Hello Everyone, I need some help here. Using my 8" jointer, which I think is set up right, the very end of the board has a slight snipe in it. I quess the question is what am I not doing right or what I am I doing wrong. Thanks for the help. Gerald
Your outfeed table is set slightly too low. Unplug the machine take a good quality straight edge, find top dead center and adjust the outfeed up until there is no gap between the straight edge and the table and the straight edge barely touches the blade. Alternatively adjust the outfeed table up 1 thousandth of an inch at a time until you get rid of the snipe. Recheck your board to make sure it is coming out flat, if you get the outfeed table too high you will get a crown in the side of the board that is being jointed. So to recap crown = outfeed too high. Snipe = outfeed too low. Another thing that helped me is that if you are careful you can hear and feel the snipe. Adjust the table up until you can't hear or feel the snipe then check to make sure you don't have any crown. Good luck it's usually not as hard as it sounds to fix. Happy sawdust, BC
It could be that your out feed table is too high in relation ship with the cutters or it could be your technique. Be sure to only have you hands on the out feed side of the table when pushing the trailing end of the board through the cutter.
Nope. As advertised, the table is lower, thus the drop produces a cutterhead image as snipe.
Snipe is caused by outfeed table to LOW...
Dave
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Believe me, on a perfectly set up jointer if you push down on the trailing end of the board as it passes the cutter and it is no longer supported by the in feed table you can get snipe as described and especially on shorter boards that may pivot on the out feed table front edge.
Ah yes.. Out feet table too "low", or poor technique. Sorry.
From the hip seldom gets 'em in the nine ring. Especially double action.
Gouges from technique, snipe from machinery. Difference is consistency.
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But that's not the place to be pushing down and it would actually lead to a short taper, not snipe...
Just to let everyone know As soon as the board starts to go on the outfeed table I put pressure only on that side. I am being careful to do samething everytime. Everytime the same thing. About a half inch from the end where the dip happens. What is the proper height difference between the outfeed and the blade. I will use a feeler gauge. I do thank everyone for the help. Gerald
This is probably going to sound patronizing, but try to raise it so that the piece doesn't snipe, but not so high that the forward edge of a freshly jointed piece drags over or pauses at the outfeed. If the outfeed's too high you get taper.
As I said, consistent error goes to the machine. None of us are good enough to get consistent error.
If the board is short and you are pushing down hard enough, you will get "snipe". The board can easily tip up at the leading edge and down at the trailing edge as the trailing edge is no linger supported by the in feed table. And again, this is if you are incorrectly applying pressure to the rear of the board as it finishes passing the cutters as inferred by my first statement.
My point is that pushing down excessively, thus raising the front end of the board, will create a taper, not snipe. "Snipe" specifically is the short section of extra depth removed when the outfeed table is improperly adjusted and the end of the board clears the infeed table and drops slightly into the knives owing to the outfeed table being too low...
Easier to simply raise the outfeed table a smidge and test...when it goes away, you've got it...
Pushing down excessively along the rear length of the board will cause a taper. When down against the very end of the board and the last inch or two is no longer supported by the in feed table the board can then pivot on the front of the out feed table and the cutters will then "snipe" the last inch or two of the board as the front of the board lifts up and the last inch or two goes down.
That's taper, albeit exaggerated.
So by your definition, the OP is describing taper and not snipe.
No, I'd read his situation as precisely my definition of snipe...he's operating the jointer correctly (by his description, his technique sounds pretty good) but the piece drops slightly when it clears the infeed table resulting in snipe over the last couple of inches (precisely how long, of course depends on the bed gap dimensions and cutterhead diameter of the particular jointer).
In your scenario, otoh, it doesn't matter if the jointer outfeed height is perfect, the effect is owing to an improper excessive downward pressure on the material causing the end of the board to tip slightly into the knives.
The difference in appearance is w/ snipe there will be a small rounded leading edge and then a vitually parallel to the jointed edge slightly narrow section to the end. W/ the technique problem you describe, the cut will simply change slightly in angle and proceed to the end of the piece resulting in a short tapered section on the end.
HTH...
OKOKOKOKOKOKokokokokokkkk, ;-) If you or were looking at the board that the OP is talking about with the snipe on the end, a VERY close examination might reveal a 1" taper vs. a narrower area started with a rounded corner. Typically and depending on the degree of the problem area most would call the area snipe.
However if the OP has not yet finished straightening the edge of the board and if the board bows up in the center and he pushes down causing the board to pivot, he will have a combination of both snipe and taper. When the bowed section bottoms out and when the board end is no longer supported by the in feed table there will be snipe even if the out feed table is set up properly and there can also be the taper from too much pressure on the end of the board. Either problem can be very hard to detect by simply looking and especially if the affected area is mostly noticeable by feel or putting the piece up against a straight edge.
Basically all I was trying to point out is that the little area recognized and descried as "snipe" on the board, can be often caused by improper feed as well as the out feed table not being set up properly. Whether it is actually snipe or taper would be hard to tell. The definition of snipe sorta goes along the same lines as the definition of a biscuit cutter. No one really buys a biscuit cutter as that is the machine that makes biscuits, not the slots that they fit into. What most people are referring to is a Plate Joiner to cut biscuit slots. I suspect snipe is used to describe the resulting defect on a board whether it be made from improper equipment set up or improper technique. I was simply trying to cover all bases for a possible cause of the area being described as snipe.
Originally the OP did not indicate whether he was using proper technique or not. Now that he has in a later post I would agree that he has truly got snipe and improper machine set up.
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