
displacement of the manual planing tool with respect to the holding plate, 
which, in turn, may be equipped with a guide aligned perpendicularly to 
the two rods and to the guide rail for a connecting piece to the guide 
element. It is convenient to have the guide comprise at least one angled 
edge of the holder plate, against which a guide edge of the connecting 
piece is abutting. It is further advantageous to provide the connecting 
piece itself in the form of a plate angled in the shape of a Z, the 
lateral edges whereof form the guiding edges and one free leg whereof is 
equipped with an adjusting thread for an adjusting screw mounted on the 
holder plate and the other free leg whereof is equipped with the guide 
element. This configuration thus permits the displacement in height of the 
holder plate with the manual planing tool in relation to the guide rail, 
while reset springs may be provided both for the movement of the manual 
planing tool on the rods with respect to the holder plate and for the 
displacement of the connecting piece in the holder plate. 
The guide rail may be designed simply in the form of a guide groove opened 
on one side, made in particular of a flexible, easily rolled-up material, 
for example, a synethetic plastic. The running part comprises a shape 
adapted to the cross-section of the guide groove of the guide profile, 
wherein a pivoting axle is provided for the connecting piece. In this 
manner, the pivoting of the holder with respect to the guide rail may be 
assured; it may be achieved in an especially simple fashion by providing 
the guide profile with a guide groove having a round cross-section and 
designing the profile piece as a cylinder, so that the pivoting axle for 
the connecting piece coincides with the axle of the cylinder that may 
rotate in the guide profile. The guide profile has a longitudinal slit 
corresponding in its width to the pivoting angle of the manual plane. In 
order to obtain in this configuration a guidance of the manual planing 
tool additionally in a second plane, on the side of the manual planing 
tool opposite to the holder plate a sliding block, adjustable relative to 
the planer shaft and the planer head, may be provided in order to slide on 
a work or guide surface. The sliding block is supported appropriately in a 
pivoting and immobilizable manner on the manual planing tool in a plane 
perpendicular to the axle of planer head, whereby the pivoting motion of 
the tool resulting from the pivotability of the cylinders in the guide 
rail may be limited to a certain pivot angle and the depth of the working 
set. 
In order to be able to guide the working tool in two planes, the holder 
assembly, in a further embodiment of the invention, may be equipped with a 
wheel or the like, capable of being applied against a stop surface 
extending parallel to the guide rail. In contrast to the first embodiment, 
the running part moving in the guide rail always occupies the same 
position with respect to said guide rail in the plane perpendicular to the 
direction of advance. 
It is further possible to simply arrange the holder assembly displaceably 
with respect to the leg mounted on the running part. The rods to move the 
working tool with respect to the holder assembly, together with the 
necessary adjusting mechanism, may then be eliminated. 
As the running part in the plane perpendicular to the direction of advance 
relative to the guide rail always occupies the same position, it is 
necessary in this embodiment to provide a different configuration for the 
pivoting of the working tool with respect to the workpiece or the 
workpiece support, respectively. 
A particularly simple guidance in the direction of advance is obtained when 
the stop surface upon which the wheel attached to the holder is running, 
comprises a stop leg fixedly connected with the guide rail or constituting 
a part of the latter. Accordingly, accurate motion in the direction of 
advance is obtained even if the guide rail is fastened to a workpiece 
support that is not being worked further, when the stop leg is suitably 
made or processed. Preferably, the guide rail is made in a single piece 
with the stop leg and comprises, for example, a synthetic plastic 
material. 
A further advantageous development of the invention may be obtained by 
fastening the guide rail to a workpiece support bar that is pivoting on a 
base on its side facing away from the guide rail around an axle located 
parallel to the surface of the base and at one-half of the height of the 
workpiece support bar and by providing stop surfaces both above and under 
the guide rail on the workpiece support bar. This makes it possible to 
rotate the workpiece support bar by 180.degree. around the pivot axle, so 
that it may be placed into contact with the base with any of its surfaces 
parallel to the surface of said support. Conversely, any of these surfaces 
may be used as workpiece supports. 
