Preventing Snipe?

[wayne ateser]

I have a 12" Hitachi F1000A Planer/Jointer.

The few inches on each end of a planed board have a slight "snipe" I guess due to the lumber not engaging both rollers on each end.

One way I guess to eliminate snipe is to feed a longer piece then necessary and cut off the snipe. I hate to waste lumber like that though and also sometimes I cant avoid having a piece already cut to length that needs planeing

Any secrets you can pass on?
thanks!

[glenn bradley]

I use the "ten cent solution" which means I set a dime on the edge of the platen and level the outer edge of my in-feed / out-feed table to that height (did that make sense?). This puts the outer edge of the in-feed and out-feed table a bit higher than the platen. This solved my snipe problem on my DeWalt.

[PeterTorresani]

I've found that if I add additional support on the outfeed, that I can drastically reduce the amountof snipe with my Dewalt 12" planer.

I simply built a standoff the same height as the outfeed table and place it so that it about 2/3 of a boards length away from the last roller. This way the center of gravity is always supported

[Ernie Hobbs]

one thing that I do that seems to minimize snipe on my Delta 22-580 is to lift the board slightly as it comes out of the planer to prevent it from dropping down. I guess outfeed support would do the same thing. I also usually leave a couple of inches on the end extra, in case snipe shows up.

[Julio Navarro]

I used double sided tape to put a piece of pine that extends beyond both sides of the front and back of the actual piece. In other words, I add two "out-riggers" on either side of the working piece so that the planer blade and roller engage before they get to the working wood. If the "out-rigger" is thicker than than the working piece then pass it through the planer several times. The sacraficial "out-riggers" will have the snipe, not the boards.

I used it to plane 3 short 6" peices of maple. Really does work. I lightly edge glued the 3 pieces together then applied the pine "out-riggers" to them with double sided tape. Worked like a charm.

Of coursde this will limit the width effectiveness of your planer to minus the two "out-riggers" but if your piece is small enough it will work ok.

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Wayne, snipe can be caused by the board tipping as it enters/ exits the planer, or by the cutterhead tilting (or both). The first cause can be fixed by providing better support for the workpiece, as Glenn and Peter suggested.

The second case is tricker. Even with a lock, it's hard to keep the cuterhead perfectly rigid. The easy workaround, if you don't have any length to spare, is to feed sacrifical boards butted end-to-end before and after the workpiece.

[wayne ateser]

Thanks for the tips all.
Its probably most precise for me to use the suggestion to run some narrower long scraps (identical thichness) overlapping front and back with the board to be planed.....to keep the board square to cutter along its length. Slight pressure on the in feed and out feed can work too when above wont work.

THe F1000A isnt a table top planer. Its a beast and must weigh 250lbs min. I guess at that size one would have hoped it had the multiple rollers to prevent snipe.
thanks again

[Joe Mioux]

Make your wood 3-4 inches longer, and cut off the snipe.

That is a time saver.

Joe

[Michael Adelong]

one thing that I do that seems to minimize snipe on my Delta 22-580 is to lift the board slightly as it comes out of the planer to prevent it from dropping down. I guess outfeed support would do the same thing. I also usually leave a couple of inches on the end extra, in case snipe shows up.

I'm with Ernie. I just let the board slide on my fingertips while applying slight upward pressure as it come off of the outfeed.

Mike

[John Headley]

I'm new to the forum and the rules, so I won't post a link. But, if you search the old Badger Pond forum articles for a pdf article on planer setup, it has helped many people for many years in reducing snipe.