Planer not feeding

[tomkat001]

Any ideas why my Powermatic planer will not feed the boards thru. I have adjusted the infeed and outfeed rollers several times but it still needs a bit of help pushing boards thru.

[Dodgy Loner]

Maybe it has a tummy ache?

[pigman]

Try some furniture wax on the bed, works for me.

[LeeB]

Sharp blades make a world of differance too. Rubber coated rollers do wear down. Clean and wax the table and clean the rollers.

[James P.]

hello, not sure what model you have but make sure the table rollers are not set to low.  Make sure your chip breaker and or pressure bar aren't to low. if you have recently put in new blades these setting may have changed.

[Larry]

Try putting a coat of Johnson's Paste wax on the bed and clean the goop off your feed rollers.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Humidity here keeps the bed rusty, no matter how hard I try to keep it waxed.

  I bought thin cutting boards of a Teflon type material, Probably UHMW or whatever, and contact cemented one to my Planer bed. Problem solved.

[Don_Papenburg]

I was going to suggest that the rollers may be to high also.  I have set mine so that the board just barely turns them if at all.  Keep the table clean/waxed or covered with a slick surface.

[chet]

Ditto on da wax. I use automotive paste wax on mine religiously, makes a world of differance. Also check ta make sure one of da drive sprockets ain't spinnin' on one of da feed roller shafts.

[PineNut]

Had that problem with my Woodmaster. Wax the bed and it would run good for a while but all too soon, it would be asking for some more wax. Bolted a ¼" thick piece of plastic to the bed and problem solved.

[ladylake]

UHMW plastic is the way to go, once on it will last forever.   Steve

[tomkat001]

Thanks for the help guy's.
I did the wax thing, it was a huge improvement!
I think I will try some plastic this winter sometime when I have more time.

[Warbird]

Do you guys who use wax on the table itself have a problem with wax build up caking up on the rollers?

[Larry]

If your talking about bed rollers, yes the wax will build up along with other crud.  Have to clean em off every once in a while.  I'll clean bed rollers maybe every second or third time I wax the bed.  No big deal as a rag with mineral spirits does it quite quick.

If your talking about feed rollers no.  They still get crud and need to be cleaned but very seldom...maybe every few years.

[Don_Papenburg]

I set my bed rollers so they do not come in contact with the wood.  That has worked best for me.  I had trouble with them always being out of adjustment .

[ladylake]

 Get the sheet of plastic, once on it's the end of the feeding problems, You'll save more time spending 1/2 hour installing a piece of plastic than trying to shove wood through your planer or waxing it on a regular basis.   Steve

[pineywoods]

Ditto on the plastic sheet. I have an 18 inch woodmaster which tore up feed rollers on a regular basis. Planing rough cut bandsawn boards makes it even worse. I bought the optional plastic bed overlay, no problems since. Highly recommended.

[brdmkr]

Had that problem with my Woodmaster. Wax the bed and it would run good for a while but all too soon, it would be asking for some more wax. Bolted a ¼" thick piece of plastic to the bed and problem solved.

I have the UHMW on my woodmaster.  Wood feeds fine, but snipe is a bear.  Take off the plastic and no snipe.  I can't seem to adjust it out with the plastic in place.

[pineywoods]

I have the UHMW on my woodmaster.  Wood feeds fine, but snipe is a bear.  Take off the plastic and no snipe.  I can't seem to adjust it out with the plastic in place.

The infeed table is probably drooping. The plastic raises the board up a bit, causing the feed rollers to press down harder. The infeed table must be flat and level with the planner bed. Try holding the board up about 1/4 inch above the infeed table and see if your snipe goes away. That infeed is good heavy metal but it can be bent, like running heavy timbers with no support .

[brdmkr]

It helps if I raise the board going in and coming out, but it does not go away.  I get about 3 - 4" of snipe on either end.  Without the plastic, there is no visible snipe.  I like the way it feeds with the plastic, so if I am only planing one piece, I cut long.  WIth multiple pieces, I send them trhough end-to-end with no snipe except of the first and last board.

[Fla._Deadheader]

Roughly how deep is the snipe ???  Sounds like the press roller on the outfeed side is not contacting the board, until the snipe is produced.  ???

  I put less than 1/8" thick mat on my Belsaw, and started at the beginning of the table. I hold the end up more than you would think necessary, and no snipe. Same on lifting on the outfeed end.

  AND, I have not put the in-out extensions on the Planer, because of limited space in my shop.  ???

[brdmkr]

The snipe is about 1/16"!  I get it on infeed and outfeed even if I hold the end up going in and the other end up going out.  very little to no snipe without the plastic.  Both rollers are contacting solidly. 

[Fla._Deadheader]

   ??? ??? ??? ???  Mine doesn't have the plastic all the way out the outfeed. It stops about 5 inches short ??? ???

[pineywoods]

brdmkr, what kind of plastic and how thick is it ? Is it soft enough that the pressure from the feed rollers could force the board downward hard enuff to compress the plastic ? Mine came from woodmaster, it's very hard and quite slick..

[brdmkr]

Piney, it is the bed from Woodmaster.  I have been doing some reading and found where one guy suggested that reducing the feed roller pressure could help with snipe.  I've not tried that.