Perplexing Planer Platen Problem

[Gregg Feldstone]

I just got a DW735 planer and waxed the platen (table) right off before even turning it on. I noted that it was completly smooth and free of any dings or scratches. After planing maybe 10 bf of jointed soft pine I noticed a few scratches along the bed, obviously along the edge of where the boards passed. Definitly no nails or other metal in the boards, & 1 or two small knots. Can wood scratch this planer bed?

[Eddie Darby]

Sometimes wood will have a small piece of sand on it that will leave scratches. Try to think of it as character building.

[Todd Burch]

Pine won't scratch it, but a pine knot certainly would, especially if the platen is aluminum or composite (not familiar with that planer).

Staples will too.

Todd

[Jesse Cloud]

Wood gets a lot of grit on it from storage and transport. First thing I always do as part of the milling process is to clean off the board with a stiff brush. Amazing how much cr** comes off. It helps your jointer and planer knives, too!

[Steve Clardy]

Pine knots are hard as heck.
They have scratched my 20" cast planer bed

[Todd Burch]

I here ya Steve. When I made that bubinga table, I scratched the poot out of my powermatic tablesaw while rotating the 4' wide by 9' top on it. Biggest and deepest scratch I've ever made in metal. (Oh yeah, forgot to menttion - there was a sheetock screw underneath it... OUCH!!) I call the scratch the "Bubinga Canal".

Todd