Jointing for stock prep question/technique

Re: some clarification

Barry Irby

No, but,,,I do a lot of planning for snipe when breaking down stock. If the board has a ragged end on it from when the tree was felled, I leave it on and use it to "catch" the snipe. If I cut near a defect I leave it on for the same purpose. I cut pieces in multiple lengths so that I can cut three or four pieces out of them after they are planed if the stock is flat enough. And sometimes I leave it in place and sand it out. Sadly, I have trouble seeing it and sometimes it escapes detection until I put on the "reveal" coat. I try to use water to raise the grain and it makes a good reveal coat, if I am paying attention.

For those of you who don't understand the reveal coat, it's the first thing you apply, like a primer coat and that's when all the defects (sanding scratches, glue spots, snipe, silicon, and whatever) show up. I was talking to a Car Guy friend of mine and mentioned the Reveal Coat and he said, "Oh Hell Yeah, The primer coat shows everything!" Something to be learned there.

Revealing defects prior to finish

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Veering this post way off course......

Defects show up in sanding. Nothing ever escapes detection when I sand. What am I looking for? Uniform luster. Shiny and I have not hit it with the grit yet. Duller and this spot is catching sanding dust which signals torn grain that must be removed. When it looks uniform at even 100 grit it will finish perfect (after further sanding to finer grit).

My out feed roll burnishes the last bit of lumber to leave the machine. Some might call this blemish snipe, but I think of snipe as material missing. I must take care to remove this burnish or it will show up in finishing.

Burnish snipe ...

AZ in Colorado Springs

... never heard of that before.

Why would the outfeed roller burnish only the trailing end for a few inches and not the entire piece of stock?

Explanation

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I'm running an industrial sized machine, should that matter. When the board leaves the cogged infeed roller only the smooth outfeed roller is pulling the lumber across the friction of the board surfaces touching the machine and the opposing force of the cutter head. If the out feed roller slips against the board when the infeed roller clears, the end of the board burnishes. Typical sanding removes the burnish.

Re: more clarification

Barry Irby

It seems, if the snipe is on the trailing end that the board must jump up when it comes out from under the infeed roller. Thus, the pressure of the out feed roller may be too light to hold the board down to the platen. Now to investigate to see if there is any adjustment in the roller pressure.

The problem with most lunch box planers

Bruce, a MN Galoot

is that they have two posts and no cutter head lock. Any rotation of the head or posts around its axis will cause snipe. It’s just gonna happen.

I used to have a Delta 22-540, had it for 25 years, and although I tried every adjustment and trick (except wasting the ends or end-to-end planing, I never was able to adjust it out. The only thing that helped a little, was to use a longer platen. I used a laminate covered sink cutout.

I now have a Dewalt 735 and it’s better, but snipe is still there, even though it’s a four poster. Why? No cutter head lock.

cutter head lock

David Yoho

Bruce, not sure but I think my Delta planer does have one. There is a handle on the right-hand side that can be tightened that prevents the cutter head from moving. I know on my previous Delta lunchbox it did not have this feature and the cutter head would move slightly while planning.

Re: Snipe?

Don Stephan

On my 15" Jet planer, the depth of cut is set with a hand wheel. From experimentation I found the smallest depth of cut that would not leave lines from the feed roller is one-third revolution of that hand wheel. When rough planing, I take off 1/2 revolution at a time (the machine likely could handle more). For final passes I take off that 1/3rd revolution. There sometimes is some snipe, but it is less significant than if I had taken off the normal 1/2 revolution.

Re: cutter head lock

Bruce, a MN Galoot

Yours is undoubtedly newer than my old Delta.

Re: cutter head lock

David Yoho

My first Delta lunchbox planer was the 22-540 12". Their next model was the 22-560, a 12 1/2" planer. They followed this with my current planer, the 22-580 13" with locking cutter head. They have other models since but all three I listed have been out of production for a number of years.

Re: cutter head lock

Bruce, a MN Galoot

I had the 12”. There was no lock on it. Got it about 1990.

Thanks

Re: cutter head lock

Barry Irby

My planer may be older than I said. buying it is a dim memory and I doubt I recorded the purchase. May be over 20 years. Who knew time would slip by so quickly? But, it does have a cutter head lock.

The sink cut out someone mentioned gives me an idea, I have one int he shed and if it is still flat I am going to cut it down and try it.

Re: cutter head lock

Bruce, a MN Galoot

I mentioned it, but so did others. It helps, plus make the final cut very light.

When you use any kind of aux platen, there are no longer edge guides to keep your stock between the edges ,so you need to be mindful of that.