Prior to the turning of the workpiece support bar, the running part or 
parts are extracted from the guide rail and reinserted after the rotation 
in the opposite direction so that the working tool and the holder 
assembly, respectively, now also occupy a position rotated by 180.degree. 
with respect to the initial position around the vertical axis. The wheel 
supported in the holder now is in contact with the second stop surface and 
runs into it. Here again, it is obviously advantageous to make the guide 
rail and the two stop surfaces as a single piece. 
This embodiment has the advantage that two different support surfaces are 
available for the workpiece. It is highly advantageous and favorable in 
other applications also to adapt these support surfaces for use in 
different processing steps. An advantageous configuration provides 
therefore that one of the sides parallel to the base of the workpiece 
support bar is smooth, while the other possesses a plurality of recesses, 
in particular grooves, for the insertion of small or strip-like 
workpieces. The smooth side may be used for the working of larger 
workpieces, while the grooves or recesses arranged on the other side serve 
the insertion of smaller workpieces, which thereby are provided with 
additional hold and thus cannot be pulled out by the plane or milling 
cutter. 
The rotating workpiece support bar may be placed on the support very simply 
by fastening an angle to the base at the end facing away from the base of 
which at one-half of the height of the workpiece support bar, a leg is 
attached rotatingly to said support bar. The fastening of the leg to the 
workpiece support bar may be effected in a very simple manner by providing 
the support bar on its side facing the leg with a recess extending over 
one-half of its height, the recess being large enough so that the leg is 
resting with one surface only against the workpiece support bar. It is 
then possible to attach the leg, for example, by means of a screw joint to 
the workpiece support bar. 
To vary the position of the working tool with respect to the holder 
assembly, it is convenient to equip both the holder and the working tool 
with pivoting segments in the form of circular arcs. The pivoting segments 
are guided against each other, while capable of being swiveled and 
immobilized with respect to each other. For the immobilizing step, one of 
the pivoting segments may be equipped with at least one threaded bolt or 
the like, which is protruding through a groove of the other pivoting 
segment and may be immobilized by means of a clamping bolt. Depending on 
the size and configuration of the pivoting segments, the working tool may 
be brought into any angular position with respect to the surface of the 
workpiece support and thus the workpiece. 
To adjust the position of the working tool in a plane parallel to the 
surface of the workpiece support, it may further be provided conveniently 
that the holder assembly be displaceable with respect to the guide element 
along an element connected with the guide element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
In FIGS. 1 to 3, an electrically operated manual planing tool 1 has a 
manual handle 2 with an actuating switch 3 and a manual knob 4. The tool 
may be guided manually in a known manner to plane surfaces or the like. 
This manual planing tool 1 has a plurality of fastening bores 5 which pass 
through the planer tool 1 and are clamped onto rods 6 by means of T-screws 
7. The manual planing tool 1 is further equipped with a threaded insert 8. 
Both the rods 6 and the adjusting screws 9 are fastened to a holder 10, 
which comprises a rectangular-shaped plate of cast aluminum, which for 
reasons of strength and for other reasons to be set forth later, is 
equipped with rims 10a, 10a' extending toward the manual plane tool 1. 
Such a double rim structure is associated with each of the two narrow 
sides (i.e., the right and left-hand sides of FIG. 1) of the approximately 
rectangular plates, between which are arranged receiving webs 11 for the 
rods 6. An adjusting screw 9 is mounted rotatingly on the holder 10 and is 
equipped with an outwardly protruding head 12, preferably a knurled knob, 
so that it may be actuated manually. The screw 9 is threadedly received in 
the insert 8. 
The left rod 6, but preferably both rods 6, are provided with a compression 
spring 40 confined between the holder 10 and a shoulder 1a of the manual 
planer tool 1. Following the release of the clamp bolts 7, the springs 
pressure the manual plane assembly 1 away from the holder 10 to an extent 
permitted by the adjusting screw 9. By actuating the adjusting screw 9, 
the distance between the manual plane assembly 1 and the holder 10 may 
therefore be adjusted in a precise manner. When this has been effected, 
the clamp bolts 7 are tightened so that the relative position between the 
manual planing tool 1 and the holder 10 is secured. 
