Adjusting chip deflector on thickness planer

[Clay McElwee]

So I've had issues running softer wood through my 13 inch Ryobi thickness planer (AP1301). It all started after I replaced the old blades with new ones. I was getting a ton of little discoloration marks that almost looked like small wood chips being pressed into the wood. After doing some research, it seems like that actually might be the issue and that I need to adjust my chip deflector. The problem is I have no idea where it is or how to adjust it. I can't find any manuals or diagrams that point it out. Nor can I find any videos with someone to explain it to me. Any help would be much appreciated. My current project is at a standstill until I can figure this out.

[Thomas L Carpenter]

I've had a similar problem in the past and it turned out the dust collection system was clogged and the thickness planer itself was partially clogged up with chips.

[Christopher Hedges]

Usually small lunch box planers don't have those kind of adjustments. Not familiar with the Ryobi though. Henry spelling the defect you are talking about is a result of insufficient dust collection. How many cfm are you pulling at the machine?

[Christopher Hedges]

"Henry spelling" translates to generally speaking. Ha!

[Phillip Gregory]

I would look at the area over the outfeed roll as that is where the chips are collected and where a deflector would be present. My small 15" floor model 4 post planer had a strip of foam rubber glued to the leading edge of the dust collector duct (just behind the cutterhead) and it deflected many of the chips downward back on top of the stock and the outfeed roll pressed them into the surface of the wood. Removing the foam strip completely fixed the problem.