Planer Snipe

Gray Fox asks:

A longer outfeed table, if it's precisely aligned will help, but a lot of snipe is caused by head movement on small planers. Does your planer have a head lock? Are you using it consistently?

Line up your new outfeed table and lock the head and see if that helps.

Failing that, doing a hands-on slight lift of the output end of the board may also help. Remember "slight."

Charlie Self

"I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it." George Carlin

Also, if you have multiple boards to plane, (and they're narrow enough) send them through with some "overlap" and you'll only have snipe on the first and last board.

some brands of planers are known to have snipe problems. which one do you have?

dave

GrayFox wrote:

Snipe is one of the "costs" of doing business.

I have a DeWalt 733 planer and have found the best way to avoid snipe is neither difficult nor expensive. If I hold up on the piece as it exits the planer I get no snipe. No jigs, etc, just a little up pressure and the board comes out clean and smooth.

Deb

On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 15:07:06 GMT, GrayFox wrotg:

There is also the old trick of leading and trailing with a scape of wood about the same thickness. I keep some 6" by 6" by different thickness scapes near the planner for this pupose. I found that something close to the thickness works fine to get the rollers about to the right place minimizing snipe.

John

The new generation of planers (DW734, 735, etc) have little to no snipe. I have the DW734, and it is an excellent machine. I think you would have to really try to make this thing snipe..

I think the board is held down most when it is under the infeed roller and the outfeed roller. (exit snipe related to infeed roller and v.v.) It certainly bugged me on my 733. Now I have a 15 inch delta and no snipe at all. Bet rollers adjusted to .002 inch. If I don't tighten the planer, then I get a little bit. No snipe is nice. If only there was an adjustment for the downward force of the feed rollers on a 733. Or any benchtop. My 733 delivered good snip on entry and exit and there was no holding the board ends up enough. But that 's just me.

John

GrayFox wrote:

In addition to the other suggestions - what does the other face of the board look like? I had a problem with snipe that I couldn't get rid of. Tried every trick and adjustment I could find. Finally I put a long straight edge to the jointed face and noticed a slight dip at the end.(I'd been eyeballing it but my eyes arn't so great anymore). Adjusted the jointer and the planer snipe went away.

I can't find any snipe on my boards. Maybe with a micrometer... but not with a ruler and certainly not with eyes or hands.

Snipe is one of the "costs" of light-duty planers.

It seems to be a cost that DeWalt cut out of my 733.

Bary

mine doesn't snipe either, Barry... (733, that is)

dave

B a r r y B u r k e J r . wrote:

snipped-for-privacy@aol.comnotforme (Charlie Self) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m18.aol.com:

Rather than fight with aligning an outfeed table, just run a long piece of ply/MDF/whatever(*) all the way thru, making the infeed and outfeed all one piece. You loose 3/4 inch or whatever of thickness capability, but how often do you need all 6" that the typical planer gives you anyway?

John

(* ply coated with laminate to make it nice & slippery would be my choice...)

Horse puckey. I have a Makita 12 inch and I never get it.

You beat me to it, I was about to suggest the same thing. I use a piece of 12" melamine shelving and it works great. Snipe is pretty much a thing of the past.

-- jc Published e-mail address is strictly for spam collection. If e-mailing me, please use jc631 at optonline dot net