Replies

1. 
   BruceS | Nov 26, 2006 10:27pm | #1

   I would be willing to bet that sharp knives,  cleaned feed rollers and a waxed bed will solve the problem.  Guess is that the lumber is momentarily stalling, which is causing that strange snipe.

   Work Safe,  Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

   Bruce S. 

    

1. 
   Ragnar17 | Nov 27, 2006 01:15am | #2

   Thanks for the help, Bruce.  I think that the problem has to lie with the feed rollers, too.  I'll find out whether my neighbor has tried cleaning the rollers and waxing the bed.  I'll also have to ask him to find out whether a temporary stall in the feed rate is consistent with the snipe location.

1. 
   user-211435 | Nov 27, 2006 01:19am | #3

   Has the other side of the board been flat jointed prior to planing?

   Hal

1. 
   Ragnar17 | Nov 28, 2006 12:09am | #7

   Has the other side of the board been flat jointed prior to planing?

   No, the boards hadn't been trued up first. 

   However, he said the boards showed no significant cupping, warp, etc.

   The weird thing is that the problem really is intermittent.  I'm starting to wonder if it's some sort of variable mechanical problem, like a chip or loose piece getting trapped under a drive belt, etc., and then working its way loose again.  He says that there's a weird, mechanical noise whenever the anomalous snipe occurs.

    

2. 
   forestgirl | Nov 27, 2006 09:18am | #4

   "I'll find out whether my neighbor has tried cleaning the rollers and waxing the bed.  I'll also have to ask him to find out whether a temporary stall in the feed rate is consistent with the snipe location."  Don't forget the knives!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   Ragnar17 | Nov 28, 2006 12:11am | #8

   Don't forget the knives!

   He's already inspected and replaced the knives to troubleshoot that possibility.

   I asked him about the feed rate, and he said its been very consistent, i.e., no slippage related to the feed rollers.

   This is an interesting little puzzle! 

    

1. 
   forestgirl | Nov 28, 2006 02:51am | #9

   Hope you'll let us know when you guys figure it out.  The wayward chip or other debris sounds like a possibility. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   THintz | Nov 27, 2006 11:50am | #5

   We repeatedly see waxing planer tables curing all sorts of problems. If nothing else, it should be a starting point in the diagnosis of the problem. It's easy and if not the actual problem will help narrow the field a bit.

   Tom Hintz

   Because there is always more to learn!

3. 
   Kaleo | Nov 27, 2006 12:57pm | #6

   My guess would be that the board is not completly flat. That there is a cup in the board therefore the rollers will engage on the outside of the board and cut but not in the middle, until you've planed through the sllight cup that is in the board. This is just a guess though.

   Kaleo

   http://www.kalafinefurniture.blogspot.com

4. 
   JMartinsky | Nov 28, 2006 03:13am | #10

   Dear Ragnar,
   I have stalled a few pieces in my Makita planer and have never had any "snipe". I have had the feed rollers "polish" a section, but no deep cuts. If the cutterhead is not moving, and the rollers are maintaining pressure, then I'm not sure how a "snipe" in the middle of a board would be possible. I agree on a mechanical anomaly or chip or something, but I don't think that wax job will do it. It won't hurt, by any means, but the problem sounds mechanical.

   Best,

   John

1. 
   Ragnar17 | Nov 29, 2006 09:35am | #11

   Thanks to all for the ideas on this problem so far.  I'll be sure to post here with the results once the problem is figured out.

   Regards,

   Ragnar

1. 
   dssokhey | Nov 30, 2006 01:24am | #12

   Ragnar,

   I have a Dewalt planer too but never had such a problem. As we all know what causes snipe is when the board is under only one feed roller and the board tilts upwards into the blades. This can happen at entry or exit. Based on this theory there is no way the board is going up into the blades in the middle. The only possibility that I can think of is that the blade carriage itself or some loose blade is falling down onto the board and causing this snipe to happen. And that is the cause of the noise as you mentioned.

   I have had feed stalls and as one of the posters said it just causes a little polishing but never a snipe.

   hope it helps. good luck

   ds

5. 
   MikeHennessy | Dec 01, 2006 04:24pm | #13

   Hmmm. Strange problem, but the first place I'd look (assuming you've eliminated the obvious such as buildup of stuff on the underside of the board as it's going through) is the bearings. My DW planer (old style) has some pretty crummy bearings that ended up seriously elongated after only moderate use -- so much so that the roller drive belt began skipping teeth. (I don't know if they upgraded the bearings on the newer models.) You may be experiencing a similar problem where one or both rollers are losing downward pressure as the roller moves around in the bearing. They are a bit of a pain to replace, but not awful and, since they are cheap (crummy), they are cheap ($$)! 

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA

1. 
   Ragnar17 | Jan 03, 2007 10:06am | #14

   For anyone who might be interested, my neighbor threw in the towel and took the planer into the service center.  It seems they replaced a drive sprocket with several broken teeth, and also replaced a feed roller.

   Unfortunately, my neighbor didn't ask a lot of questions at the service center and is thus unable to provide details regarding what was actually wrong -- I just thought I'd post what little I know.

   Thanks again for everyone's input on this!

   Regards,

   Ragnar

1. 
   Rich14 | Jan 03, 2007 07:55pm | #15

   Did that fix the problem?

   Rich