Minimax FS 41c jointer/planer snipe

[Drey Ray]

I have recently purchased a jointer/planer MINIMAX FS 41c.

It's a great machine but I can not get rid of snipe when plaining.

Have been playing around with the spring tension on feed and cutter head but no matter what I still get 2-3cm (1 inch) of snipe.
The snipe is minor ... but an annoyance.

Has anyone had similar issues and if so, is there any remedy to get rid of snipe (maybe changing angle of the planer table?)

[Jim Becker]

Have you spoken with SCM/Minimax about adjustment? You might contact Sam Blasco for assistance.

Sam Blasco
Minimax Product Line Manager
sam.blasco@scmgroup.com (sblasco@scmgroup.com)
512-931-1962 (tel:512-931-1962) (shop)
512-796-3036 (tel:512-796-3036) (mobile)
866-216-2166 (main office/parts/tech services)
www.minimax-usa.com (http://www.minimax-usa.com/)

[David Kumm]

Snipe on leading or trailing end? Bed rollers or not? Dave

[Drey Ray]

Snipe only happens on leading end ... never on trailing ...

[Jacob Mac]

Sam Blasco told me that I had to live with the snipe, and that he does as well.

[Brian Holcombe]

That’s what he says, but really it can be adjusted to being next to nothing. I can usually remove ‘snipe’ in one hand plane pass and often enough I just leave the board slightly long and trim the ends.

[Jacob Mac]

That’s what he says, but really it can be adjusted to being next to nothing. I can usually remove ‘snipe’ in one hand plane pass and often enough I just leave the board slightly long and trim the ends.

If you are willing to share how to adjust it, I would love to learn

[Phil Gaudio]

I have the 41e but I would assume that adjustment is the same. Try increasing the the roller pressure on the leading edge, and make sure you are supporting the work as you feed it so you are not relying solely on the feed roller. Easy does it on the adjustments and make sure you tweak inboard and outboard springs by same amount.

[Stewart Lang]

I have recently purchased a jointer/planer MINIMAX FS 41c.

It's a great machine but I can not get rid of snipe when plaining.

Have been playing around with the spring tension on feed and cutter head but no matter what I still get 2-3cm (1 inch) of snipe.
The snipe is minor ... but an annoyance.

Has anyone had similar issues and if so, is there any remedy to get rid of snipe (maybe changing angle of the planer table?)

Drey, I have the infeed/outfeed rollers on my planer set to as little pressure as possible, and snipe is pretty minimal for me. But I will echo some of the others, you'll never completely get rid of snipe. Plan for it. Work around it. It's the only solution. Otherwise you'll be chasing it for years.

[Drey Ray]

I was able to reduce the amount of snipe by reducing the roller pressure, but not completely.
Was hoping that some other adjustment might provide some better results (i.e. adjusting the planer table itself).

Thanks for the input.

[Phil Gaudio]

Lets assume for a moment that the machine is set up properly. Snipe is heavily influenced by technique. Imagine that you took a magic marker and drew a line across the front edge of the planer table: the edge that the work sees first. Try feeding the work so that the board rides just above that line: slightly above the planer table surface at the leading edge of the planer table. Make multiple passes, and try varying the distance above that leading edge. You may be surprised: the snipe might just disappear.


I was able to reduce the amount of snipe by reducing the roller pressure, but not completely.
Was hoping that some other adjustment might provide some better results (i.e. adjusting the planer table itself).

Thanks for the input.

[Brian Holcombe]

Snipe is greatly reduced by good jointing as well. I pay very close attention to that and have had to do precious little adjustment to the planer, only tweaking it here and there to get closer to ideal.

Jacob, I don't know which machine you have. I tweaked the roller pressure on mine until they were feeding nice and evenly and cutting without snipe, or better stated with next to nothing for snipe.

[Drey Ray]

Have been lifting up the board when feeding on my old planer and it worked. Tried it on this machine and it doesn't affect the end result much.

[Drey Ray]

Just a quick follow up for all who might stumble upon the same issue as I had. Spend almost an entire afternoon changing roller tension, tilting the planer bed etc.
Finally I have managed the reduce if not eliminate snipe completely by reducing the front (feeding) roller tension to a bare minimum / almost nothing.
The screws that tension the roller are now sticking out of the machine (ie. I can see the screw threads), but snipe is gone and It doesn't seem to affect the planing operation in any negative way.
So for all of those owning a Minimax FS jointer, this might be the solution.

