Wood planing machine with improvement relating to a thickness adjustment device

A wood planing machine comprising:

• a machine base having a top surface, opposed left and right mounting sides spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction, and opposed feed-in and take-out sides disposed apart from each other in a transverse direction;
• left and right pairs of posts fixed on said top surface of said machine base at said left and right mounting sides, respectively;
• a cutter carriage disposed above said machine base, and having opposite end portions mounted respectively, vertically and movably on said left and right pairs of posts;
• vertical left and right threaded rods mounted respectively and rotatably on said left and right mounting sides of said machine base such that said threaded rods are disposed respectively between said left and right pairs of posts and extend threadedly through said end portions of said cutter carriage for moving said cutter carriage along said posts when said threaded rods rotate on said machine base, thereby adjusting height of said cutter carriage;
• a cutter unit disposed on said cutter carriage;
• a carriage locking mechanism for locking said cutter carriage at a selected height;
• and
• a thickness adjustment device mounted on said cutter carriage and adapted to adjust thickness to be removed from a workpiece by said cutter unit, said thickness adjustment device including
• a pointer-retaining case fixed on said cutter carriage and formed with a vertical row of positioning groove units,
• a vertical measuring scale disposed on said pointer-retaining case,
• a vertical stop shaft extending rotatably and mounted vertically and movably on said pointer-retaining case, and having a lower contact end abutting against said machine base,
• a horizontal scale pointer disposed within said pointer-retaining case and fastened securely to said stop shaft for synchronous movement therewith, said scale pointer having an inner section, an outer section that is directed toward said scale and that is adapted to indicate the thickness to be removed from the workpiece by said cutter unit, and an intermediate section between said inner and outer sections, and
• a biasing spring associated with said stop shaft and biasing said stop shaft to rotate about a vertical axis in a direction such that said scale pointer engages a selected one of said positioning groove units in said pointer-retaining case so as to arrest vertical movement of said stop shaft on said pointer-retaining case.