Patent ID: 7428917

Claim:
A portable power planer comprising: a base that defines a datum plane upon which a workpiece is adapted to be slidably disposed; a carriage assembly having a cutterhead, the carriage assembly being spaced apart from the base to define a space the cutterhead being rotatable about an axis that is generally parallel to the datum plane so as to be capable of removing material from the workpiece on a side of the workpiece opposite the datum plane; a plurality of posts coupled to the base, the posts extending through the carriage assembly and supporting the carriage assembly for vertical movement relative to the base; and a height scale having a housing, a rotary scale and an engagement member, the housing being coupled to one of the base and the carriage assembly, the rotary scale having a rotary height scale with a plurality of height indications, the rotary scale being coupled to the housing for rotation about an axis that is generally parallel to the datum plane, the engagement member being coupled to the other one of the base and the carriage assembly, the engagement member interacting with the rotary scale to cause the rotary scale to rotate in response to vertical movement of the carriage assembly relative to the base so that a value on a displayed portion of the rotary scale is related to a distance between the datum plane and the cutterhead, said distance being representative of a thickness of the workpiece after the workpiece has been passed between the cutterhead and the base and material has been removed from the workpiece by the cutterhead on the side of the workpiece opposite the datum plane.