Portable wood planing machine

An apparatus for performing a forming operation on a workpiece, the apparatus comprising:

• a frame;
• a carriage assembly interconnected to said frame, said carriage assembly including a workpiece forming element;
• a workpiece support surface disposed relative to said carriage assembly so as to define a selectively adjustable workpiece opening therebetween;
• a plurality of vertical support columns mounted within the apparatus;
• one of said carriage assembly and said workpiece support surface mounted to said plurality of support columns for selective bi-directional movement along a path of travel, the other of said carriage assembly and said workpiece support surface fixedly mounted within the apparatus;
• and
• a locking mechanism attached to said one of said carriage assembly and said support surface, said locking mechanism operative in a first mode for permitting selective bi-directional movement of said one of said carriage assembly and said support surface along said path of travel and a second mode for prohibiting such bi-directional movement, said locking mechanism including at least one column engaging portion adapted to engage one of said support columns when said locking mechanism is in said second mode, said locking mechanism including resiliently deflectable member attached to said carriage assembly and associated with one of said plurality of vertical columns, said resiliently deflectable member being operative to engage its associated vertical column when said locking mechanism is in said second mode.