In the holder 10, a sheet metal connecting part 13 is mounted, the part 13 
including an upper leg 13a and a lower leg 13b interconnected by a web 
13'. The upper leg 13a (FIG. 3) lies parallel to the upper edge 10a of the 
plate 10 and the lower leg 13b lies parallel to the leg 13a. The legs 13a, 
13b are bent so as to define a Z-shape for the part 13 in cross-section 
(see FIG. 3). The part 13 extends beyond the plate 10 to form a guide web 
14 (FIGS. 1, 2) having the configuration of a right angle. The leg 13b 
has, on both sides of the plate 10, a running part in the form of guide 
cylinders 15 having a slight barrel-shape and attached by rivets to the 
web 13b. The leg 13b extends into a radial slit 15a (FIG. 3) of each 
cylinder 15 and is secured therein by riveting. 
The guide cylinders 15 are received, as seen in FIG. 3, in a round groove 
16a of a guide rail 16, which is screwed onto a board 18 or the like by 
means of two rows of fastening screws 17. Further possible configurations 
of the guide rail 16 are illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7. 
The guide rail 16 serves to both support and align a molding 19 relative to 
the holder and tool (FIG. 3). The possible working and shaping of the 
molding 19 shall be described below. 
The connecting part 13 is attached adjustably to the holder 10. For this 
purpose, the web 13' is oriented perpendicularly to the rods 6 and to the 
guide rail 16, and is displaceable in the holder 10. The part 13 includes 
laterally bent tabs 13c resting against the guide rims 10a' of the holder 
10, which rims define a guide path for the connecting part 13. Such path 
is vertically oriented in FIG. 1 and extends orthogonally relative to both 
the rods 6 and the guide rail 16. In the holder 10, an adjusting screw 20 
is located rotatingly in an upper edge of the rim 10a. The screw 20 has a 
thread 21 engaging a nut 22 fixedly secured to the upper leg 13a of the 
connecting part 13. By rotating the adjusting screw 20, relative 
displacement occurs between the holder 10 and the connecting part 13 in a 
direction orthogonal to the rail 6, with the tabs 13c sliding along the 
rims 10a'. The return of the connecting part 13 is effected by compresion 
springs 23 (FIG. 1) which are mounted on two holding bolts 24 arranged 
parallel to the guide rims 10a' in the holder 10. Lower ends of the 
springs 24 bear against the lower edge of the rim 10a of the holder 10, 
and upper ends bear against the leg 13a of the connecting part 13. The 
relative position between the connecting part 13 and the holding plate 10 
set by the actuation of the adjusting screw 20 is fixed by two clamping 
bolts 25, which protrude through longitudinal slits 39 in the web 13' of 
the connecting part 13. 
On the side of the manual planing tool 1 (FIG. 4) facing away from the 
holding plate 10, a sliding block 26 is provided, the point of support 27 
whereof is located in the area of the contact surface of the planer head 
28 with the workpiece 19. This sliding block 26 is supported pivotingly 
around an axle 30 on the manual planing tool 1. The prevailing pivoting 
position may be fixed by means of a clamp bolt (not shown in detail) which 
engages, through a circular arc-shaped slit 31, a lever part 26a of the 
sliding block 26. The lever part 26a is located on the opposite side of 
the sliding block 26 in relation to the pivoting axle 30. As seen in 
broken lines in FIG. 3, the attack position of the planer head 28 with 
respect to the workpiece may be set in this manner. 
The planing tool 1 with the novel guide means operates as follows. 
Following the fastening of the planing tool 1 to the holder 10 by means of 
the rods 6, the holder 10, together with the planing tool 1, is pivoted 
around the axis of the guide cylinder 15 into the position 1' shown by 
broken lines in FIG. 3. The guide rail 16 is for this purpose (as shown in 
particular in FIGS. 5 to 7), provided with an elongated slit of angle 
.alpha., through which the leg 13b of the connecting piece 13 protrudes. 