[Jay Houghton]

Just a quick follow up for all who might stumble upon the same issue as I had. Spend almost an entire afternoon changing roller tension, tilting the planer bed etc.
Finally I have managed the reduce if not eliminate snipe completely by reducing the front (feeding) roller tension to a bare minimum / almost nothing.
The screws that tension the roller are now sticking out of the machine (ie. I can see the screw threads), but snipe is gone and It doesn't seem to affect the planing operation in any negative way.
So for all of those owning a Minimax FS jointer, this might be the solution.

I dearly love this machine and have had it for quite a while. But after recently moving the beds are out of adjustment. The outfeed table dips at the end and I'm getting a board with a middle that's curved towards the ends. I believe that's typical when the beds are are not co-planer.

I'm good mechanically but stumped on how raise the ends of either the infeed or outfeed table.

Any suggestions?
Thanks.

[Mark e Kessler]

You shouldn’t have to live with it, my 25+yr old FS350 didn’t have snipe on a regular basis nor does my Felder ad941.


Sam Blasco told me that I had to live with the snipe, and that he does as well.

[Mel Fulks]

Snipe only happens on leading end ... never on trailing ...

I was taught many years ago that jointers are often set up By FACTORY to be like that. The theory is that user will tolerate that easier than
a too high outfeed which makes the board “climb” , often not cutting anything at the end of the board. Remember: a tiny nick in knives
will make a perfectly set up jointer “climb” and drive you nuts. Proper realignment will get easier once you understand the problem. Your
outfeed table is too low.

[John TenEyck]

I dearly love this machine and have had it for quite a while. But after recently moving the beds are out of adjustment. The outfeed table dips at the end and I'm getting a board with a middle that's curved towards the ends. I believe that's typical when the beds are are not co-planer.

I'm good mechanically but stumped on how raise the ends of either the infeed or outfeed table.

Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Are you sure the machine is on a flat base? If yes, then someone likely used the tables as a lift point for it to now be out of adjustment if it was OK before the move. First thing I would do is to open and close the tables a couple of times and make sure there is nothing obstructing the tables from closing properly. It doesn't take much, just a chip of wood, to throw one out of closing properly. Assuming that's not the issue then I'd start with your straight edge and check to see if the tables are flat. If they are both flat, or within a few 0.000's" then check to see if the outfeed table is parallel with the cutter head. If it is, I'd be inclined to move the infeed table. If it's not then I'd be more inclined to do all of the adjustments on the outfeed table, because it needs to be adjusted anyway.

The tables on mine (older FS-35) are held by a single hinge on the backside that has two machine screws. The front side is held by a single, adjustable machine screw. The only way I know to adjust them is to shim under the hinge. There may be shims under one or both hinges already, done at the factory, so check carefully on the one you want to move. Adjustment isn't rocket science. Loosen the machine screws and place shims under the hinge until both tables are in the same plane. However, getting those machine screws loose can be a real challenge. Mine were installed with some kind of incredible thread locker and I sweated bullets getting them loose for fearing of breaking them. Fortunately, they did come loose. Once the screws are loose, you slip shims under the front, back, or both ends of the hinge until the tables are coplaner when you tighten the screws. Sounds easy, but it's a suck and seek proposition and can be pretty frustrating. Perserverance often is required. You also may need to adjust the height of the screw on the front side of the table.

John

[Jay Houghton]

Yeah...I was hoping it was going to be easier than this. The real story is that we dropped the machine in moving it. Total accident but I had to rent a skid steer to get it out of one garage and onto a lift gate...more to that story, but the machine wasn't damaged too badly and still works fine other than the bed adjustment and some plastic parts being broken. I can see how to shim under the hinge and I think that will be a PITA trial and error experience.
Will report back once accomplished!
Jay

[Jay Houghton]

So I think this is the block with two cap head bolts in it that you're referencing. They are definitely in there with thread lock. I put some Kroil on it and I'm going to let it soak and then maybe a little heat, but breaking those would be a total disaster.
Wish me luck....
Jay
489599

[John TenEyck]

Woah, what's all that other stuff? It almost looks like there might be another way to adjust the table. I'd call MiniMax or the sales guy to find out before going forward.

John

[Mark e Kessler]

this doesn’t look any different than the fs350 I had either late 80’s or early 90’s. The only adjustments are the bolts on user side of the table and shims under the hinge block which I had to do. Here is a pic of mine.
489689



So I think this is the block with two cap head bolts in it that you're referencing. They are definitely in there with thread lock. I put some Kroil on it and I'm going to let it soak and then maybe a little heat, but breaking those would be a total disaster.
Wish me luck....
Jay
489599