What is Snipe?

[golfmore]

Regarding a thickness planer. Thanks.

[final_t]

From Lowes.com of all places (google is your friend):

Snipe: Concave cut or dimple left at the tail end of a work piece passed through a jointer. Snipe usually occurs when the outfeed table is set lower than the jointer knives.

If you're getting it with your planer, means your wood isn't being supported on the far end outside of the unit. Hold it up so that it doesn't lever the opposite end into the blades.

[Otter]

A US Navy Engineer......

A thing you send kids to hunt on camping trip...

or what final_t says

[golfmore]

I have been on that camping trip.

[LCHIEN]

Its a shallow, cross-wise gouge (in the direction of the blades)
that occurs ~2" before the ends of the board fed into the planer.

usually you can feel it, or perhaps see it if you hold the board to the light you can see the little dimple.

Imagine that you have roller, blade, roller all at the same height
and separated by 2" apiece.
When the end of the wood clears one roller, it will tend to pitch up (especially if the wood is long and not well supported at the other end) and the motor/roller/blade assembly wants to drop down.
just before it passes the cutter blade, thus making the gouge.

Supporting the wood and having a planer with a good cutterhead lock and four posts will help prevent this.

[Tom Miller]

I think the text advice will be even more clear if you picture what's going on:



So, you can easily see that a longer bed, or supporting the piece on infeed and outfeed is the ticket.

Note that this picture is just showing outfeed snipe, but the same thing happens on infeed.

Regards,
Tom (who might need to take a break from Visio some day)

[LCHIEN]

good illustration, tom!

What he didn't illustrate is how planers that don't have 4-post cutterhead locks can cause snipe.
If the assembly is not real "rigid" then the rear roller drops a little
when the trailing edge of wood passes by and the two rollers & cutter will tilt even if the wood stays flat and the cutter gouges the wood in that way, too.

[final_t]

Even with 4-post locks, you will still get snipe, if the board is long enough to lever the end into the blades. So always support your local board member! (groan)

[Tom Miller]

quote:Originally posted by LCHIEN

good illustration, tom!

What he didn't illustrate is how planers that don't have 4-post cutterhead locks can cause snipe.
If the assembly is not real "rigid" then the rear roller drops a little
when the trailing edge of wood passes by and the two rollers & cutter will tilt even if the wood stays flat and the cutter gouges the wood in that way, too.

Good explanation, Loring! If I'd known then (3 hrs ago?) what I know now, it would have made it into drawing!

Regards,
Tom

[Black wallnut]

quote:Originally posted by Otter

A US Navy Engineer......

A thing you send kids to hunt on camping trip...

or what final_t says

Not sure where this got started but snipe are an actual tasty game bird, and they are hunted with shotguns not gunny sacks. A shore bird actually or at least they are regulated by the US F&W laws the same as migratory waterfowl. According to this link they also inhabit Great Brittan.

[LCHIEN]

quote:Originally posted by Black wallnut

quote:Originally posted by Otter

A US Navy Engineer......

A thing you send kids to hunt on camping trip...

or what final_t says

Not sure where this got started but snipe are an actual tasty game bird, and they are hunted with shotguns not gunny sacks. A shore bird actually or at least they are regulated by the US F&W laws the same as migratory waterfowl. According to this link they also inhabit Great Brittan.

supposing you shot one and put it thru the planer.

would you have a sniped snipe?[:0]

[golfmore]

I do appreciate the analogy. It has helped me quite a bit. I have decided to get the Delta, and then get another one (not sure yet) . Going to use the Delta for "rough" paning, and then use the next one for the "fine" cut. Thanks for all the help.