The width of the elongated slit 16b is chosen so that the desired pivot 
angle .alpha., e.g., 45.degree., may be obtained. Of course, a larger or 
smaller angle would also be possible. 
In this pivoted condition, the position of the now-pivoted planer tool 
relative to the holder 10 is adjusted by the actuation of the adjusting 
screws 20 and 21. The sliding block 26 is similarly adjusted and 
subsequently all of the adjustments are fixed. It is then possible to work 
the surface of the workpiece 19 of FIG. 3, for example, with a profile 
plane along the outer contour 18a. For this purpose, the planing tool is 
guided along the workpiece by the presence of the guide cylinders 15 in 
the guide rail, the workpiece being in the form of a molding. 
Of the guide rail profiles of FIGS. 5 to 7, FIG. 7 exhibits the simplest 
type of profile wherein a shape extruded of a synthetic plastic is nailed 
onto one leg of an angle strip 33, which, in turn, is fastened to a table 
plate 34. The other leg 33a of the angle strip may serve as a support for 
the workpiece to be processed which is nailed thereto in a known manner. 
The workpiece may also be secured by means of a so-called bur strip 
fastener, the components whereof are attached to the leg 33a and to the 
contact surface of the workpiece, respectively. The configuration has the 
advantage that, for example, even do-it-yourself workers are able to erect 
the guide unit at home at any time and produce moldings, which heretofore 
has not been possible. The guide rail 16 may be made, as mentioned 
heretofore, of a synthetic plastic material and sufficiently flexible to 
be rolled up and transported together with the other parts of the novel 
guide assembly and the planing tool. 
This is also true of the profiles of the guide rail 16 shown in FIGS. 5 to 
6, if they are made of a synthetic plastic. FIG. 6 shows an extruded 
profile that may be screwed onto the table surface 34. The guide rail 16' 
of this configuration needs no additional angled strip. 
The profile rail 16" shown in FIG. 5 also does not require additional angle 
strips. It is fastened to a table surface and serves directly as the 
support for an angle strip workpiece 36 or a flat shape workpiece 37, 
which is nailed to the surface. The heads of the nails are held in 
corresponding elongated grooves of the guide rail 16". The shaped strip 36 
is held, as indicated, by means of adhesive or bur fasteners 38 on the 
rail 16". This rail may be rolled up and is thus readily transported. As 
the remaining parts of the novel guide device may be designed in a similar 
light form, a portable tool is created which may be used, when equipped 
with planer heads carrying shape cutters, for processing work that 
heretofore has not been possible in this fashion. 
Another preferred embodiment of the invention is depicted in FIG. 8. To a 
base 100, a leg 200 in the form of an angle strip is fastened, for example 
by screwing. The part of this leg protruding from the base is extending to 
one-half the height of a workpiece support bar 300 and carries at its 
outer end a hinge 400, whereby a part 50 connected with the workpiece 
support bar 300 is rotatably supported. The workpiece support bar 300 may 
be pivoted around the hinge in the direction of the arrow A by 
180.degree., whereby the advantages set forth below are achieved. 
On its side facing away from the bearing 400, the workpiece support bar 300 
carries a guide rail 60, which as in the examples of FIGS. 5 to 7, may 
consist of a synthetic plastic or a metal. In the example of embodiment of 
FIG. 8, it is connected with the support bar 300 by means of screws 70. 
The guide rail has a circular recess wherein one or several guide 
cylinders 80 are guided in a longitudinally displaceable manner. The 
advance motion proceeds in the representation of FIG. 8 from the plane of 
the drawing out or into it. The circular guide of the guide rail 60 has a 
slit 90 extending over an angle of 90.degree.. 
