Planer Snipe

[Brandon Weiss]

Okay,
Three weeks and a half ago I bought a jointer and planer on CL. My first of each. I've read a little bit about Planer Snipe but hadn't paid much attention until now because I didn't have a planer. I barely had time to run one test piece through my planer before I left on a three week business trip. I noticed the snipe so now it's time to do something about it. It's a red color model Ridgid planer. What is causing the snipe and what are the best ways to eliminate it?

[Keith Westfall]

There will be lots of answers, but one thing that helped me was to spray the beds with the Bosshield (spl?) stuff I got for my table saw...

[Gordon Eyre]

Ensure that your piece is fully supported through its entire length. Also, Make sure your machine is fully aligned with both the infeed and outfeed table.

[glenn bradley]

Snipe occurs when the material is allowed to raise into the cutter head at a higher level than that set/desired. On lunchbox planers this is normally corrected by elevating the outer ends of the infeed and outfeed tables. On my DeWalt 734, if I were to lay a straight edge on the table tips while passing through the planer it would set a generous 1/8" off the platen.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

If I'm planning a piece where I am worried about snipe, I run sacrificial boards in front of and behind the important piece.

[Gordon Eyre]

Snipe occurs when the material is allowed to raise into the cutter head at a higher level than that set/desired. On lunchbox planers this is normally corrected by elevating the outer ends of the infeed and outfeed tables. On my DeWalt 734, if I were to lay a straight edge on the table tips while passing through the planer it would set a generous 1/8" off the platen.

I agree with this description and set mine that way. Generally (for me at least) snipe occurred at the trailing edge of the piece and so I have been very careful to support the piece as it exits the planer. I have my planer on a stand that I built specifically so that the exiting piece would go onto my table saw extension table. Even then I found that if I laid a piece of 1/8" hardboard on the TS extension table I virtually never got snipe on the trailing edge of the piece.

[Stephen Cherry]

I agree with this description and set mine that way. Generally (for me at least) snipe occurred at the trailing edge of the piece and so I have been very careful to support the piece as it exits the planer. I have my planer on a stand that I built specifically so that the exiting piece would go onto my table saw extension table. Even then I found that if I laid a piece of 1/8" hardboard on the TS extension table I virtually never got snipe on the trailing edge of the piece.

I think this is absolutely true, usually, I lift up on the ends of the boards as they are entering and exiting the machine.

[Nathan Callender]

Ditto to all of this. Depending on the ridgid model, it may or may not have a cutter head lock. If it does, you must absolutely use it. Lifting the piece on the infeed and outfeed side is a plus, and setting the tables a little 'high' is also good. The tables do flex on these machines so you might have to try a few different settings to get it to work.

In the end, I've gotten all snipe out of my ridgid tp1300.

[Rick Christopherson]

Snipe occurs when the material is allowed to raise into the cutter head at a higher level than that set/desired. On lunchbox planers this is normally corrected by elevating the outer ends of the infeed and outfeed tables. On my DeWalt 734, if I were to lay a straight edge on the table tips while passing through the planer it would set a generous 1/8" off the platen.
If I'm planning a piece where I am worried about snipe, I run sacrificial boards in front of and behind the important piece.It is a common misconception that snipe occurs because the "board" is lifting into the cutter head. However, if this was the true cause, then running a sacrificial board ahead of or behind the board would not correct the problem---yet it does. Furthermore, if this was the cause, then it wouldn't happen on short boards--yet it does.

It isn't the board that is changing as it goes through the head, but the head itself that is flexing upward. It flexes upward when the board reaches the infeed drive roller, and then flexes some more when the board reaches the outfeed drive roller. This is why snipe always occurs at the same points. As the board exits the planer, the reverse condition occurs as the head unflexes back down.

When you lift up on the end of the board as you feed it through the planer, you are simply putting enough force on the infeed roller to pre-flex the head in advance of it reaching the outfeed roller.

[Dan Karachio]

I have a Dewalt with a lock, but it will snipe a bit. It has never bothered me too much, but I am going to try the various suggestions here and see what happens.

[Dan Hintz]

Maybe a dumb question, but...

Is artificially raising the ends of the table beyond level the proper solution, or does the need to do so signify the cutting head is not properly adjusted?

[Bruce Page]

I never did find a consistent solution to my old Delta lunchbox’s snipe.
I ended up either (A) leaving the piece long and cutting to length after planning or (B) using a sacrificial piece of wood for lead in & exit, e.g. engine & caboose with the project piece in between. Not the most practical solution but guaranteed to work every time.
Eventually, I gave the old lunchbox screamer away and bought a PM stationary machine.

[Jim O'Dell]

I bought the 52-580 13" Delta lunchbox planer about 6 years ago. It sat in it's box until a year ago Spring.:o I built a mobile base for it, and there it sat until this summer. :o:o I have run some 2X6 pine from the Borg through it, as well as a 10' piece of 4/4 QSWO. Neither produced any snipe! Am I lucky? Maybe. But my planer sits in the middle of my 13+ foot multifunction cabinet. The infeed and outfeed tables of the planer are level with the cabinets on either side. I somehow think this has to help. It supports the wood the entire time it is being planed. I couldn't be more please with the surface I get. It really is glass smooth. Now if I can find a jointer that does the same!! :D Jim.

[Heather Thompson]

Like Jim, I also have the Delta 22-580 lunchbox planer, since I needed mobility and wanted more infeed/outfeed support I purchased the Rousseau planner stand. After I got the stand an idea popped into my head and went to the Borg and purchased 14"x8' piece of white shelving and ripped it to the exact width of the planner bed and attached a cleat to one end. With the wings of the stand opened and the white shelving in place I have a slick dead flat surface and zero snipe. When the unit is not being used the shelving piece hangs on a bracket behind the cyclone filter, there are magnets to insure the piece does not slip off the bracket and cause any damage.

Heather

[Rod Sheridan]

Maybe a dumb question, but...

Is artificially raising the ends of the table beyond level the proper solution, or does the need to do so signify the cutting head is not properly adjusted?

Dan, I have never owned a portable planer however on stationary planers the snipe can be adjusted to zero during setup.

I had a General planer for a couple of decades and it could be adjusted to produce snipe free results.

My present planer (an A3-31 Hammer) came factory adjusted for zero snipe.

As Rick stated the issue is flex in the planer, if the planer components aren't moving in relation to each other, the work has to parallel.

Regards, Rod.

regards, Rod.