Dewalt 735 - snipe problem

[jim gossage]

i have owned a dewalt 735 for 3 years now (without extension tables), and have had no problems with snipe until the past several months . the amount of snipe varies from 0.003 to 0.10 . prior to the snipe problem, i did not do anything fancy when i fed my wood except to hand-support the board as it went in and came out. now, if i put a fair amount of upward pressure on the board, the snipe is minimized. something seems to have changed. here is what i have done so far in an attempt to return to the "good ole times":
1. installed extension tables with the outer edges as high as they will go; helps a little.
2. checked out the machine thoroughly with a dial indicator and straight edge; table bed is flat to 0.005 or less; knife is parallel to bed by <0.001; rollers are parallel to bed by <0.002; front roller is 0.030 lower than knife; rear roller is 0.012 lower than knife.
3. cleaned bed and rollers (already pretty clean).
4. pulled off the right side of the machine and the roller sprockets, and pulled off the right bushing on the front roller. the bushing was in good shape, but i'm wondering about the spring. with 20-30% JAF (jim's available force) i can push the right end of the front roller up; however, i need 90-100% JAF to push up the rear roller.
Questions :
1. are the front springs the problem?
2. any other suggestions to get me back to the "good ole times"?

[Dennis O'Leary]

I have one of these too - and have the same problem. From new it was fabulous, no snipe. Now, almost but not every board has snipe. I have not investigated, as I tend to leave my boards long enough to cut the snipe off, but it is annoying. I thought that something must have changed in there. BTW i only use it for light home use.

[Allen Bookout]

Same thing here. I have not used it very much but at first I could get rid of the snipe on the last part of the board by putting a little upward pressure on the outfeed side just as you were saying. Now, after using it a bit, that technique is not working any more. I can minimize it but still get a little. I hate to waste good wood.

[Sam Shank]

Ditto to all above posts. Currious to see if there is a solution.

[jim gossage]

i am pretty much a light user also. i hoping that the SMC veterans will weigh in and save us all! i also wonder whether the "automatic" column locks may not work so well anymore. i might try replacing the springs and see what happens.

[Jim Becker]

With the tool unplugged, rut a long piece of MDF (like one of those pre-cut shelves) through the machine using double stick table to keep it on the infeed, outfeed and machine tables. Now run some material through and see if you still have the snipe problem. If you do, there may be a problem with the cutter head system and or lock. If not, table adjustments may be the key.

[Jeff Heil]

I also own this planer and had some snipe issues as I set it up. I like Jim's idea to check the alignment of everything. If that doesn't solve your snipe issues try setting a small thin metal rule like a 6" pocket rule on the far outboard edges of each table and use your straight edge to set the height of the in and outfeed tables. Run a test board and play with it, you might need a bit more. Setting the ends of the tables slightly higher than level will have the same effect as lifting boards as they emerge to reduce snipe. My planer has given me snipe free cuts for almost 9 months of service and for at least 1000 bf. I tend to run boards end to end to also reduce snipe. Good luck.

[glenn bradley]

Jeff,
I agree, that would solve his problem but his OP states " have owned a dewalt 735 for 3 years now (without extension tables), ".


Jim,
I have seen the extensions for cheap now and again and would recommend them. An alternative would be a permenant install of the sled Jim B. discussed. Instead of acting as a sled it would become your new platten; extending out from the front and rear of the planer. A few of our favorite mags have had a version of this to cure snipe in extensionless planers. Of course all measuments and scales would have to take this into account. I know this goes nowhere near explaining why it is happening now and didn't before, sorry.

[Jeff Heil]

Your correct, missed that. My mind seems to fill in the blanks with what it wants to see, vs what it there.

That said, I would recommend buiding in/outfeed support using a set of roller stands, or investing in the DW tables.

[Fred Voorhees]

[QUOTE=glenn bradley -An alternative would be a permenant install of the sled Jim B. discussed. Instead of acting as a sled it would become your new platten; extending out from the front and rear of the planer.[/QUOTE]

Glenn, I don't think Jim meant that to be a permanent fixture within the planer. I think he meant it as a means to check the problem. That being said, I have the same planer and I haven't had much of a problem with snipe, if any. But I have to say, I can't for the life of me see how anyone could use the machine without infeed and outfeed tables. There is virtually nothing there without them on the machine. I didn't buy any with mine, but I had plans, and since then, have implemented, a built in situation with mine. It sits right level with my benchtop and has, virtually, a nearly twenty feet infeed table and roughly sixteen foot or so outfeed table. I have to beleive that this certainly helps with any snipe situation.

[glenn bradley]

Great solution Fred. I have thought about having a similar setup but just can't figure out where to put it. I'm jealous. I have the same musings about a dedicated area for my CMS but that has not happened yet either. I'd have to say with your install you were safe on not getting the tables ;-)

[Benjimin Young]

Ok, my 2 cents are a little high level but I like to always start with the "What Changed" question

If I understand Jim's situation, it has been working fine for quite some time and only recently started to act up. The only thing that changed was the machine got older and had more use, eventually giving him snipe.

If I have this correct, then this amature (me) is thinking it has to be related to one or more of the following:
Something needs cleaning
Something needs adjusting
Something needs replacement (worn or broken)

On a different tack, if it is a worn or broken part problem could it have anything to do with the DW734 problems prior to serial number 200440 see thread
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ighlight=dw735

My DW735 has not yet given me any problems (other than some slipage fixed by cleaning) so I have a vested interest in watching the outcome of Jim's problem.

Good Luck!

Ben

[glenn bradley]

Here's an example of what I spoke of in my previous post:

http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/sto...y/data/447.xml

[Laurie Brown]

Here's an example of what I spoke of in my previous post:

http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/sto...y/data/447.xml

I constructed a bed very like that from MDF, which is over 3 feet long. I have the same planer shown in that pitcure. I get about 2.5" of snipe on both ends of any board I run through it, which is a real pain. If I run boards end to end as mentioned elsewhere, there's no snipe where the ends of the boards meet, but the first one will have snipe on the end, and the last one will. I usually either cut the sniped section off, wasting wood, or sometimes I don't need to worry about it because I will be routing off most of that material, such as when making raised panels for doors. If the snipe isn't too bad I can sometimes sand it to where it's not noticeable. If there's some way to eliminate or at least minimize the snipe, I would love to know how!

[jim gossage]

i have owned a dewalt 735 for 3 years now (without extension tables), and have had no problems with snipe until the past several months ........

1. installed extension tables with the outer edges as high as they will go; helps a little.......

jim, glenn, and others

thanks for your suggestions. i think my original post may have been a bit long-winded and confusing (see quote above) - i did install the extension tables in an effort to fix the snipe, with the ends high, but it did not fix the problem. i also checked my serial number and it is low, suggesting that it may need servicing - i'll give dewalt a call.