I've got a Woodmaster 718 and have been using a paste wax to "slick" the bed. What are ya'll using ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
Tony 8)
Tony, woodmaster has an optional plastic bed overlay for the 718 that solves that problem completely. I highly recommend it
Silicone spray works well.
Mark
Quote from: ellmoe on May 09, 2008, 09:48:36 PM
Silicone spray works well.
Mark
It certainly makes things slippery, but make sure the silicone doesn't mess with the final finish that you want to put in the wood.
I wouldn't use it if I was selling the wood to someone else.
Ian
Silicone can ruin the finish later on causing "fisheyes" I have been using regular old tutle wax for cars... works like a champ and protects the bed from rusting too
I put a plastic overlay on my Woodmaster and it works great. No more wax, which was a pain.
I don't have the same planer but I ordered a sheet of 1/16 inch thick teflon sheet and made a bed cap. Stuff is great and seems to last a long time. Just remember to take it off the bed if moisture gets under there (I forgot once >:()
I recommend the UHMW plastic. I used that when I had my woodmaster. I didn't buy from them.. I looked up manufactures on the net and got a supplier. I made one for planning and one for using the molder. Had some pieces I used to redo the tablesaw fence. That stuff has many uses and it's much cheaper if you can find a supplier rather than buying something MADE for a specific purpose. It is very easy to machine..
Regular old parafin wax like momma usta use for canning.
I also stay FAR away from silicone, don't even keep it in the wood shop. I have been using regular paste wax for years, (I like the rust prevention too). My question is how you adjust infeed and out feed rollers to work with any of the plastic "covers"? What am I missing here?
I use a spray on product called Top Coat. Works real well for me ;D ;D ;D
This brings up a question that has been brewing in my mind for quite a while. Is there a specific finish that has problems with silicone? Has anyone had direct experience with fisheyes or ruined finish from silicone. I've heard over and over again that silicone shouldn't be used where it will contact wood. However, I worked part-time with a small furnituremaker (www.maxwellfurniture.com) who used silicone spray. We sprayed the jointer bed, the planer bed, and especially the hollow chisel mortising bit to keep it from overheating/smoking/squealing. The finish used was pretty much an oil/varnish mix wiped on and wiped off and there was never a problem. The finish always looked beautiful. I've always been curious about the silicone aversion - any thoughts?
Just get the uhmw plastic. I've had one on my RBI planer for 10 years, feeds great with it and really bad without it. I just bought a 20" PM planer which fed real bad. (I could raise the bottom rollers but that transmits every bump right to the cutterhead) I put on a sheet of uhmw now it feeds great with very little snipe and smooth. STAY away from silicone. Steve
Hokie,
Lacquers don't like silicone - people love to treat their cabinetry with Murphy's oil soap and spray waxes and then the poor guy that gets to refinish them gets to deal with fisheyes. They soak right through the finish and down into the wood. There's additives that you can add to lacquer available at automotive paint stores that will take care of it but it basically compounds the problem. Silicone doesn't come out of raw wood easily unless you can remove the wood down past it.
Yup just what ladylake said...
Ya might want ta read this old post I did a few years back...
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,6156.msg85532.html#msg85532 (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,6156.msg85532.html#msg85532)
Make sure on the uhmw you use enough bolts to keep it flat. Mine on my 25" planer had just one bolt on each corner, and over time started to bow up impercetibly at first, until started to notice snipe. After it was real bad one part of my brain said to another part of it "We never had snipe before. Something has changed."
It was then I noticed the uhmw plastic was bowed up in the center. Whenever the backend of the board would clear the front rollers, the uhmw plastic would force the board up into the cutterhead a smidgen more, since the two back rollers could not hold it down with enough force to counteract the upward pressure of the plastic.
I installed two more bolts, countersunk in the plastic of course, and they pulled the plastic down flat against the planer bed. Totally got rid of my snipe. Back to zero. I still alittle here and there on boards that are really twisted or bowed etc. but mostly i have no more snipe . . . again.
Moral of the story, use plenty of bolts because that plastic stuff *does* move over time. I know first hand.
TexasTimbers,
Thats right ya gotta tie the uhmw down snugly,, I had from the very begging used two bolts up through holes drilled in the bed and bolted into two counter sunk t-nuts from the top side in the uhmw directly underneath both the in and out feed rollers... I've also found over the years to give the in / out feed wings a bit of a up lift which helps big time with snipe... For a test just try lightly lifting the end of the board as it enters and exits the feed rollers,, usually takes care of snipe if everything is lined up like it should be...
I been using that trick since i bought my very first planer - a 12" Penn State Super R 125 or sumptin like that. Still have that planer stashed away even though the motor is burned up and all. But when this latest episode of snipe happened to my woodmaster, it was the frog in the water syndrome. It had been going on and getting worse over a period of about a month I am guuessing. Nothing I was doing could rid me of the snipe. Then like a light bulb, it dawned on me I have never had a snipe problem with this machine.
Sometimes I ain't the brightest bulb on the shelf pap. At least it finally dawned on me what was going on.
Quote from: TexasTimbers on August 16, 2008, 11:26:16 AM
Sometimes I ain't the brightest bulb on the shelf
:D :D :D :D
I think we all take turns at the Tex. ;D I know I do..
I was lucky from the git go cause I had seen this set up before,, the guy was running round top molding through his Sears 812... It was a cool setup.. He had the same bed set up that I have now,,, but he also used two 1/2" thick pieces of plexie glass 4 or 5 inches wide by 12 or so inches long, one with a inside curve and the other with a outside curve set parallel to each other lined up directly under the molding knife.. The molding piece would feed smoothly through in a arch .. He did change the feed mechanism from the original one to a variable speed,, he just bolted a variable speed motor to the side of the planner base and rearranged the drive belt to the feed rollers so he'd have better control of the feed ...
Ge -- Wiz........ this is a good wake up call. I have had the drive roller loose grip on the wood and thought it was getting gummed up. I cleand it up but there is still slipage occasionally. Will slicking the bed get rid of snipe also or is that the main purpose for slicking the bed?