Dewalt 735 issue

[Izzy Camire]

Hi Folks,
I am having a snipe issue with my 735. I have the Dewalt infeed/outfeed tables. I have adjusted them so the outfeed table is above the planer bed and the far end of it is higher yet. My impression is that when the board moves past the infeed roller the board rises up causing the snipe. I have also noticed the planer bed under the rollers can be flexed downward. I addition to all this if I catch the board on the back of the planer and lift it this has no effect on the snipe.
For those who own this planer are you seeing either the flex in the bed or the snipe? Have you ben able to correct it?
Thanks,
Izzy

[Scott Brader]

I occasionally get a bit of snipe, but I can usually blame myself for it. I have adjusted both the infeed and outfeed tables so the outer edge is a touch higher than the inner edge. I set a penny on the planer bed and put a level from it to the outer edge of the infeed (or outfeed) table and raise the outside of the infeed/outfeed table until the level is on the bubble. I also add roller stands when planing anything longer than 18 - 24 inches to help support the board all the way through the machine. That has done a good job of minimizing or, in most cases eliminating, the snipe issues I was having before.

Scott

[Nick Decker]

You can drive yourself nuts trying to completely and consistently remove snipe with a benchtop planer. Seems to vary with the length and weight of each board. Myself, I just sand it out or cut it off.

[Len Mullin]

Hello Izzy, I guess that I'm very fortunate with my planer set-up, straight from the factory. I've never had an issue with snipe on my 735 planer, either with softwood or hardwood.But, I am very interested in the responses you get from other 735 owners.

Len

[Brian Tymchak]

I've never been able to adjust the snipe out of my 735 with the in/out tables. I ended up pulling the tables off and lift the board a bit on in and out feeds. If the boards are longer, I use a roller stand to hold the boards up a bit. I still get some snipe occasionally and just plan the project to allow me to trim the ends.

[Justin Rapp]

I have a 734 and it took me a lot of time and lots of boards to remove my snipe issue. Keep adjusting and make sure you feed the boards in as flat as you can.

[Izzy Camire]

I went to the Woodcraft and on their 735 the bed does not flex up and down. I this has a lot to do with the snipe. Could it have come unglued or something?

[Mark Rainey]

My Dewalt 735 has infeed and outfeed tables. Occasionally I get snipe. Not sure why, but as others have said, just an occasional problem.

[Al Launier]

I occasionally get a bit of snipe, but I can usually blame myself for it. I have adjusted both the infeed and outfeed tables so the outer edge is a touch higher than the inner edge. I set a penny on the planer bed and put a level from it to the outer edge of the infeed (or outfeed) table and raise the outside of the infeed/outfeed table until the level is on the bubble. I also add roller stands when planing anything longer than 18 - 24 inches to help support the board all the way through the machine. That has done a good job of minimizing or, in most cases eliminating, the snipe issues I was having before.

Scott

My response duplicates Scot's except I seem to recall setting the end edges of each table(infeed & outfeed) about 1/8" higher than the center bed using a 48" straight edge to do this. If I'm getting a problem with boards that are basically to length, then I'll add a couple of sacrificial board, one each side of the good board, that are around 4"-6" longer than the good board on each end so that any snipe occurs on the sacrificial boards.

[Steve Demuth]

The bed should not be flexing at all. It's a relatively thin sheet of metal on top of a cast aluminum torsion box structure. If it's flexing, either it's come detached from the casting and is flexing up by itself, from which you can push it down, or the casting is broken and flexing. The former shouldn't be a big problem, since the pressure from the feed roller will push the board and the bed sheet down. The latter would of course be a big issue.

Assuming that it's not a broken casting, which I would think you would have noticed, the most likely cause of persistent snipe in a planer like the 735 is that the entire head is moving due to play of the head follower nuts on the four acme-threaded posts. Any play in those will cause the infeed side of the head to raise up when the leading edge of the board encounters the infeed roller. If the outfeed side nuts also have significant play, and the whole head doesn't come up when the board hits the infeed, they will come up when the board hits the outfeed roller, raising the head, and causing the visible snipe. If everything is properly adjusted the head will generally {but not necessarily always) pop all the way up against the play when the infeed roller engages, and you won't get snipe. But if the follower nuts are not perfectly coplanar, or there is other stickiness in the system, the head will come up in two steps as described, and you'll get consistent snipe.

You can check for this by cutting yourself four plywood wedges and after adjusting your head height, tapping them into either side of both the infeed and outfeed openings to pin the head against the upper limit of the play in the nuts. If doing that eliminates your snipe, then you know your problem is with the play in the nuts.

If the nuts are not perfectly coplanar, they can be adjusted so they are, but it's a major operation.

[Scott Brader]

I forgot to mention earlier that I also only take very light passes.

Scott

[Randy Heinemann]

A couple of things . . .

* I have never noticed any flex in the bed of my 735 and I've owned it for 10 years or so. However, I have never really paid much attention to this since I have had no problems with mine over the entire 10 years.

* I am not sure whether I understood your description of how you adjusted your outfeed table, so I will comment on what I think you said. The infeed and outfeed tables themselves should be flush with the bed of the planer. It's only the outer edges of both infeed and outfeed tables which should be adjusted slightly above the edges of the tables closest to the bed. I have been able to eliminate virtually all noticeable snipe by doing this and also putting slight upward pressure on the end of the board coming out of the planer.

* Making sure the front end of the board is completely flat on the tables when feeding it in also helps eliminate snipe.

* I don't know how much of a cut you generally take, but I found that the best result is obtained by taking no more than 1/32" of on each pass. This planer isn't really a production planer so trying to take a big bite off the board on each pass just doesn't yield good results.

[Izzy Camire]

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I have picked up a few ideas and will look into them later in the day and make adjustments.
I will start by turning the planer upside down and look at the bed from the bottom.
When making a pass all I ever remove is 1/32".

[Tony Leonard]

I have one too, so I'll be anxious to hear what you figure out. I do get snipe now and then. Sometimes, I think it is related to the shape of the board that I feed in (i.e. twisted a bit). It doesn't happen very often though. I don't think my bed moves at all that I am aware of. Me too on the small bites and raised feeder support tables (I like the penny idea).

My old Delta 744? was a guaranteed sniper - every single board - had to just add ~4" to the finished length.

Tony

[Izzy Camire]

I got out to the shop for a few minutes this afternoon. I turned the planer over and the casting is fine no problems. There is no access to the planer bed from there. Tomorrow I will readjust the in and out feed tables and go from there. Again thanks to all who have provided information.