Portable power planer

A power planer for planing a top surface of a workpiece comprising:

• a base assembly including at least one guide post;
• a carriage assembly disposed above the base assembly and threadingly engaging the at least one guide post, the carriage assembly comprising at least one nut assembly threadingly engaging the corresponding at least one guide post, a motor, and a cutterhead assembly driven by the motor, the carriage assembly being vertically movable to change distance between the base assembly and the carriage assembly;
• a hand crank attached to the carriage assembly for changing the distance between the base assembly and the carriage assembly;
• a material removal gauge disposed on the carriage assembly;
• a switch disposed on the carriage assembly;
• and a height scale disposed on the base assembly;
• wherein the at least one nut assembly comprises a main body threadingly engaging the corresponding at least one guide post, a lower plate threadingly engaging the corresponding at least one guide post, at least one screw extending through the lower plate and threadingly engaging the main body, and a spring disposed between the main body and the lower plate.