New planer set up question

[Paul Sikorski]

I got a new 20 inch planer. Its quite an upgrade from a 12 inch benchtop. So I'm going through the set up first I got the tables nice and flat. bed rollers set to .006 above the table. next thing i did was run two 3 inch boards on opposite sides checked front and rear I got it adjusted so 3 corners are identical one corner shows a .001 dip. All in all a good setup so far Im thinking. So on to my question Im thinking the last thing I need to do is set the feed rollers. I was planning on using a straight edge but there is no room in there to work I just dont feel like I can get good measurement. So any ideas on how to set the feed rollers( I don't have a rotacator)? I was thinking of planning a piece then backing them off until they dont drive the piece then clamp down until I feel like its a good enough bite.

[Paul Murphy]

How to set your feed rollers will depend on what type they are. Are they solid? Segmented? Coated? Who makes your machine?

Anyway, I'm sure you will enjoy the 20" planer, it's great to be able to send an entire case side glue-up through the planer :).

[Kevin Bourque]

Heres what I do:

I have a piece of steel thats perfectly square on all sides. I place it under the knives and lower the knives down until they almost touch . Then I use a feeler gauge between the steel and the knives to set them all perpendicular to the bed. Now I move the steel under the rollers and using feeler gauges I set it to the proper distance below the knives. I used to use a dial indicator for this, but the feeler gauge method is a lot faster and more accurate IMO.

[Stephen Cherry]

I would just drop the bottom rollers down below the table, even if you need to push rough wood through on the firs pass. They will only bring you down. Wax, wax, wax. And while you have the wax out, wax the bed. Reduce the spring pressure down on the infeed and outfeed rollers. If you are getting close to your final thickness, lock the bed. All this is assuming it's not a heavy industrial planer.

[glenn bradley]

+1 on bed rollers even with the table for most of the stuff I would ever do. I used a $10 harbor freight dial indicator and a 1-2-3 block. With the table lowered there should be 8 inches or more in there to work so any known flat platform to hold the dial indicator would work. A flat, or at least not pointed, tip for the indicator makes this chore more pleasant.

[Mel Fulks]

Have read these posts several times and still don't understand what benefit there would be in having the bed rollers lower than the table. I have always felt having adjustable bed rollers a great help in planing non critical pieces without owning a mule to pull the stuff through. With rough unfaced lumber we would just raise the rollers for the first passes. The non adjustable bed rollers are always set a few thousandths above the bed,and trying to get unfaced material through is usually still difficult.

[Stephen Cherry]

Have read these posts several times and still don't understand what benefit there would be in having the bed rollers lower than the table. I have always felt having adjustable bed rollers a great help in planing non critical pieces without owning a mule to pull the stuff through. With rough unfaced lumber we would just raise the rollers for the first passes. The non adjustable bed rollers are always set a few thousandths above the bed,and trying to get unfaced material through is usually still difficult.

Mel- if this is a normal hobby planer, they are prone to snipe, and the bed rollers contribute to this. Going up a few thousands for the roller will go right in to the surface of the wood. I have a 15 inch tiawanese planer, and I've gotten pretty good results with the bed rollers down, low spring pressure, and locking the bed. Even the spring pressure from the rollers will flex the machine a little, particularly if the bed is not locked in position.

One thing to remember about these machines is that they do not have the extra 1000-2000 pounds of cast iron that a big planer has, and they give up rigidity because of that.

[Mel Fulks]

Thanks, Stephen. I do see it now . Most of the planers I've used have been big mill planers.

[Jeff Duncan]

Ummmm.....is the OP setting table rollers or the feed rollers? I thought he was setting his feed rollers which are obviously much different than the table rollers. I can't help as I honestly don't know how to set them. I've actually have never even thought about re-setting them. Good planers are set up to run right from the factory. Of course this could be a newly purchased used planer too, so....????

Table rollers on the other hand depend on what your planing. I set mine so that they barely kiss the wood as it's passing over them. I very, very, rarely plane anything that hasn't been faced first, and the rare occasion I do I don't even bother adjusting the rollers....just not worth the effort for the minimal help provided:( That's not to say they're not valuable, it just depends on the work your doing;)

JeffD

[David Kumm]

In my experience, even the old cast iron planers with powered bed rollers have issues when the rollers are set more than .002 above the tables with jointed wood. The pressure bar behind the cutter head is most critical and needs to be set on the same plane as the blades. The chipbreakers are set lower and the feed rollers and pressure are set to tweak the machine after the other stuff is correctly set. Dave

[Carl Beckett]

Ummm..... there is no such thing as a 20 inch 'hobby' planer...... is there??

[Stephen Cherry]

Ummm..... there is no such thing as a 20 inch 'hobby' planer...... is there??

Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words, but there are 500 lb 20 inch planers, and 2000 lb 20 inch planers. I was talking about the 500 lb machines.

[Richard Coers]

I thought the only adjustment there was for feed rollers was spring pressure. Does your machine have mechanical adjustment for them? What machine?

[Carl Beckett]

Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words, but there are 500 lb 20 inch planers, and 2000 lb 20 inch planers. I was talking about the 500 lb machines.

:D

We are still waiting on pictures... are we not? (along with a model number)

[Paul Murphy]

I thought the only adjustment there was for feed rollers was spring pressure. Does your machine have mechanical adjustment for them? What machine?
I have a 20" planer with segmented infeed rollers, and they are adjustable for height as well as spring pressure. Setting the height is involved, as each segment has internal springs and so an "average height" must be taken to determine where the center of rotation really is, since the internal springs do not really center the segment. Anyway, I've seen other planers that have adjustable feed roller height, some of them were solid rollers. Setting a planer is kind of an art, I've noticed two nearly identical machines might have procedures in their manuals that differ more than you might expect. In the end you sometimes make your own small adjustments to promote better feed, eliminate marks from the infeed, etc.

[Dale Friend]

Oldie but goodie,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSM7Jrg34a8

Dale

[Cary Falk]

I also adjusted the bed rollers to even with the table. I read somewhere that they are only needed if you run rough wood. I only run s2s. With the rollers above the table I got a violent slapping of the board on the infeed side and snipe. To remove the feed roller marks I just adjusted the rollers a quarter turn at a time till the marks disappeared and it still fed.

[glenn bradley]

I thought the only adjustment there was for feed rollers was spring pressure. Does your machine have mechanical adjustment for them? What machine?

The actual height of the rollers is adjustable and are expected to be adjusted based on the material to be milled. My Grizzly G0453Z factory settings are for rough lumber. I raised the feed rollers, lowered the bed rollers to even with the table and backed the feed roller tension off as per the manual. I deal with what most hobbyists call "rough" lumber which has at least been to the sawmill and is more refined than what the factory default calls "rough".