I have had this DeWalt 735 for about 7 years and as long as the knives were sharp it has worked flawlessly. About 8 weeks ago I started noticing some snip on the leading end once in a while. I had some new feed rollers so I installed them and thought that it was fixed but it started showing up again. If I run a 6″ or so board through the center it seems to do ok but if I run a 4″ or so down either side or a 10″ or wider in the center I get snip.
There isn’t a lot of magic inside the box with one of these, a steel plate on the bottom that the wood slides over, a cutter head, 2 feed rollers with a bushing block on each end and a spring over each bushing block to keep pressure on the wood. It only has an adjust for the amount of cut and the feed rate. The only reason I can imagine for snip on short boards that don’t need support would be weak springs.
Has anyone cured a snip on one these and had a different issue than the springs?
Replies
Snipe on short boards, or narrow boards?
Everything I have run lately has been 15" to 27" long and 4" to 12" wide. The 12"wide was 15" long and snipped full width. The 4" to 6" wide at any length run ok through the center but will snip if run down either side.
I had the same problem a week or so ago but mine was on the trailing end. Came to find out that the outfeed table had worked its way up, vibration? Hit with a piece of lumber? But once I adjusted the infeed an outfeed the problem went away. Hope this helps
I don't have the table extensions. My plainer sits on a shop built cabinet with a roller about a foot from each end of the table. I did think of that and checked the rollers and they are still aligned with the table and rolling smoothly.
Try raising them about 1/16 or so an see if that makes a difference
Snipe happens because the cutterhead is between the indeed and outfeed rollers. When the board hits the cutterhead and is only contacted by one roller, it lifts the board up, causing snipe. As soon as the other roller engages, the snipe stops.
You can reduce snipe by lifting up a little on the end of the board as it enters and exists, until the board is engaged by both rollers.
Short boards are more prone to snipe. I've never had an issue with narrow vs wide boards though.
More than likely it's due to unsupported board hanging off the bed and not enough spring pressure. Extension infeed outfeed tables are available.
Lifting up as John^ suggested will eliminate, as will feeding multiple boards back to back, only the last one will get sniped.
And in case you mised it, the currect speelling is s-n-i-p-e.
I try to hold down the board to stay even with the table as it is entering, then exiting the planer so that it doesnt move relative to the cutter head with only one roller engaged.
I'm with John c2 as to why. Lots of planers do that mostly on the tail end. I butt plane when I can't sacrifice that last couple of inches. That is, I send another board through the planer directly behind the the board I'm planing. Sniping on the leading end is less common. Try having a board in front of the board you intend to plane. Assuming nothing is actually wrong with the planer I would think that there is something wrong with your set up on the infeed side. Entering on too high or too low of an angle ( which is any angle from absolutely flat ) would cause a snipe. If the board has an arch to it then it would tend to lift the end of the board just as it's engaging with the cutterhead.
My Dewalt 735 also snipes on the outfield side but gently lifting the board on the exit has been a 100% fix. I haven't fiddled with the spring pressure. May be I should.
Before I upgraded from a Delta lunchbox I would always mill up 2 24" sticks of whatever was lying around to the same thickness as my parts. I fed one in a foot ahead of the first one, then fed end-to-end, and finished with the second stick trailing a foot behind the last. The rollers stayed up and the sticks caught the snipe instead of my parts.
It was worn out springs on the infeed rollers. To keep from having to do it again on the out feed I got all 4.
Thank to all who replied.
We always appreciate these follow-up posts. I'm glad it worked out.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled