Bosch 1594K Planer
Bosch 6.5 Amp motor, 16,500 RPM Planer Review
There is nothing better on the job-site to get fast stock removal and a smooth finish than a power planer, especially for edge material and door planing! A power planer is a time and money saver.
The folks at Bosch recently sent us their Bosch 1594K Planer to review. Up to this point we had been using a ten year old Makita planer on the job-site and loved it.
First Impressions:
Right off the bat I noticed how lightweight this tool felt, at 6 pounds, it is real easy on your wrist and arm.
A ten foot cord allowed me to plug the planer into my power station and not have to connect it to an extension cord, if you read my reviews you already know that short cords have always been a pet peeve of mine.
Video Review:
Using the Bosch 1594K Planer:
I used the Bosch 1594K Planer while fitting custom cabinet doors and a few old door re-works. It allows for a 0″ to 3-1/4″ wide cut and will cut as deep as 3/32″ of an inch. I found it easy to use and it cut super clean and smooth. Two real nice safety features that I liked was the trigger safety and Park-rest. 
Safety Enhancements:
The ambidextrous trigger safety, located near the trigger, prevents accidental starting of the tool, while the parking brake prevents from the tool blades from accidental contact with other surfaces when placed down. This was a common problem on my older plane, you either had to wait for the blades to stop spinning or had to place the tool on its side which exposed the spinning blades.
The parking brake is a red colored, spring loaded clip at the rear of the tool that folds out of the way when using the tool and springs into play when the tool is lifted off the work surface and subsequently placed down to rest. The parking brake also easily folds out of the way if you start a planing oper
ation mid-way into a piece of stock – nice touch!
Dust Collection:
Today on the job-site and on many finish carpentry projects dust collection at the source is an important part of the service value you deliver to your client.
The Bosch 1594K Planer has a chip ejection switch that can also direct wood shavings to the left or right of the tool. The dust port also easily accepts a vacuum hose and I immediately noticed that this option allowed me to maintain a line of sight down the tool by placing the dust bag or v
acuum hose away from my line of sight.
Cutting Blades and Depth of Cut:
The Bosch 1594K Planer has a 2-blade cutting system that comes with Bosch’s Woodrazor™ micro-grain carbide blades. Bosch advertises that their Woodrazors blades last up to 30% longer than standard carbide blades and resist fractures from nail and staple strikes. If that statement is half true then we have some real nice blades!!!!!!
Blade replacement was easy and straightforward, the blades index into a holder that squares the blade to the fence – not much more to say there.
A ratcheting depth knob allows micro depth increments from 0″ to 3/32″ m) within one knob revolution, so there is no need to re-zero the depth. pass.
Outstanding Bevel Fence Guide:
The 0° to 45° bevel fence guide is also an added bonus to the Bosch 1594K Planer and the one real nice feature that would make me want to purchase this tool.
The bevel guide has multiple degree points to allow the user to adjust to the desired degree and it secures with one screw.
Adjus
ting the specific degree or 90 degrees is very easy to do and the guide really supported the tool well with no unwanted tilting or canting. This bevel guide allows you to plane the entire work piece while still in contact with the guide – one of the shortcomings to my older planer.
A protective shield o the bevel guide covers the section of blade not in use.
Any Room For Improvement?
I usually am bashing a tool manufacturer for providing a soft tool bag and cheap-ing out on the hard plastic case. The Bosch 1594K Planer comes in a hard case but its HUGE in size! I’m not sure why the case has to be so big but it does not seem needed.
Specifications and Features:
- Amperage 6.5
- Cord Length 10
- No Load RPM 16,500
- Planing Depth 0″ to 3/32″ (2.6mm)
- Planing Width 0″ to 3-1/4″
- Rabbet Depth 5/16″
- Rating 120V AC
- Shoe Length 11-1/8″
- Weight (lbs.) 6
Overall Impression:
The Bosch 1594K Planer is a simple tool, made better. The features are not complicated allowing just about anyone the ability to pick it up for use. PROs will appreciate the bevel fence and parking brake while finding the trigger switch annoying. I found that after using the tool a bit I quickly got use to pushing the trigger switch and soon forgot my irritation with it.
The planer cut well and performed better than expected – recommended!
How Much and Where To Buy?
The Bosch 1594K Planer sells online for $129.00 here: Bosch-1594K-6-5-4-Inch-Planer
