...
(Helpful Tip:)One problem often encountered when using a thickness planer is “snipe”. This manifests as a deeper cut or “gouge” on a short section of the board at either end. Snipe is the term used to describe the planer gouge that often occurs at the beginning and end of boards as they enter and leave the planer. Most new woodworking Thickness Planers have a mechanism for locking the planer heads in place after you adjust the depth. This helps minimize snipe, but doesn’t entirely eliminate it. The best technique is simply to leave an extra 5 in. of length on your boards. Then cut off the snipe when you cut the boards to their final length. Another trick is to feed in a sacrificial board first. Then feed the next board in against the end of the first board and continue feeding boards end to end. Finally feed in another sacrificial board. The planer will treat it as one long board, and only snipe the first and last boards.
| Info |
|---|
If you are planning on using the Thickness Planer for multiple pieces of lumber, it’s best to prepare one face and one edge of all parts on the Jointer first, and then run all parts through the Planer at each thickness setting. |
Steps:
- Using a tape measure or ruler, measure the thickest part of your boards to be planed. Set the depth of the cut for the first cut by adjusting the table height to read 1/16” thinner than your thickest board. (See: “Depth of Cut” above.)
- Turn on the Dust Collector, and then turn on the Thickness Planer. (See: “Power Switch” and “Dust Collector” above.)
- Arrange your board(s) so that they are ready to feed into the machine with their flattest surface face down. Feed your board(s) into the machine with enough force to engage the in feed roller, and then let the machine pull the material at it’s own rate. Always support long pieces of stock on both the in feed and out feed sides of the planer. Do not have any part of the hands under that part of the board that is over the table when starting a cut; the in feed roller will engage the board and force it down against the table causing a pinching action.
- Continue feeding one or more boards into the machine while standing along side and supporting them, walking along with them as they come through to the out feed side of the machine. As they exit the machine, support and remove them and place them on top of the machine or on a nearby work bench. (You can enlist the help of a friend or Shop Technician to assist with this.)
- Once all boards to be Planed have been passed through the machine at this setting, repeat steps 1 thru 4 if desired, by raising the table approximately 1/16” each time, until the desired thickness is achieved. (Boards can be flipped over for subsequent passes.)
...