Delta Planer Snipe

[Jared Cuneo]

Before I knew any better, I got the Delta 12.5" lunchbox. It has no column locks and it snipes badly. I've tuned it up and made sure the tables are level the best I can but it still snipes a good 2-3 inches off the back end. I've almost come to just accept it and feed a sacrificial board in behind the good one until last night when the smaller sacrifice piece hung up and kicked back and left a nice dent into a cabinet door. :eek:

My fault, the piece was too short to plane, but I hate wasting large blocks of hardwood!

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to minimize or even better, eliminate this snipe? I've tried lifting the end of the board as it exits, but that just leaves a divot after a few passes.

This planer has no column locks but I was thinking of drilling the support columns and making my own perhaps. It would kinda tick me off to buy another planer, but since I use rough stock all the time,
might this be the best option or will I still have snipe issues (even if I get a new one, I would have to be in the $400 range or less....)

Thanks!!

JC

[Chuck Wintle]

I would still run a sacrificial pisce of wood but rather than feed it on the end of the good piece going through, I would feed it along the side of the good piece so there is some overlap. That won't work for wide wood though.

[Eric Gustafson]

I have been using my BIL's Delta lunch box. It does snipe bad. I have used infeed and outfeed rollers to minimize snipe. I think if it had a long infeed and outfeed table that would be better. In the end, I expect snipe and leave my boards longer that than my work. To minimize waste, I keep the pieces as long as possible when planing.

[Al Willits]

There seems to be a fine line between snipe and divots, assuming divots is what you call holding the board to high.

Even with the 15" York I have I find that using roller stands help, the out feed one is about a close 1/2" higher, and back about 3 foot and the in feed is pretty much level, but I feed by lifting very slightly on the board as it enters the plane.

I'm beginning to get the impression each of these creatures has its preferred method of feeding and a bit of experimenting is needed

Al

[Maurice Ungaro]

About the best advise I've seen regarding snipe is to cut the workpiece 4 to 5 inches longer, and cut the sniped part off.

[Larry Fox]

I have the Delta 13" 2-speed lunchbox and it only snipes a VERY litttle bit but I use the column-lock on it when planing. I would look into doing something there.

[Mike Goetzke]

Send me a PM with your e-mail and i can send you a PDF file I saved explaining snipe.

I have a Delta 22-580 and it had snipe when I just got it. After reading a few articles I adjusted the in/out tables so the ends are higher than the main table. I did this using a 48" carpenters level and two nickels. Place the nickels at the in/out edges of the fixed table at the right and adjust the movable in/out tables so you are touching the two nickels and outside edges of the in/outfeed tables. Do the same at the left side. You should now be snipeless.


Mike

[Tim Dorcas]

If so, I would recommend selling it and getting something better. I had this planer and it sniped horribly. Much to my chagrin, I sold it and bought a Dewalt 734. I have never looked back. It never even occurs to me to think about snipe because it so rarely happens.

If you can't sell it and buy something else you are going to be forced to cut your pieces oversized to cut down on this phenomenon.

Tim

[Greg Crawford]

If your piece isn't too large, you can feed it at an angle. Next pass, feed an opposite angle. At the very worst, it won't keep making the snipe worse, and at best, it will cut off the old snipe and make the new snipe manageable.

[Terre Hooks]

I used to have a 22-565 and when properly tuned and adjusted, it didn't snipe.


The worst problem I had with it was dulling blades.

[glenn bradley]

I use the method Mike G recommends on my DW734 with a carriage lock. I was shown it as "the 10 cent solution" as I use dimes v.s. nickles. The principle is the same and I am shocked if and when I get snipe. It just doesn't usually happen. If after playing with your tables it appears there is no cure, I would go for a DW 734 or 735.

If you are like me you can comfort yourself each time you don't have to sacrifice a few inches of material and convince yourself that you're slowly but surely paying off your new planer in saved wood.

[Bart Leetch]

Bring both your in-feed & out-feed table up at the outside ends until the snipe disappears or is minimized .

I did this with my Grizzly G1017 on the recommendation of a fellow wood worker & haven't had any snipe since. This planer doesn't have any column locks.

[Jared Cuneo]

I had just about given up on this planer and was deciding to either cut the ends off my expensive South Florida hardwoods :O or to buy a 734 when Mike sent me a PDF with an in depth snipe explanation and procedure.

After following the procedure (basically the nickel or dime technique above), my snipe is nearly eliminated. I was getting about 1/32 or so then I started angling the boards in and that took care of the rest of the snipe. I've only tested two boards so far, but it is MUCH better......

Thanks Mike!

JC