A plate 101 is set into the guide cylinder 80; it carries by means of a 
right angle member 110 a wheel 120. The wheel 120 rolls, during the 
advance movement, along a stop leg 130a of the guide rail 60. The guide 
cylinder 80 always occupies the same position relative to the guide rail 
in the plane perpendicular to the direction of advance. The guide rail 60, 
in addition, has a second leg 130b, along which the wheel 120 may roll 
when the support bar 300 is inverted about the hinge 400 and the 
processing tool is inserted in the inverse direction, as will be 
subsequently discussed. 
The processing tool 140, which for example may consist of a manual planing 
or milling tool, may be pivoted with respect to a holder assembly 150. For 
this purpose, circular arc-shaped segments 160, 180 are mounted on first 
and second holder portions 150a, 150b, respectively. The holder portion 
150a is connected to the processing tool 140, and the holder portion 150b 
is fastened to a plate 101. The pivoting segment 160 has a slit 170 in the 
form of a circular arc, through which a threaded bolt 190 or the like, 
joined to the pivoting segment 180 (indicated by broken lines) is 
protruding. By means of the clamp bolt 190, the position of the two 
pivoting segments 160, 180 with respect to each other may be immobilized. 
The position of the processing tool relative to the guide rail may further 
be adjusted to the right or left by means of a knurled adjusting screw 
201. For this purpose, the screw 201 is connected with a threaded spindle 
and supported on the holder portion 150b in a known manner (not shown in 
detail). It engages an adjusting thread of the holder portion 150b. The 
processing tool 140 may thus be brought into any position relative to a 
workpiece (not shown). The workpiece is placed or clamped onto the 
workpiece support bar 300. The contact of the wheel 120 with the stop leg 
130a provides accurate guidance and a very quiet running in the direction 
of advance. 
A further advantage of the invention is attained by the reversability of 
the workpiece support bar. For this, the guide cylinder 80 is extracted 
from the guide bar 60 and then the workpiece support bar 300 is reversed 
in the direction of the arrow A (FIG. 8) around its hinge 400 (FIG. 9). 
Subsequently, the guide cylinders 80 of a modified holder 150C are 
reintroduced in the reverse direction into the guide rail 60. The wheel 
120 is thereby brought into contact with the stop leg 130b as noted 
earlier. It is thereby possible to use both surfaces of the workpiece 
support bar 300 for the processing of workpieces. The surface 210 is 
smooth and is thus suitable for working large workpieces, while the 
surface 220 has grooves 230a to 230c, into which smaller workpieces, for 
example, narrow moldings (shown in broken lines in FIG. 9) may be 
inserted. The processing of such pieces is much simpler as they are guided 
better in the groove and cannot be torn out by the plane or the milling 
tool. 
The plate 101C depicted in FIG. 9 differs from the plate 101 of FIG. 8, in 
that the plate or strip shaped element 101C is bent at 240 to form an 
angle. The bearing support 110C for the wheel 120 is also somewhat 
different in FIG. 9 as compared with the support 110 of FIG. 8. 
Workpiece strips are inserted into the grooves 230a to 230c and are held in 
said grooves, whereby their processing is simplified. 
In FIG. 10, a further preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. The 
configuration of the guide rail of the holder assembly and of the 
processing tool essentially correspond to that of FIG. 9. The workpiece 
support bar 300, on the other hand, is slightly different as it has a 
bevel 250. This bevel has the advantage that the part 50 of the leg 200 
may be screwed by means of a screw 260 directly to the support bar 300. 
Furthermore, FIG. 10 also shows the screw connection of the leg 200 with 
the base 100 by means of screws 270a and 270b. The grooves arranged on the 
surface 220 of the support bar 300 are not shown, but may be provided. 
FIG. 10 shows the use of the workpiece support bar and the guide device in 
two positions. In the right-hand position, indicated by sold lines, the 
same reference numerals are used as in FIGS. 8 and 9. In the left-hand 
processing position indicated by broken lines, the reference numerals are 
provided with the prime sign. In this left-hand position the pivoted 
position 140' of the processing tool 140 is further shown, with both 
pivoting segments visible. 
Although the present invention has been described in connection with 
preferred embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in 
the art that modifications, substitutions, additions, and deletions may be 
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as 
defined in the appended claims.