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Dewalt planer

Started by dukecrazy, December 27, 2015, 04:30:48 PM

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dukecrazy

So bought myself a planer for Christmas.  3 blade 12.5" dewat planer and I was wondering is there anything out of the box I need to do to it?  I fed some 8 foot long oak through it to test and got some sniping and was trying to figure out is it the length or is there some fine tuning I need to do to it in order to get rid of the snipe?  It was minimal but still figured I'd ask for some experienced advice from you guys. 
G3033 LS tractor w/FEL, multiple chainsaws, and Central machinery sawmill.

4x4American

Boy, back in my day..

beenthere

Very hard not to have snipe. Just about no way to hold a board down between two rollers when the end passes by one and is not held anymore. Outboard roller to hold up on the end of the board helps. Not sure what arrangement you have to do that. Physically lifting on the board as it comes out will reduce it some.
Otherwise, setup in the manual is important.
Best is to plan on snipe and take it off with end trimming...

Congrats on the Christmas gift..
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Ljohnsaw

I have a lunch box planner.  It snipes as well.  To lessen, and even prevent, continually feed boards - one after another.  There is a little bit of play in the head/bed connection that causes the snipe to some degree.  The other is inadequate support on the outfeed side.  As the board droops, it levers up a little into the blade once it clears the infeed roller.

edit:  Beenthere beat me to it!
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

dukecrazy

Ok, that's what I had suspicions of was lack of support of the board.  We only supported it on the feed end and not on exit. It did come out looking pretty nice though.  I loved how much better we could see the patterns in the wood.  It also looked to need VERY LITTLE if any sanding to be smooth as glass. 
G3033 LS tractor w/FEL, multiple chainsaws, and Central machinery sawmill.

Dave Shepard

A member of my woodworkers guild was working on a George Nakashima walnut table and chairs set this fall. The underside of the table had very pronounced snipe. If it's good enough for George, I guess it's good enough for the rest of us. :D
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

Clark

I use a similar DeWalt planer and have good luck holding the end of the board furthest from the planer up. Both when I feed the board in and when I catch it on the outfeed end.

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

tyb525

I just cut my board 4-5" longer than needed, to account for snipe on both ends. My 12.5" Grizzly usually doesn't snipe on the end I'm feeding in, but I usually run a board thru in both directions.

Also, it helps extend blade life if you cut a half inch or so off the "raw" ends of the board, the end grain can pick up dirt and abrasive particles from log to lumber form.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

YellowHammer

Generally, these types of planers have urethane rollers, which have some give, and allow the board to lever up as it enters and exits, and produces the snipe.  Trial and error adjustments of the infeed and outfeed sometimes helps.  If there is an adjustment for it, increase the down pressure on the outfeed roller, as it will help to keep the board level instead of drooping. 
YellowHammerisms:

Take steps to save steps.

If it won't roll, its not a log; it's still a tree.  Sawmills cut logs, not trees.

Kiln drying wood: When the cookies are burned, they're burned, and you can't fix them.

Sawing is fun for the first couple million boards.

Be smarter than the sawdust

dukecrazy

thanks for all the replies so quickly guys, I plan on supporting the outfeed end and see how that works out. After that, depending on results, I'll probably see about roller adjustments.
G3033 LS tractor w/FEL, multiple chainsaws, and Central machinery sawmill.

MikeON

Feed a short (8" - 12") scrap board of the same thickness through the planer first, with the good board right behind it, then feed the short board right behind the good board.  This eliminates the snipe.  This works the same as feeding boards end to end continuously as previously suggested.
Woodmizer LT40HD Super.  WM Single Blade Edger,  John Deere 4310 tractor, M35A2C Deuce and a Half truck

jueston

i have a dewalt planer too, i notice the amount of snipe is directly related to the weight of the board, when i put a really heavy piece of wood through, it works as a lever and compresses the feed rollers making the snipe.

i try to hold the far end of the board up as i feed it in and then move around to the out feed and hold the outfeed end of the board up as it finishes, this gets rid of most snipe. but leaving extra length to cut off is the easiest way of dealing with snipe.

dukecrazy

Quote from: jueston on December 28, 2015, 11:14:20 AM
i have a dewalt planer too, i notice the amount of snipe is directly related to the weight of the board, when i put a really heavy piece of wood through, it works as a lever and compresses the feed rollers making the snipe.

i try to hold the far end of the board up as i feed it in and then move around to the out feed and hold the outfeed end of the board up as it finishes, this gets rid of most snipe. but leaving extra length to cut off is the easiest way of dealing with snipe.
I plan to run some 4inchers through and support the weight and see what results I get today. I ran a test peice about 12" long and only 5/8" thick through before the 8fter the other day and it came out with hardly any snipe which I felt was a good sign on not needing any adjustments but we'll see. 
G3033 LS tractor w/FEL, multiple chainsaws, and Central machinery sawmill.

jim blodgett

One really common cause of snipe is trying to take too deep a cut. Try taking lighter passes and see if that helps. And of course, support the leading end of the board until the cut is completed like others said.

The feed rollers in your planer are most likely not "fixed" or "held fast". They have a small coil spring above each end of each shaft (total of 4 springs) so that the rollers will provide semi consistent down pressure, even if the surface the rollers are against isn't perfectly flat, or if your board tapers a little.  That's what allows the "give" Yellowhammer mentioned.

(Edited for grammar)


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